Equipment entanglement in manufacturing and falls during rooftop work in construction have been identified as the most common types of high-risk serious industrial accidents.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on Wednesday released "high-risk serious accident analysis data" jointly with the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA). The statistics are based on an analysis of 6,032 serious industrial accidents that occurred from 2016 to 2023, broken down by industry, accident-causing factors, and risk-reduction measures. Previously in 2023, the ministry had released an analysis of 4,432 serious accidents that occurred from 2016 to 2021.
The analysis found that in manufacturing and other industries, equipment entanglement during non-routine work such as maintenance, replacement, cleaning, and inspection was the most frequent accident type at 262 cases. Non-routine work refers to temporary tasks where working conditions, methods, or sequences are not predetermined. The ministry noted that preventing such accidents requires shutting down equipment before performing maintenance and installing lockout devices and warning signs on equipment controls to prevent others from arbitrarily restarting machinery.
In construction, falls during roof repair or panel installation work were the most common at 158 cases. The ministry said a significant portion of fall accidents can be prevented by installing fall protection nets and safety harness attachment systems and ensuring workers properly wear safety harnesses. Installing covers over fragile roofing materials also helps prevent accidents.
Looking at the major equipment involved in accidents, forklift-related incidents were the most frequent in manufacturing and other industries, followed by heavy objects, ladders, and cranes. The ministry emphasized that since accidents in which workers are crushed due to unskilled forklift operation are frequent, companies need to ensure that unqualified workers are not allowed to operate forklifts.
The ministry expects the newly released data to help workplaces improve their own safety management standards. One company, identified as Company A, is already using the data as hands-on training material for worker safety education, while a public institution, identified as Organization B, is using it to advance its artificial intelligence-based risk assessment system.
The ministry is also providing infographic materials that make it easy to understand accident-causing factors and preventive measures for each high-risk task. Workplaces can use these materials to verify risks and safety measures during TBM (Toolbox Meetings held before starting work) or as safety and health training resources.
"If workplaces utilize actual accident case data on their own, they can more easily identify high-risk factors," said Ryu Hyun-cheol, head of the Occupational Safety and Health Division at the Ministry of Employment and Labor. "We will continue to broadly provide information that can be immediately applied in the field."
