On-site Inspections Every Two Weeks... 40% Decrease in Fall and Crushing Fatal Accidents

Safety and Health Gong "Strengthening Inspections of Workplaces with 50 or More Employees"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency announced on the 29th that since the introduction of the 'Field Inspection Day' in July, fatal accidents caused by falls and entrapments at industrial sites have decreased by about 40% over three months. The Field Inspection Day is a measure where the agency and the government visit workplaces nationwide every two weeks to conduct surprise safety inspections.

According to data released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, from July to the 15th of this month, fatal accidents caused by falls and entrapments decreased by 41 cases (37.6%) compared to the same period last year. Fatal accidents at construction sites with a project cost of over 5 billion won decreased from 49 to 38, and those at construction sites with a project cost under 5 billion won decreased by 3 cases from 120 last year to 117. Fatal accidents at manufacturing workplaces with fewer than 50 employees decreased by 9 cases from 50 to 41. However, despite surprise inspections, fatal accidents at manufacturing workplaces with 50 or more employees increased to 31 cases.

The agency stated that the field inspections were mainly conducted at workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, where violations of the three major safety measures are relatively frequent, indicating that management of manufacturing workplaces with 50 or more employees was somewhat insufficient.

The agency plans to strengthen inspections of workplaces with 50 or more employees where fatal accidents have increased. Especially since the 'Serious Accidents Punishment Act' will be enforced on January 27 next year, they decided to focus their efforts during the remaining three months. An agency official said, "When visiting manufacturing sites, it is common to find that power switches are not properly managed with lockout devices during work," adding, "We will guide and inspect to ensure that safety procedures are properly followed, including managing power devices, encouraging the installation of lockout devices on equipment such as circuit breakers, and posting warning signs."

Park Duyong, the agency's director, said, "We will also provide financial support to improve risk factors, and above all, we will do our best to ensure that safety functions properly on site."