Samsung C&T and 10 Construction Companies Join Hands to Establish 'Autonomous Safety and Health System'

Apartment construction site in Seoul city / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Noh Kyung-jo] Domestic general construction companies gathered in one place to promote a culture of autonomous safety and health management in the construction industry and to support partner companies in establishing safety and health systems.

On the afternoon of the 13th, ten domestic general construction companies, including Samsung C&T Corporation's construction division, signed the "Support Agreement for Establishing Safety and Health Systems for Major Construction Companies' Partner Firms" at the Raemian Gallery in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The companies involved are Samsung C&T, DL E&C, POSCO Engineering & Construction, GS Engineering & Construction, Daewoo E&C, Hyundai Engineering, Lotte Engineering & Construction, SK Ecoplant, HDC Hyundai Development Company, and Taeyoung Engineering & Construction.

Present at the event were Geum Jeong-su, Director of the Industrial Accident Prevention Support Division at the Ministry of Employment and Labor; Ko Kwang-jae, Head of the Seoul Metropolitan Headquarters of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency; chief safety and health officers (CSOs) of the construction companies; safety and health managers; and representatives from 41 major partner companies.

These construction companies plan to actively participate in the government's "Serious Accident Reduction Roadmap," establish an autonomous safety and health culture in the construction industry, and build a safety management system where labor and management jointly diagnose and improve risk factors. They will form a working committee for establishing safety and health systems and operate a management responsibility council involving CSOs.

Samsung C&T CSO Ahn Byung-chul stated, "To achieve the goal of preventing serious accidents, it is essential to establish a risk assessment system, which is the core of a self-regulatory prevention system, and to foster cooperative safety and health partnerships with partner companies." He added, "We will unite our efforts to carry out accident prevention activities that partner company representatives can truly feel."

The partner company representatives mentioned that through safety consulting, they have been able to establish and implement systematic safety management systems, and they believe that integrating safety systems in the construction industry will be beneficial from the perspective of partner companies.

Choi Poong-ryeol, Executive Director of Woochang Construction, said, "Last year, after receiving safety consulting from Samsung C&T, we established a risk work confirmation procedure based on a checklist," and added, "We introduced a safety management system that allows real-time communication between the site and headquarters."

Park Moo-sung, President of Changwon Gijeon, said, "From the partner company's perspective, if safety systems are integrated by construction companies, it might enhance the effectiveness of safety management even when moving between sites."