Lotte Engineering & Construction, Anyang Labor Office sign construction safety MOU

Lee Dae-pung (left), head of the safety and health division at Lotte Engineering & Construction, and Choi Jong-su (right), chief of the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Anyang branch office, sign an MOU for the "Construction Safety Stepping Stone Project" at Safety ON, a safety experience center inside the Lotte Human Resources Development Institute in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday. [Lotte Engineering & Construction]

Lotte Engineering & Construction signed an MOU with the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Anyang branch office on Monday at Safety ON, a safety experience center inside the Lotte Human Resources Development Institute in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, to advance the "Construction Safety Stepping Stone Project."

The signing ceremony was attended by Lee Dae-pung, head of the safety and health division at Lotte Engineering & Construction, Choi Jong-su, chief of the Anyang branch office, and other senior officials from both organizations.

The Construction Safety Stepping Stone Project is a Ministry of Employment and Labor initiative that links private and public safety experience facilities so construction workers in the area can experience accident risks firsthand. Under the agreement, Lotte Engineering & Construction will work with the Anyang branch office to strengthen workers' safety and health capabilities and support industrial accident prevention across the construction sector. Starting next month, the company will provide monthly training sessions at Safety ON for workers at small and midsize construction sites and partner companies in areas under the Anyang branch office's jurisdiction — including Gwacheon, Gunpo and Anyang's Dongan District — drawing on field-oriented safety experience content, short-form videos and other training materials developed and operated by Lotte Engineering & Construction.

Safety ON opened in February 2022 and spans approximately 1,160 square meters. The facility houses 14 types of safety management experience stations and four types of health management experience stations, along with a virtual reality room where visitors can simulate 33 types of workplace accidents using VR headsets. Training courses are divided into three tracks — hands-on experience, practical skills and specialized programs — each combining theory, practice and assessment. Through June, more than 12,800 people had completed training at Safety ON, including staff from Lotte Engineering & Construction's headquarters and project sites, Lotte Group affiliates, partner companies and external organizations such as the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Lotte Engineering & Construction recently received a "Private Safety Experience Education Facility" certification from the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency in recognition of its efforts to spread a safety culture and prevent industrial accidents through hands-on training programs. Last month, the company conducted safety experience training for Osan University's Department of Safety and Health Management and Korea Expressway Corporation. Additional sessions are scheduled for the second half of this year for the Korea Road Traffic Authority, Cheongpyeong High School and Korea Mobility High School.

"Through this agreement, we will work with the Anyang branch office to expand opportunities for more workers at small and midsize construction sites and partner companies in the region to receive safety experience training at Safety ON, and we will take the lead in spreading a safety culture and preventing industrial accidents," a Lotte Engineering & Construction official said.

Meanwhile, Lotte Engineering & Construction has introduced a heat index IoT monitoring platform at 80 construction sites nationwide to prevent heat-related illness during the summer heat wave.

hwshin@heraldcorp.com