The Homeland Safety Administration (President Park Young-soo) announced on the 22nd December that the tower crane accident that occurred at the apartment building construction site in Namyangju, Gyeonggi-do on 14th October was found to be caused by non-compliance with work procedures and negligence in equipment inspection and management.
This accident occurred when the tower crane’s mast fell while working to extend the height (jacking) of the tower crane, and two workers fell to their death. After the accident, the management team formed their own accident investigation committee (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Sajo Committee’) and conducted a two-week investigation, including reviewing construction-related materials and visiting the site.
In relation to tower cranes, where accidents such as falls continue to occur due to high risk during installation and operation, management personnel have been operating the Sajo Committee since last February to more actively identify the cause of accidents and prevent similar accidents.
As a result of the investigation by the Sajo Committee, it was revealed that the regulations requiring the manager to check the operation method and safety device operation status were not followed when performing dangerous work such as tower cranes. It was confirmed that the procedure for establishing a safety management plan before installing the tower crane and obtaining approval from the licensing authority was also ignored.
In addition, the fact that the worker did not properly follow the work methods and procedures according to the safety management plan, neglect of inspection of the installation equipment before work, and improper location of the safety rod hooks were also revealed. In particular, it was also revealed that one of the two stopper lock pins, a safety device that prevents the movement of the mast, was lost and the other was not properly fastened, which was the direct cause of the accident.
Based on the results of the investigation, the Sajo Committee stated that prior to installing the tower crane, establishment of a safety management plan and compliance with approval procedures, work methods and safety education for workers, and inspection of materials and safety devices of construction equipment should be thoroughly implemented.
Director Park Young-soo said, “This accident is a backward country type accident that occurred because basic safety rules were not followed.
