'One Month Before Serious Accident Punishment Act' Government-Construction Companies Meeting: "Safety System and Risk Factors Checked on Self-Inspection Checklist"

Sharing 259 Construction Machinery and Equipment Fatal Accident Cases Over 3 Years... Discussing Measures to Prevent Recurrence

A tower crane installed in a redevelopment complex in Seoul. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced that it held a meeting on the 21st with eight mid-sized construction companies, which frequently experience fatal accidents, ahead of the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act on January 27 next year. The government urged companies to thoroughly inspect key factors such as the 'safety and health management system' and 'risk factors' listed in the self-inspection checklist.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated that at the meeting held at the Seoul Northern Branch of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency at 2 p.m. that day, it explained the newly created 'Self-Inspection Checklist for Preventing Serious Industrial Accidents in the Construction Industry' to eight construction companies including Geukdong Construction. The ministry urged headquarters and site managers to carefully check the safety and health management system and safety rules at the site. Kwon Kisub, head of the Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, emphasized, "Before the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, companies should actively use the self-inspection checklist to review their headquarters' safety and health management system once again."

The self-inspection checklist consists of the safety and health management system and risk factors. In the safety and health management system, reflecting the characteristics of construction sites involving various parties such as clients, contractors, and subcontractors, inspection items are organized by seven key factors: management leadership, worker participation, identification and improvement of risk factors, education, establishment of emergency response plans, securing safety and health during contracting, outsourcing, and consignment, and evaluation and improvement.

Regarding risk factors, inspection items are presented by accident type (falling, being struck, collapse, etc.), construction machinery and equipment, hazardous tasks, and processes, along with the status of fatal accidents. The Ministry of Employment and Labor emphasized that special attention should be paid to inspection items for construction machinery and equipment that have recently seen frequent fatal accidents, such as excavators, aerial work platforms, mobile cranes, trucks, and tower cranes.

Key Contents of the Construction Site Hazard Self-Inspection Checklist. (Source: Ministry of Employment and Labor)

Participants at the meeting shared recent fatal accident cases in the construction industry, including the incident on the 1st at a new construction site in Gyeonggi Province where three people died after being crushed by a tire roller, and discussed measures to prevent recurrence. The Ministry of Employment and Labor stressed that one out of five (18.9%) construction industry fatalities in the past three years was caused by construction machinery and equipment. It urged active use of the key inspection items for each type of construction machinery and equipment listed in the self-inspection checklist. The inspection items include ▲prohibiting workers from entering the working radius during the use of construction machinery and equipment (or assigning guides) ▲prohibiting use of construction machinery and equipment for purposes other than intended ▲removal of ignition keys when leaving the driver's seat ▲wearing safety belts by excavator operators, among others.

Status of Fatal Accidents in the Construction Industry. (Data from Ministry of Employment and Labor)

Participants agreed that due to the nature of the construction industry, organic cooperation between headquarters and sites is important. Site workers should comply with safety rules, report risk factors, and suggest improvement measures. Site managers should take practical measures to improve risk factors, and headquarters should establish procedures for identifying and improving risk factors and provide resources accordingly.

Head Kwon stated, "Recent accidents could have been sufficiently prevented if basic safety rules and work procedures had been followed," and emphasized, "Actively using the self-inspection checklist at sites to conduct inspections by construction machinery and equipment, hazardous tasks, and processes will be of great help." He added, "Focus the company's overall capabilities on establishing and implementing a safety and health management system to prevent serious accidents," and urged, "Please also participate in compliance with quarantine rules and the third vaccination to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

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