• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.95-102
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• 2014

The number of industrial accident victims in the construction industry accounts for 1/3 of those in the entire industries and about 30% of the total compensation costs are spent in the construction industry. As such, the construction industry is a typical industry causing numerous safety accidents. This study analyzes the status of industrial accidents in small scale construction sites to build maximum five-story buildings by examining statistical data for the past five years, investigating those construction sites and conducting interviews with the workers. This study also seeks the causes of and measures for industrial accidents in the small scale construction industry through comparison with relevant systems. The findings are as follows: (1) To reduce hazard rate, shaping the working environment and safety measures that take into account the physically weak classes of the middle aged and the aging are urgently required, because 62.9% of the industrial accidents in the construction industry occurred to those who are 50 years of age or older. (2) The hazard rate at small scale construction sites with less than 10 construction workers accounts for 55% of that of the entire industries. The government, in this context, needs to support finance or technology and improve system by selecting the small scale construction sites, where industrial accidents occur frequently. (3) Because the hazard rate of unskilled workers with less than 6 months of work experience accounts for 90.95% of the total, safety education needs to be concentrated on those unskilled workers. (4) The relevant standards need to be segmented and revised and bolstered, given that 64.79% of death disaster in the construction industry occurs in the temporary structures including scaffolds and ladders.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.45-53
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• 2018

The construction work to establish a safety management plan should be carried out Design for Safety(DFS) task by the designers from May 2016 according to the amendment of the Construction Technology Promotion Act. However, designers lack experience in construction work and lack of information on safety accidents, so it is not easy to predict a disaster that may occur during the construction phase. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide information about disasters that can occur in each construction work in order to enable designers to efficiently perform DFS task in the design phase. In this study, the construction work was classified by work unit and the disaster risk assessment was conducted using the Failure Mode and Effect Analysis technique. The disaster information by work unit analyzed in this study can be used to provide designers with an alternative to prevent disasters at the design stage. Disaster information by work unit of apartment construction can be used by designers to prepare an alternative for disaster prevention at the design stage.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.199-206
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• 2021

The robot is an effective means to perform repetitive tasks quickly and accurately. It could be more effective in dangerous environments where human is difficult to access. The construction site is a dangerous environment with a high possibility of industrial accidents where heavy work is frequently carried out at a high place. In particular, an accident in the construction site is highly likely to lead to a severe disaster. Of course, various technologies are being developed to monitor the safety of workers in construction sites and prevent accidents, but there is a limit to eliminate the risk of accidents. Therefore, it is necessary to make efforts to replace workers exposed to dangerous environments with equipment or robots that could be controlled remotely in a more active way. In this study, Remote Precise Installation System was proposed to replace the workers exposed to the risk of accident at a high place during the bridge construction. Also, the conceptual design and analytical reviews of this system were carried out. Suppose Remote Precise Installation System is developed according to the derived concept and the target performance. In that case, this system is expected to be applied as a technology that can effectively replace the workers at the bridge construction site.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.221-229
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• 1998

This study, with a view point to prevent accidents arising from steel structure, construction process, has taken an approach of reviewing related materials and construction safety guidelines, conducting questionnaire surveys and on field surveys. This study has also analyzed and classified accident cases and disclosed elements concerned with those accidents. A comparative analysis of the disclosed elements against the statutory provisions regarding industrial safety and it showed that strict observance of safety rules of the accident prevention measures in industrial safety standards will result in a decrease in accidents. It is concluded, however, that additional accident prevention measures, as suggested below, should be implemented for performing of more practical and positive accident prevention. 1) Thorough review and preparation at pre-working stage at sites : Such elements of fall preventing facilely as supporting ropes and steel fabrications for safety guard rails should be initially reflected on detailed drawings and shop drawings so that they can be installed in advance at fabricating plants. 2) Sets of steel frame stairs for work platform should be installed or secured with priority and temporary installation of such prefabricated platform as scaffolds should be installed in advance with those platform attached to the frame members on the ground whenever possible before they are lifted. 3) A decrease in the rate of accident by more than 10% on Tuesdays and Thursdays, has been shown from the accident analysis so schedule of construction process should consider possible weekday of high risk of accidents such as Tuesday and Thursday. 4) An array of systemized safety activities should be adopted, such as legal installation of safety facilities based on advance safety management plan, maintenance of safety for machinery and construction equipment, and strict compliance of safety rules by workers.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.102-106
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• 2012

This paper was carried out to survey fire hazard and improvement at the drain pump in air-conditioners. Based on the results of analysis, the proposal of electrical accidents prevention and a construction improvement are as follows. A power connection of the drain pump has two types, an electrical outlet type and direct connection type at control board of air-conditioner. The electrical outlet types need a bulletin sign or education as malfunction of the drain pump include an additional accidents, current leakage and overflowing with water on the floor from breaker trip by exterior cause and breaker off by mistake of worker. On the other hand, the direct connection types prevent a power interruption as exterior cause, but it has some trouble, cut of ground cable and without protection device. Usually it doesn't work by electrician when air-conditioner and the drain pump power work. Therefore an education or countermeasures are recommended for not electrician. Generally malfunction of the drain pump causes accumulated materials into the tank. Even though the accumulated materials lead to an overheating and burning as failure of detector occur an idling, periodic inspection of the air-conditioner filter and the drain pump tank prevent the trouble.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.496-504
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• 2021

