Korean Fire Safety Associations Hold Policy Forum at National Assembly on Preventing Fires at Small Logistics Facilities

The Korea Fire Safety Education and Culture Association and the Korea Mutual Manufacturing Federation held a policy forum at the National Assembly on Aug. 30 on preventing fires at small logistics facilities and strengthening firefighting safety competitiveness. The forum was organized against the backdrop of recent repeated fires at logistics facilities, and was attended by Kim Hyun-jung, chairman of the Korea Fire Safety Education and Culture Association, and Han Kyung-hee, president of the Korea Mutual Manufacturing Federation.

The forum focused on small logistics facilities, which face shortages of safety management personnel and limited room for facility investment, and examined the structural risk factors behind fires at logistics facilities while seeking effective fire prevention policies and ways to support safety investment. In particular, participants discussed moving away from an approach centered on response and recovery after an accident.

The discussions focused on policy and institutional tasks such as improving aging electrical systems, conducting preemptive risk checks, strengthening firefighting safety education, and expanding investment in preventive equipment. The goal was to build a preventive safety management system.

The forum was moderated by Professor Kwon Young-jin of Hoseo University, and Professor Kim Dong-jun delivered the main presentation on the current state of fire risks at small logistics facilities and policy tasks for preventive safety management. Referring to recent warehouse fire cases, Kim pointed to the fire risk issues facing small logistics facilities.

Kim pointed out the structural risk factors of small logistics facilities and explained the need to manage aging electrical systems. He also stressed the need for preventive safety management, saying that the impact of fires at logistics facilities could extend beyond damage to individual workplaces to manufacturing and logistics supply chains and industrial competitiveness.

Subsequent discussions addressed institutional improvements and support measures to boost safety investment in small logistics facilities. Specifically, participants discussed tailored safety equipment improvements for small and medium-sized enterprises, the establishment of an investment support system, building a model for safety inspections, education and facility improvements through public-private cooperation, policy improvements to expand a preventive safety management system, and institutional reforms to broaden such a system.

The expert discussion included Seo Dong-gu, senior research fellow at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology; Kim Dong-jun; Song Soon-geun, safety officer at the National Fire Agency; Dr. Shin I-cheol of the Fire Insurers Laboratories of Korea; Han Kyo-hoon, senior research fellow representing the Korea Mutual Manufacturing Federation; and Ham Wan-su from ARC Division at I&C Technology Co. Participants offered a range of views from the perspectives of research institutions, government, safety organizations, and industrial sites.

Those attending agreed that small logistics facilities may have less room to invest in safety equipment than large logistics centers, and may also lack specialized safety management personnel compared with large logistics centers. Based on these conditions, participants said the safety response foundation at small logistics facilities could be relatively weak.

They also reached agreement on the need for practical safety inspections rather than simply tightening regulations. They further agreed on the need for facility improvement support, education linkage, and a comprehensive support system, emphasizing the need for an assistance approach that covers inspection, improvement, and education.

Chairman Kim Hyun-jung said the significance of the forum lay in discussing safety issues at small logistics facilities as a task directly linked not to individual workplaces alone, but to the competitiveness of the industry as a whole. The discussions were significant in that they treated the safety of these facilities not as an issue for individual sites, but as a matter connected to industrial competitiveness.

The association said it will make strengthening firefighting safety education and field-centered preventive activities its policy direction. It plans to actively promote an environment in which fire risk factors at industrial sites can be identified in advance and managed ahead of time. President Han Kyung-hee said that for the continued growth of manufacturing and logistics industries, safety investment is needed alongside productivity and efficiency, and that building a preventive system must proceed in parallel.

The two organizations said they view safety investment not simply as a cost, but as a key factor in enhancing corporate sustainability and industrial competitiveness. Accordingly, they plan to cooperate on improving safety equipment in consideration of the realities of small and medium-sized enterprises, and will also pursue expanded cooperation on education and expanded policy support. They also said they will continue their partnership.

Kim Joong-il, secretary-general of the Korea Fire Safety Education and Culture Association, said fires at logistics facilities are not limited to damage at individual workplaces, and that their impact extends not only to workers' lives and safety but also to manufacturing and distribution supply chains and the local economy. He added that it is necessary to move away from a response-after-an-accident approach and transition to a preventive safety management system centered on identifying and removing risk factors in advance.

Kim explained that small logistics facilities are aware of the importance of safety, but may struggle to make active safety investments because of cost, staffing, and expertise issues. He said the burden on the field should not be shifted to companies alone, and that joint participation by the government, expert organizations, and industry is needed. He added that building a practical support system linking safety inspections, education, and facility improvements is important.

The Korea Fire Safety Education and Culture Association said it will push to strengthen field-centered firefighting safety education based on the opinions from the forum and experts. It also said it will continue to propose fire prevention education and institutional reform measures aimed at providing practical support for small logistics facilities.

The Korea Fire Safety Education and Culture Association and the Korea Mutual Manufacturing Federation said they plan to continue policy research aimed at reducing fire risks at industrial sites, including small logistics facilities, following this policy forum at the National Assembly. They also plan to continue developing firefighting safety education and safety management models.

Based on expert opinions and industry feedback presented at the forum, they also plan to work to establish preventive firefighting safety policies on the ground. To this end, they will expand cooperation with relevant organizations and actively work to prepare safety education support measures and facility improvement support measures that small and medium-sized enterprises can actually feel.

Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Kyung-joo
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406315

References

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