○ Gyeonggi Province conducted ‘Industrial Accident Prevention Inspection and Consulting Services’ over two-week period from October 11 to 22

○ Inspection teams visited 118 sites in five cities and counties, focusing on four major causes of industrial accidents, and provided safety training and consulting services
– Inspection teams identified 298 risk factors including falling, trapping, collision, and fire/explosion, and issued 250 correction requests while providing consulting services

○ Inspection methods and consulting services that provide tailored instructions for individual sites received positive responses; Gyeonggi Province plans to expand services in 2022

In response to growing public concern over the increased number of industrial accident fatalities and a series of large fires at logistics centers, Gyeonggi Province revealed on the November 9 that it conducted ‘Industrial Accident Prevention Inspection and Consulting Services’ in order to promote worker safety.

The purpose of the inspection and consulting services was to promote a culture of safety at industrial sites in Gyeonggi Province. The services were conducted separately through the Labor Safety Guardians program that the 31 cities and counties of the province had been promoting previously.

The inspections were conducted by teams comprised of officials of each city and county who oversee industrial accident prevention and the Labor Safety Guardians. The inspection teams visited 118 high-risk work sites (construction/building sites, manufacturing sites, and transportation/warehouse enterprises) based in five regions including the cities of Hwaseong, Yongin, Pocheon, Namyangju, and Icheon over a two-week period that ran from October 11 to 22.

The focus of the inspections were four major causes of industrial accidents including falling, trapping, collision, and fire/explosion. The teams identified 298 risk factors and requested corrections in 250 cases.

The inspection results revealed that falling accounted for 108 cases (36%) while collision accounted for 95 cases (32%). The two causes accounted for 68% of the total risk factors. Falling (89 cases) was the greatest risk factor at construction sites, trapping and collision (28 cases each) at manufacturing sites, and collision (67 cases) at transportation and warehouse sites.

Of particular note, the inspections found that workers at small construction sites often did not wear safety helmets. There were a number of areas that needed improvement such as safety rail insufficiencies that could cause falling accidents, unstable footholds at entrances, and problematic construction material loading on scaffolds.

In addition to the inspections, the team also provided safety management training for site managers and workers, and urged industrial sites that lacked safety measures to make voluntary improvements through consulting services.

Many business managers indicated that the program, unlike conventional one-way inspections, provided practical help through the tailored consulting services that encourage voluntary participation and improvements. The regular visits and on-site instructions provided by the teams also garnered positive responses.

Gyeonggi Province plans to continue the Labor Safety Guardian program in its 31 cities and counties in 2022, and will also expand industrial accident inspections and consulting services for high-risk businesses and regions.

Kim Jong-gu, Director General of the Labor Bureau, announced, “The Gyeonggi Provincial Government will take the lead in eliminating preventable industrial accidents and creating safe labor environments. In administration, ‘fairness’ is a competitive advantage while ‘safety’ is for industrial sites. We will continue to make utmost efforts to protect the lives of workers at industrial sites based in Gyeonggi Province.”

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province has been making various related efforts by promoting the sharing of labor supervising authority between central and local governments, providing industrial accident prevention training, certifying exceptional labor safety and health businesses, and operating the Labor Safety Guardians program.

This year, Gyeonggi Province conducted 16,391 inspections at 11,272 business sites based in Gyeonggi Province through the Labor Safety Guardians program, and followed through with 8,373 correction requests (as of September 30).