Background: With the increasing demand for industrial robots and the "noncontact" trend, it is an appropriate point in time to examine whether risk assessments conducted for robot operations are performed effectively to identify and eliminate the risks of injury or harm to operators. This study discusses why robot accidents resulting in harm to operators occur repetitively despite implementing control measures and proposes corrective actions for risk assessments. Methods: This study collected 369 operator-injured robot accidents in Korea over the last decade and reconstructed them into the mechanism of injury, work being undertaken, and bodily location of the injury. Then, through the techniques of Systematic Cause Analysis Technique (SCAT) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA), this study analyzed the root and direct causes of robot accidents that had occurred. Causes identified included physical hazards and complex combinations of hazards, such as psychological, organizational, and systematic errors. The requirements of risk assessments regarding robot operations were examined, and three case studies of robot-involved tasks were investigated. The three assessments presented were: camera module processing, electrical discharge machining, and a panel-flipping robot installation. Results: After conducting RCA and comparing the three assessments, it was found that two-thirds of injury-occurring from robot accidents, causative factors included psychological and personal traits of robot operators. However, there were no evaluations of the identifications of personal aspects in the three assessment cases. Conclusion: Therefore, it was concluded that personal factors of operators, which had been overlooked in risk assessments so far, need to be included in future risk assessments on robot operations.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.265-273
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• 2023

To effectively and safely manage the radiation exposure to nuclear power plant (NPP) workers in accidents, major overseas NPP operators such as the United States, Germany, and France have developed and applied realistic 3D model radiation dose assessment software for workers. Continuous research and development have recently been conducted, such as performing NPP accident management using 3D-VR based on As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) planning tool. In line with this global trend, it is also required to secure technology to manage radiation exposure of workers in Korea efficiently. Therefore, in this paper, it is described the application method and assessment results of radiation exposure scenarios for workers in response to accidents assessment technology, which is one of the fundamental technologies for constructing a realistic platform to be utilized for radiation exposure prediction, diagnosis, management, and training simulations following accidents. First, the post-accident sampling after the Loss of Coolant Accident(LOCA) was selected as the accident and response scenario, and the assessment area related to this work was established. Subsequently, the structures within the assessment area were modeled using MCNP, and the radiation source of the equipment was inputted. Based on this, the radiation dose distribution in the assessment area was assessed. Afterward, considering the three principles of external radiation protection (time, distance, and shielding) detailed work scenarios were developed by varying the number of workers, the presence or absence of a shield, and the location of the shield. The radiation exposure doses received by workers were compared and analyzed for each scenario, and based on the results, the optimal accident response scenario was derived. The results of this study plan to be utilized as a fundamental technology to ensure the safety of workers through simulations targeting various reactor types and accident response scenarios in the future. Furthermore, it is expected to secure the possibility of developing a data-based ALARA decision support system for predicting radiation exposure dose at NPP sites.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.1-8
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• 2020

Mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) consist of a work platform, extending structure, and chassis, and are used to move persons to working positions. MEWPs are useful but are composed of pieces of equipment, and accidents do occur owing to equipment defects. Among these defects, accidents caused by the fracture of bolts fixed to the extension structure and swing system are increasing. This paper presents a failure analysis of the fixing bolts of MEWP. Standard procedure for failure analysis was employed in this investigation. Visual inspection, chemical analysis, tensile strength measurement, microstructural characterization, fractography analysis by Optical Microscope(OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM), and finite element analysis (FEA) were used to analyze the failure of the fixing bolts. Using this failure analysis approach, we found the root cause of failure and proposed a means for solving this type of failure in the future. First, the chemical composition of the fixing bolt is obtained by a spectroscopy chemical analysis method, which determined that the chemical composition matched the required standard. The tensile test showed that the tensile and yield strengths were within the required capacity. The stress analysis was carried out at five different boom angles, and it was determined that the fixing bolt of MEWP can withstand the loads at all the boom angles. The outcomes of the fatigue analysis revealed that the fixing bolt fails before reaching the design requirements. The results of the fatigue analysis showed primarily that the failure of the fixing bolt was due to fatigue. A visual inspection of the fractured section of the fixing bolt also confirmed the fatigue failure. We propose a method to prevent failure of the fixing bolt of the MEWP from four different standpoints: the manufacturer, safety certification authority, safety inspection agency, and owner.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.138-142
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• 2016

Background: Household waste collectors (HWCs) are exposed to hazardous conditions. This study investigates the patterns of workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs. Methods: This study uses cases of workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs that occurred between 2010 and 2011. We analyzed 325 cases of injuries and 36 cases of illnesses according to the workers' age, length of employment, size of workplace, injured part of body, day and month of injury, type of accident, agency of accident, and collection process. Results: There were significant differences in the effect of workers' length of employment, injured part of body, type of accident, agency of accident, and collection process. Results show that most injuries occur in workers in their 50s and older. This study also shows that 51.4% of injuries occur at businesses with 49 employees or fewer. Injuries to waste collectors happen most often when workers are electrocuted after slipping on the ground. The second most prevalent form of injury is falling, which usually happens when workers hang from the rear of the truck during transportation or otherwise slip and fall from the truck. Work-related illnesses amongst waste collectors are mostly musculoskeletal conditions due to damaging postures. Conclusion: These findings will be instructive in devising policies and guidelines for preventing workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.229-233
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• 2011

Recently, the scale of buildings has been increasing because of the high-rise trend and complexity of underground spaces. A significant number of steel structures have therefore been adopted for building construction. Since workers need to work in high places to install steel beams, many industrial accidents easily occur during steel-frame work. Furthermore, considering the increasing trend of building steel structures, the safety of the workers during the steel beam erection work is of concern. To improve the safety, a new type of joint, located between the steel column and beam, which can eliminate the need for working at the elevated height during steel beam erection has been developed in Korea. Using the newly developed technology in the construction field, the safety performance needs to be evaluated. This study presented the safety evaluation approach for the newly developed technology from the literature review, and applied the method to a self-supported steel joint. The result showed that applying the self-supported steel joint improved the safety of the steel erection work in terms of working posture, working environment, and risk exposure time.