Suggestion of an Improved Evaluation Method of Construction Companies’ Industrial Accident Prevention Activities in South Korea

Sung-Yong Kang, Seongi Min, Deokhee Won, Young-Jong Kang and Seungjun Kim
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Sung-Yong Kang: School of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Seongi Min: School of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Deokhee Won: Maritime ICT R&D Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Busan 49111, Korea
Young-Jong Kang: School of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
Seungjun Kim: School of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-25

Abstract: Workers in the construction industry are constantly exposed to dangers during work that can lead to death or disability. Despite recent advances in construction technology, the presence of these risks for workers has become an unresolved social problem. In particular, most companies often recognize that it is necessary to mitigate against risks posed to worker only after an accident has occurred. Recently, there has been an increasing demand for the development of new safety technologies and policy proposals to ensure the safety of workers during construction or work. However, the right solution is not coping after an accident but preventing it, and this must be accompanied by voluntary efforts by the company. To work toward such solutions, Korea is implementing an evaluation of construction companies’ industrial accident prevention activities without legal regulations or coercion to encourage voluntary accident prevention activities by companies. The purpose of this study is to propose an effective improvement direction for the system implemented by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. First, by analyzing the details of the system and the data of the evaluation results, the system’s effectiveness and rationality are reviewed, and steps for improvement are determined. Next, an evaluation model is proposed considering the size of the company to be evaluated and the level of safety and health, and its validity is verified through a survey of construction workers. Finally, a plan to induce the voluntary participation of construction companies in this system and the role of the supervisory authority are presented. This study is expected to serve as an important example of an effective safety policy model by encouraging companies’ voluntary efforts to prevent accidents in the construction industry and raise the level of potential safety and health awareness.

Keywords: construction safety; pre-disaster prevention; occupational safety and health policy; policy and institutional research; questionnaire (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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