[Opinion] The First Step in Preventing Major Accidents is the 'Industrial Safety Diagnosis'

CEO Jonghak Kim of Korea Canute Co., Ltd.

The Serious Accident Punishment Act is a hot topic.

Although there had been much discussion before, I thought it was someone else's issue. However, since the scope of application was expanded in January this year to workplaces with 5 to fewer than 50 employees, and after hearing the news of the first serious accident following the expanded enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act in Busan at the end of January, I could not help but become more alert.

Our company is a manufacturing business with fewer than 50 employees producing defense equipment, and we have many hazardous processes such as metal product processing, so we have recognized the importance of safety from the beginning.

We have conducted risk assessments regularly every year and have been recognized as an "Excellent Risk Assessment Workplace." We have also been striving to establish a self-regulatory prevention system through consulting support for building a safety and health management system. However, with the application of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, it became necessary to confirm the role of the business owner and the preparedness of our workplace, leading us to conduct the "Industrial Safety Diagnosis" promoted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.

The "Industrial Safety Diagnosis" is a project that allows small and medium-sized workplaces (with 5 to fewer than 50 employees) to self-diagnose the establishment and implementation status of their safety and health management systems to prevent serious accidents and prepare for the Serious Accident Punishment Act. It is linked with government-tailored support projects to improve safety levels. It was easy to carry out by clicking the "Industrial Safety Diagnosis" popup on the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency website or by scanning the QR code provided in promotional materials.

By checking 10 items on the self-diagnosis checklist, we could confirm the level of our workplace's safety and health management system, and apply for government support suitable for our company (consulting, technical guidance, financial support, etc.). Our company was also able to receive low-interest loans for industrial accident prevention facility funds as needed, so we linked the diagnosis with financial support projects and applied.

The "Financial Support Project" is a program that supports investment costs for introducing industrial accident prevention facilities and improving the working environment to reduce industrial accidents. There are various subsidy and loan support projects such as safety device subsidies through "High-Risk Improvement including Accident Deaths" and "Smart Safety Equipment Support."

While conducting the "Industrial Safety Diagnosis," I thought the greatest advantage was that our company could self-check the level of its safety and health management system and that it could be done in a short time.

Although there is still a long way to go to establish a safety and health management system, if we do not give up and build it step by step, the workplace itself can identify hazardous risk factors, prepare and implement measures to eliminate, respond to, and control them. I firmly believe that this will also become a safe and healthy workplace that can be continuously improved.

I pray that all industrial sites become safe and happy countries.

Jonghak Kim, CEO of Korea Canoe

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