[Report] Hyundai Heavy Industries Achieves "32% Reduction in Accident Rate" Through In-House Risk Assessment

"Reducing Workplace Accidents at Partner Companies" From On-Site Inspection Meetings to Experiential Training
Establishment of 'Safety Integrated Management Office' by Unifying Safety Organizations
Dedicated Interpretation Support for Increasing Foreign Workers

"We will now conduct an on-site risk assessment using the standard work manual. It rained early this morning; is there anyone who can point out any potential hazards?"

As the government promotes risk assessments as a means to implement the serious accident reduction roadmap and pushes for legal amendments to make them mandatory, on the 26th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor press corps visited the shipbuilding site of Ulsan HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, where workers were actively holding pre-work safety inspection meetings (TBM).

TBM is one of the core elements of risk assessment, a preliminary activity where supervisors and workers gather near the worksite with tools to discuss the work content and safety. Risk assessment refers to the process of identifying hazardous and harmful factors in the workplace, determining the likelihood and severity of injuries or illnesses, and establishing and implementing reduction measures. Through about 10 minutes of activity, they shared what hazards exist in the workplace and even checked the accident probability using an AI accident type prediction program.

On the 26th, workers from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' partner companies conducted a demonstration of a safety inspection meeting before work, while Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor (center), observed. Photo by Ministry of Employment and Labor

The reason risk assessments are emphasized in shipbuilding is that it is an industry with many high-risk tasks requiring high skill levels, such as working at heights, confined space work, various types of heavy lifting, and fire-related tasks using flammable gases like welding and cutting. Moreover, production volume fluctuates with economic cycles, leading to frequent changes in subcontractors and workforce, increasing accident risks. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 70% of recent fatal accidents in shipbuilding occurred at subcontractors, making cooperation between primary contractors and subcontractors in safety and health management extremely important.

The press corps checked the TBM safety activities on-site at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and its partner company Kumyoung Industry Co., Ltd., as well as the operation status of risk assessments and safety education for foreign workers.

Currently, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries manages workplace safety through three types of risk assessment systems: regular, occasional, and on-site, based on its own standards. Partner company workers participate in risk assessments alongside their supervisors during their company's evaluations. A risk assessment committee composed of one operating committee member and two executive committee members (one each from labor and management) is in operation, and risk assessment education is included in regular safety and health training attended by all workers. President Noh Jin-yul (Head of Safety Integrated Management Office) said, "Based on the principle of 'Safety First,' in March, the Safety Planning Office, which oversees safety policies, and the safety organizations of each business division responsible for on-site safety were integrated into the Safety Integrated Management Office (with 243 members), striving to raise workers' safety awareness."

Strengthening safety management for the increasing number of foreign workers is another focus. Executive Director Lee Jun-young of the Safety Integrated Management Office explained, "The number of workers arriving from 27 countries including China, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka has steadily increased from about 1,200 in September last year to approximately 2,400 this month." To facilitate smooth communication, the company introduced in-house dedicated interpreters and wireless transceivers and is preparing pre-employment safety learning video content for prospective employees.

For foreign workers, special safety training of 4 hours per nationality is conducted at the 7-month mark after joining, as well as 4 hours every half year. On this day, the press corps also visited the Integrated Safety Education Center located in the shipyard to observe foreign workers' training. The Integrated Safety Education Center, covering about 1,100 pyeong (approx. 3,636 square meters), provides an environment where various tasks and facility uses such as gondola, scaffolding, crane, electrical machinery, installation, crushing, painting, and welding can be practiced. It is an experiential education space where employees frequently visit for refresher training and fall experience.

An HD Hyundai Heavy Industries official explained, "This training facility was remodeled from a space originally created for ship production," adding, "Workers can experience tasks encountered on-site beyond theoretical education, as if in real situations." Instructional illustrations were attached to the training equipment so foreign workers could intuitively understand them. The training was conducted with instructors explaining usage in Korean and dedicated interpreters providing consecutive interpretation. Chan Ban-tae (34), a Thai worker in his 7th month who received tool experience training that day, said, "It is helpful to learn the training process and safety rules in my native language."

On the 26th, foreign workers are receiving safety training on tool usage at the Integrated Safety Education Center. Photo by Hyundai Heavy Industries

This year, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has planned a safety and health budget of 308.5 billion KRW, a 13.7% increase from last year's 271.2 billion KRW. They have also set goals to achieve an accident rate below 0.15, a fatality rate (number of deaths / average number of workers × 10,000) below 0.29, and a safety culture index above 3.7 by 2027. Thanks to these efforts, the accident rate in the first quarter of this year decreased by 32% compared to the same period last year.

Vice Chairman Han Young-seok said, "We will build an autonomous safety management system centered on risk assessment, diagnose safety levels through our integrated safety culture diagnostic program, and strive to create a workplace without blind spots by advancing intelligent control systems," adding, "We will continue activities to improve the overall safety culture level."

Efforts to improve the dual structure between primary and subcontractors are ongoing. In February, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries signed the 'Shipbuilding Industry Dual Structure Improvement Win-Win Agreement.' This agreement was made between the five major shipbuilders (Samsung Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries) including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and subcontractors. It includes increasing payments from primary contractors to subcontractors, raising wage increase rates for subcontractor workers, and reducing re-subcontracting by converting them into in-house partner companies. An HD Hyundai Heavy Industries official stated, "We hold monthly working-level meetings attended by executives responsible for the five shipbuilders with the Ministry of Employment and Labor to review the implementation status of each shipbuilder's agreement tasks," adding, "We are preparing to ensure the win-win agreement is positively implemented by forming related organizations and internal task forces." The government plans to prepare a comprehensive plan to improve the dual structure of the labor market by June.

Meanwhile, on the 22nd, the Ministry of Employment and Labor revised the 'Guidelines on Workplace Risk Assessment' (notice). The previously complex and difficult methods, which led to low participation in small and medium-sized workplaces, were simplified, and worker participation throughout the evaluation process was guaranteed. Minister Lee Jung-sik said, "When it comes to safety, primary and subcontractors must coexist as one body based on the revamped risk assessment," urging, "Primary contractors should take the lead in supporting various measures to improve the safety and health levels of subcontractors."