No.161 / Dec 12, 2022
Korea is in danger! Recently, industrial sites have turned into disaster sites. The causes are various although carelessness of workers, lack of safety equipment, and mechanical equipment defects are among them. Although many guidelines are implemented because of the high rate of industrial accidents occurring every year, there has not been a dramatic corresponding decrease in accident rates.
The first case happened in a SPC Group factory and involved a sauce mixing machine that had caused small accidents previously. The worker was using the equipment when their apron was sucked into the machine, causing their upper body to get stuck. The worker died at the scene. Although there were approximately 40 workers at the scene, the accident was very sudden, and so all they could do was pull the body out from the machine. A similar accident occurred at the Nongshim factory. Fortunately, this accident did not result in casualties, however, it was also dangerous. A worker was cooling noodles when her right arm got stuck. She had previously suffered two previous accidents and was promised to be excluded from the automation machine process; however she was ordered to work in the automation machine process again which resulted in serious injuries.
A common factor in both cases is that the accidents occurred at dawn, which can cause a decrease in concentration due to sleepiness. Another factor is the lack of safety equipment. First of all, in both accidents, the victims were two-shift factory workers, and it can be assumed that victims were fatigued because they had even applied for additional work. This means that workers complete tasks without having adequate rest. Another important factor is a lack of safety equipment. If there was safety equipment such as Interlock, these two victims could have avoided accidents. Then, what is Interlock? There are various uses of Interlock, however, a common use is to stop a machine in an emergency and to notify the occurrence of accidents. It is easily accessible too. Imagine that an elevator door automatically opens when it senses the contact of our body or another object. This everyday equipment could have saved two victims from accidents. Many factories do not install this type of safety equipment because of costs. Both incidents could have been prevented if the companies were properly equipped.
These industrial accidents attract attention, although briefly, and industrial accidents continued to occur while the problems are regularly highlighted. Workers should aim to reduce accidents because industrial accidents are not all due to the facility. It is clear that companies need to create safe workplaces for all workers.
By Seo Myoung-jae, AG Cub Reporter
smj001209s@ajou.ac.kr