[Public Voices] Practicing the Basics... Preventing Safety Accidents in SMEs

During high school, the tiled roof of my house was old, so I had to do painting work to apply a new coat of paint. For ease of work, paint is usually diluted with thinner. At that time, I had the idea that it would be fun to light a fire in an empty thinner can, so I lit a lighter, but in an instant, there was a bang, and the thinner exploded, causing flames to catch on my head and eyebrows. As a result, I had to cut my hair like a monk and shave my eyebrows. At that time, I did not know that thinner could explode.

After graduating from university, I joined the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency and started inspecting workplace safety. Once, I inspected a facility that melts scrap metal to produce steel iron materials. I first reviewed the work-related documents and interviewed safety personnel to understand the work process, then measured the concentration of fumes (solid particulate matter) generated from the melting furnace. I installed the measuring device on equipment located above the melting furnace and was observing the work process. Suddenly, as the melting furnace tilted to pour molten metal, the equipment I was on tilted as well. The circular equipment was filled with red molten metal. Fortunately, the incident ended with the loss of only one measuring device without a major accident, but even now, it was a dizzying moment. I had entered the workplace without fully understanding the work process and nearly experienced a terrible accident.

Accidents in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also come without warning. However, most workplaces rarely experience fatal accidents, so they tend to think of such incidents as someone else’s problem. Last year, the Serious Accident Punishment Act was first implemented in workplaces with 50 or more employees, and starting next year, it will apply to workplaces with 5 to fewer than 50 employees. However, most small workplaces with fewer than 50 employees do not have dedicated safety management personnel. Although support for improving safety management in SMEs will continue, there are fundamental principles for preventing fatal accidents that must be considered first.

First, the ability to recognize hazards must be improved. To reduce accidents in industrial sites, it is necessary to understand the purpose and operational hazards of machines installed in the workplace, the fire and explosion risks and toxicity of substances used, and the behavioral patterns of workers. It should become a daily habit to check the hazard and toxicity information of machines and substances and to look for any newly added information.

Second, a sense of ownership should be cultivated, and communication should be practiced regularly. Employers and workers should discuss and communicate about the hazards of machines they consider dangerous and the behaviors of workers. Managers should make workers aware of the dangerous parts of the tasks before starting work, and workers should pay attention to safety during work. The more everyone cooperates, the more production efficiency will improve, and a safer workplace will be created.

Finally, participation from all members should be activated. The workers themselves know best about the hazards in their work processes. Everyone should work together to identify and consider the question, "What hazards exist in our workplace?" Deficiencies should be improved, and other hazards should be continuously identified and eliminated or reduced. The 'Serious Accident Reduction Roadmap' announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor at the end of last year also emphasized the importance of joint participation by employers and workers to prevent accidents.

As with solving all problems in the world, preventing fatal accidents in SMEs is about returning to the basics. Let’s take another look around the working environment of the workplace. If there are employers and managers of workplaces with fewer than 50 employees who judge that improvements are needed through the installation of safety devices and safer equipment, the 'Loan and Subsidy Support Program' information on the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency website will be of great help.

Jin Chan-ho, Director of SME Support Office, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency

Jin Chan-ho, Director of Small and Medium Enterprise Support Office, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency

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