Changwon Metropolitan City To Conduct Safety Inspections of Facilities Ahead of Thawing Season

16 Operational Facilities and 107 National River Structures

Intensive Safety Inspections at 2 Construction Sites

Changwon Metropolitan City in South Gyeongsang Province will carry out intensive safety inspections to prevent safety accidents during the thawing season (a period when rising temperatures weaken the ground). The inspections will cover 16 facilities under its jurisdiction, including the Changwon Municipal Household Waste Recycling Complex, 107 facilities located within national rivers, and 2 sites including the Daejangcheon disaster recovery construction site.

Climate and Environment Bureau to carry out safety inspections ahead of the thaw season.

The safety inspections will be conducted intensively for two weeks until March 6, and the city also plans to strengthen safety management by operating a year-round, continuous inspection system in parallel.

For this inspection, 19 people will be organized into 8 teams. The head of each responsible department will serve as the team leader, and staff members in charge of each facility will participate to carry out on-site, field-focused checks. In particular, the inspections will focus on whether obligations to ensure workers' safety and health, as required by relevant laws and regulations, are being fulfilled.

Key inspection items for facilities will include: whether safety and health education is being provided; whether safety and health councils are being formed and operated and whether records of their outcomes are being preserved; whether workplace patrol inspections are being carried out; and whether joint safety and health inspections and work environment inspection systems are in place. Key inspection items for construction sites will include: the status of safety management for cut slopes and excavation slopes; whether retaining walls, masonry walls, and stone embankments show any signs of loss or damage; and whether safety measures are in place on-site and construction materials are properly organized and stored.

To enhance the objectivity of the inspections and the effectiveness of on-site implementation, the Climate Environment Bureau will use inspection checklists to record the results and will keep separate records of the list of participants and supporting documents, thereby strengthening follow-up management.

As a result of the safety inspections, minor issues will be corrected immediately on site. If any hazardous conditions are found, emergency measures such as restricting access will be taken, followed by repair and reinforcement works to eliminate identified risk factors in advance and to establish fundamental countermeasures.

Lee Yujeong, Director of the Climate Environment Bureau, said, "During the thawing season, safety risks to facilities increase due to ground weakening and other factors, so we will do our utmost for prevention in advance by ensuring thorough safety management through continuous supervision and oversight."