Samsung C&T Site Exercises 50,000 Work Suspension Rights Over 2 Years... "Voluntary Safety Management"

90% of On-site Workers Say "Right to Stop Work Helps Safety"

"During ground work, I saw a crane nearby lifting large construction materials, so I exercised my right to stop work, and the work area was immediately moved to a safe location. I felt that the on-site workers were respected, and I came to believe that the right to stop work is a right that can protect me from accidents that might occur." (Seo In-su, a civil engineering subcontractor at a Samsung C&T construction site in Gyeonggi-do)

A banner promoting the right to stop work is installed at the Samsung C&T construction site.
[Photo by Samsung C&T]

Samsung C&T Construction Division announced on the 14th that since fully guaranteeing workers' right to stop work in March 2021, a total of 53,000 cases (about 70 cases per day) of work stoppage rights have been exercised at 113 sites over two years.

The right to stop work allows workers to halt work when there is an imminent danger or a serious accident occurs. Samsung C&T actively guarantees this right beyond the scope stipulated by law, allowing workers to use it whenever they judge the situation to be unsafe, and compensates subcontractors for losses along with rewards.

By type of hazard, the use of the right to stop work was highest for collisions at 23.1%, followed by overturning (21.6%), falls (20.3%), flying or falling objects (13.3%), entrapment (5.2%), and others (16.5%). Falls, falling objects, and entrapment are major types of serious accidents at construction sites, and Samsung C&T explained that workers’ exercise of the right to stop work plays an important role in preventing safety accidents.

On-site workers also felt that the right to stop work helps improve safety.

According to a survey conducted by Samsung C&T last month targeting 969 on-site workers, 52% (500 people) responded that they had experience using the right to stop work. 90% (871 people) said the right to stop work helps site safety, and 95% (921 people) said they would actively recommend using the right to stop work to their colleagues.

Samsung C&T has established a Construction Safety Research Institute and is conducting safety prevention activities such as building a safety control room, strengthening safety and health organizations, expanding investments for accident prevention, introducing safety support systems for subcontractors, and reorganizing safety education systems. In addition to the industrial safety and health management costs stipulated by law, an additional safety reinforcement budget is allocated based on the site manager’s judgment, with about 50 billion KRW spent at domestic sites over the past two years.

Furthermore, the headquarters safety control room monitors in real time through 249 closed-circuit (CCTV) cameras, and a total of 63,230 Samsung C&T and subcontractor employees have completed safety training. Twenty-two smart safety technologies, including drone inspections, have also been applied on site. To improve subcontractors’ safety management levels, over 1,400 consultations have been conducted with 141 companies, and in bidding, subcontractors with excellent safety levels are given priority opportunities.

Byung-chul Ahn, Chief Safety Officer (CSO) of Samsung C&T, said, "We have built infrastructure to secure safety at every stage of the project in line with heightened social standards and customer demands for safety. We will continue to support professional personnel and technology so that activities to improve the autonomous safety management capabilities of workers and subcontractors can spread throughout the construction industry."

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