Reducing Fatalities at Construction Sites... Opening of the Safety and Health Academy for Specialized Construction Industry

KOSHA Busan Headquarters "Fostering Safety Leaders and Strengthening Safety Management Capabilities"

A practical academy to cultivate leaders in safety management for specialized construction industries has been launched.

The Specialized Construction Industry Safety and Health Academy, comprehensively supported by the Busan Employment and Labor Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Busan Regional Headquarters of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA), opened on the 28th.

This program, designed to enhance safety management capabilities for specialized construction companies in industries with frequent fatal accidents, is scheduled to run every Thursday for a total of six weeks.

Although the expansion and enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act for workplaces with fewer than 5 billion KRW in revenue took effect on January 27, 2024, it has been found that more than half of construction industry fatalities occur during processes carried out by specialized construction companies such as rebar and concrete works.

Specialized construction companies consist of 70% small businesses with fewer than 10 employees, making it difficult to establish self-regulatory prevention systems.

Accordingly, 20 representatives of specialized construction companies, selected through a prior demand survey, will undergo various training courses over six weeks, including risk assessment, establishment and implementation of safety and health management systems, and sharing of excellent on-site cases.

The Specialized Construction Industry Safety and Health Academy course includes site visits to KOSHA-MS certified construction companies and practical risk assessment exercises. Rather than one-way knowledge delivery lectures, the program will be operated in a way that encourages active participation through discussions, practice, and presentations.

Gong Heungdu, head of the Busan Regional Headquarters of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, stated, “We plan to provide customized education that reduces anxiety caused by the expansion and enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act for specialized construction industries, which have the will to reduce fatal accidents but face difficulties in implementation, by teaching applicable cases of safety and health management system establishment.”