Smart technology is being utilized in safety patrols to identify risks in small businesses vulnerable to industrial accidents, using drones to capture hazards and artificial intelligence (AI) to select high-risk workplaces.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) announced on July 9 that they held the '2026 Safe Workplace Guardians Best Practices Presentation' at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
The 'Safe Workplace Guardians' program involves retired professionals with safety and health knowledge and practical experience who regularly patrol small businesses at risk of industrial accidents. Launched this year, approximately 1,000 individuals are currently active, aiming for about 280,000 patrols annually since February.
During the presentation, examples were shared of how guardians identified hazards through their patrols, leading to actual improvements in working conditions. Guardians teamed up with business managers from 31 frontline KOSHA agencies to participate.
In Daegu, a joint drone team of guardians and KOSHA discovered a construction site on a solar panel installation roof that lacked fall prevention measures while patrolling the industrial complex. The drone team urgently alerted a nearby roof guardian, who immediately responded and requested improvements. Subsequently, safety measures were enhanced, allowing the project to be completed without incidents.
Another example involved using AI to identify workplaces with high risks of industrial accidents and focus patrol efforts. In Ulsan, a guardian visited a roofing construction site to collect baseline data, which was then analyzed by AI to create a customized map that provided an overview of the construction status.
The AI chatbot classified the workplace's risk levels from high to low based on the collected information and selected priority targets for focused management from ranks one to four, allowing guardians to concentrate their patrol efforts on the highest-risk sites.
Notably, around 200 guardians are dedicated to overseeing roofing and solar panel construction sites, which are particularly prone to fall accidents.
On this day, four teams received awards for excellence and the grand prize, each receiving a certificate from the Minister of Labor and cash prizes of 1 million and 700,000 won, respectively. Four additional teams received certificates from the KOSHA chairman and cash prizes of 500,000 won.
The award-winning cases will be produced into short-form videos and case studies for distribution to guardians nationwide and frontline KOSHA agencies. They will also be made available on a website for use by small businesses and local governments.
Ryu Hyun-cheol, head of the Ministry of Labor's Industrial Safety and Health Bureau, stated, "The award-winning cases are significant as they contribute to closing the risk gap between small businesses and large corporations by conducting tailored patrol activities targeting small businesses with high fatal accident risks. We will strive to ensure effective patrols in small businesses that are difficult to reach with safety management efforts."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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