4. Discussion
4.1. Need for transition from safety device regulation to more balanced regulations on both manufacturers and users
Managerial and educational causes accounting for only 22.64% of all industrial accidents associated with industrial machines in Table 1, and the number of safety inspection items and the effectiveness of safety device regulation on users being limited, industrial safety policies need to be directed towards eliminating the sources of danger at the stage of danger creation, thereby securing the safe items. Safety inspection complements either safety certification or self-declaration of conformity, further securing the safety of workers at the stage of danger use. The overall balance between such direct safety regulations is achieved by proper distribution of items in their item lists and the intensity of each regulation. Selection of items for a particular safety regulation will also depend on the characteristics of each item.
Unlike the cases in the Republic of Korea where users of industrial machines in the workplace have more responsibilities for maintaining the safety of machines, the safety of industrial machines is secured at the stage of manufacture in most developed countries. Machine guarding regulation in the USA, for example, requires every mechanical power press to be equipped with Presence Sensing Device for certification [14]. Only when attachment of machine guarding is not possible at the stage of manufacture, the employer (user in our context) has the responsibility to secure the machine guarding elsewhere for the safety of employees [15]. Mechanical or hydraulic press in Germany is subject to CE marking and certification standards also require Presence Sensing Device to be attached on the machine at the stage of manufacture [16,17]. Such a regulation to remove the source of danger at the stage of manufacture is very effective even for industrial machines where the levels of danger associated are high. Recent industrial accident data announced by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Germany confirms that the number of deaths associated with presses has been kept to zero or near zero [2]. Such a safety device or function on presses is, however, subject to the user’s installation as required by safety device regulation in the Republic of Korea. As more responsibility is put on users of industrial machines by safety device regulation in the Republic of Korea, a transition from such a direct regulation on users to more balanced direct regulations on both manufacturers and users appears to be the next steps to take for more effectiveness of regulations.
