POSCO to Significantly Expand Safety Management Sites

Mid-Next Month 'Safety Innovation TF' Meeting

Panoramic view of POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] POSCO is expanding its safety management focus from previously incomplete facilities to general areas such as transit locations.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and POSCO on the 17th, POSCO plans to hold a Safety Innovation TF meeting in mid-next month to expand safety management sites to transit locations and conduct thorough inspections.

This follows a worker fatality recently at POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks. The site of the fatal accident was not among the locations POSCO had been focusing on for accident prevention. While a police investigation is ongoing, internally it is presumed that the worker slipped and fell during transit while inspecting coke process equipment.

Earlier, POSCO launched the 'Safety Innovation Emergency TF' in July last year after the explosion accident at Gwangyang Steelworks. The Safety Innovation Emergency TF's main improvement activities include ▲joint on-site inspections by POSCO and partner company employees to identify and address safety blind spots in advance ▲joint safety inspections by supervisors and on-site workers during vulnerable times such as night shift changes ▲complete replacement of aging safety facilities such as handrails and stairs ▲comprehensive survey and removal of long-unused facilities and equipment, holding monthly meetings. Additionally, 1,200 workers working in hazardous locations were provided with 'smartwatches'.

A POSCO official stated, "The accident site was not a hazardous facility, so it was excluded from management targets, but we plan to take this opportunity to conduct thorough inspections including transit locations."