Gyeongnam Office of Education to Eliminate 'Serious Accidents' in Educational Environment

Implementation of the 2023 Serious Accident Prevention Plan

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The Gyeongnam Office of Education has established a 2023 plan for preventing major accidents.

The provincial Office of Education announced on the 27th that the prevention plan will be shared with school sites and implemented to create a safe working environment free of major accidents.

According to the provincial Office of Education, following the "Step-by-step Implementation Plan for Reducing Major Accidents" jointly announced by related ministries on November 30 last year, the risk assessment checklist and OPS (One Point Sheet) to be developed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor will be applied to school sites.

OPS is a one-page descriptive risk assessment conducted before performing simple tasks such as using elevated work platforms, which are equipment like ladders or devices that move people to work positions.

Gyeongnam Office of Education.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

The provincial Office of Education stated that last year it established a safety and health management system stipulated by law, including setting goals and management policies related to safety and health and installing a dedicated organization for major accident prevention.

As a result, it added that no major industrial accidents occurred at the 943 workplaces within the jurisdiction, including public schools and institutions.

Through the implementation of this plan, it intends to establish a self-regulatory prevention system focused on risk assessment for accident prevention, such as producing its own risk assessment criteria table.

It plans to select 50 schools for customized major accident prevention consultations and develop a safety and health work guide to be distributed in the first half of the year.

The safety and health management system connecting the provincial Office of Education, education support offices, and schools will also be strengthened.

An Seunggi, Director of Safety General Affairs, said, "Life and human rights have infinite value, and educational sites must be the safest and most peaceful places," adding, "We will create a healthy and safe work environment free of major accidents to realize an educational environment where all members are happy."