Half of 'Kkiim' Accidents Occur During Repair and Maintenance... Inadequate Protective Measures

KOSHA Researcher Analyzes Major Accident Investigation Reports from 2016 to 2019

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] It has been revealed that 'entrapment' accidents most frequently occurred during hazardous repair and maintenance work over the past four years. Many cases at accident sites also involved inadequate protective measures. Protective measures refer to the installation of wire mesh or similar barriers to prevent human body parts from being caught in dangerous machinery, as mandated by the Industrial Safety and Health Act.

On the 9th, the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency announced the results of an analysis of 272 serious accident reports related to entrapment fatalities in manufacturing from 2016 to 2019. The data will be used to establish policies and measures to prevent industrial accident fatalities in the future.

Among the 882 occupational accident fatalities last year, 60 were entrapment deaths at manufacturing sites. Entrapment accidents are the most common cause of industrial accident fatalities in manufacturing workplaces.

About 54% of all manufacturing entrapment accidents occurred during non-routine tasks such as repair, maintenance, and cleaning. Although these atypical tasks do not take long, their accident rate was the highest, indicating their high risk. By the object causing the accident, the highest fatality rates were associated with belt conveyors, overhead cranes, and forklifts, in that order.

Regarding protective measures, the biggest cause of fatal accidents was the failure to install protective equipment. Among 132 cases where installation was required, 115 cases (87.1%) involved fatalities due to lack of protective equipment, whereas only 4 cases (3%) occurred despite the equipment being installed.

The report also statistically confirmed that after supervision by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the accident rate and annual lost workdays at workplaces decreased to one-fifth. The full report can be accessed on the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Research Institute’s website.

Kim Eun-ah, Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, stated, "Traditional fatal accidents such as entrapment still persist in industrial sites," and added, "We will continue to do our best to establish scientific evidence for policies and projects applicable in the field through ongoing research and development for industrial accident prevention."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.