earticle

영어

The use of machinery and equipment requiring minimal human intervention has increased along with continuous improvements in safety technology. Nevertheless, industrial accidents such as entanglement and cutting caused by machinery still occur frequently. This study examines whether the rules on occupational safety and health standards sufficiently incorporate the key elements necessary to ensure machinery safety. To do this, 4M (Man, Machine, Media, Management) risk analysis was applied to the relevant provisions of the rules and 366 cases of serious industrial accidents that occurred over the past three years (2021–2023). The analysis revealed that the current rules are heavily weighted toward managementrelated obligations, while preventive provisions addressing human factors are lacking. Furthermore, many types of machinery involved in actual accidents were found to fall within regulatory blind spots. These findings indicate that the current rules do not adequately reflect technological changes in industrial environments. Therefore, to be more effective, the current framework needs to shift from an individual machinery and equipment-focused approach to a risk-based approach.