Multiple Falls from Exterior Wall Construction... Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Launches Emergency Patrol at Sites

5 Deaths at 5 Sites from March to April, Emergency Inspection of Dalbigae Sites Initiated

Illustration of Scaffold Accident Cases and Key Prevention Measures.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] #1. On April 9, a worker painting the exterior wall of an apartment in Naju-si, Jeollanam-do, fell to his death. An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.

#2. On March 26, a worker performing silicone repair work at an apartment in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, fell to his death. The cause was the absence of a lifeline and the unstable installation of the suspended scaffold rope.

#3. On March 16, a worker fell to his death while performing leak prevention work on an apartment window frame exterior wall in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do. Although a suspended scaffold was installed, the worker did not use it and instead stepped on the window frame while working, resulting in the accident.

As accidents involving falls during exterior wall work have recently occurred repeatedly, the ‘public safety’ system is being urgently activated.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor (Minister Lee Jae-gap) and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (Director Park Doo-yong) announced on the 12th that they will intensively conduct emergency patrol site inspections and supervision for exterior wall painting and repair work on apartments and other buildings.

This measure comes after continuous accidents involving workers falling during exterior wall painting work since March, resulting in five deaths this year alone.

From March to recently, five workers have fallen at five sites during exterior wall painting and crack repair work on apartments.

In exterior wall painting and repair work mainly using suspended scaffolds, the short construction period and difficulty in understanding the site have been pointed out as blind spots in safety management through guidance and inspections.

Also, most sites are small-scale with no site supervisors or relatively insufficient safety education, making it difficult to expect autonomous safety management at the sites.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Agency decided to conduct an ‘emergency patrol’ inspection for building exterior wall work sites using suspended scaffolds for three weeks starting from the third week of April.

For exterior wall work sites, they plan to identify suspended scaffold usage sites in cooperation with related associations and organizations.

They also plan to establish an emergency patrol site inspection strategy by understanding regional characteristics in connection with local offices of the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.

The Agency will focus on guiding the three key preventive measures for suspended scaffold work targeting workers at suspended scaffold sites: ① installation of vertical lifelines, ② checking the condition of work rope knots and fastenings, and ③ checking for rope damage and wear at connection points.

During emergency inspections, defective sites will be immediately linked to industrial safety and health supervision, and strict legal action will be taken if violations are found.

The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency and private specialized institutions will also provide technical support to the headquarters of companies specializing in exterior wall construction.

In addition to patrol site inspections and supervision, major accident cases, essential preventive measures, and checklists will be distributed to workplaces and construction companies, and real-time remote video safety training will be conducted to ensure compliance with core safety rules.

Furthermore, the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency is promoting the development of a ‘fall prevention device’ incorporating new technologies such as IoT to technically reduce the risk of fall accidents caused by suspended scaffolds.