Interview with Lee Sang-cheol, leader of grand prize-winning KDT hackathon team TIMÓN
Safety checks, accident response — no extra hardware needed
“We will build a tool that cuts accident risk by even 1 percent”
"Rather than waiting for a perfect system, it is important to find one more risk factor being overlooked on-site right now, and to keep one more safety record," said Lee Sang-cheol, leader of the "TIMÓN" team, in his acceptance remarks after winning the Prime Minister's Award, the grand prize, at the eighth K-Digital Training Hackathon. "We will upgrade the platform so it becomes a tool that reduces accident probability by even 1 percent."
The TIMÓN team developed SafeLedger, an artificial intelligence platform that supports safety inspections and accident response using only workers' smartphones, with no additional hardware required.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Institute for Vocational Competency Evaluation at Korea University of Technology and Education held the eighth KDT Hackathon over two nights and three days starting Sept. 2. Twenty teams that cleared the preliminary round presented services built around generative AI, large language models and data analytics under the theme "Expanding Human Potential, Together With AI."
The TIMÓN team consisted of four trainees enrolled in KDT's "language intelligence-based analysis service developer course" at a smart talent development institute in the Gwangju-South Jeolla Province region. The team focused on the repetitive safety-management work at industrial sites and the response process that follows an accident.
Safety managers at small subcontractors must fill out daily safety-inspection records and legally required forms by hand or in spreadsheets and submit them to the primary contractor. This leaves little time to actually inspect risks or manage workers on-site. When accidents occur, some struggle because they lack sufficient records proving routine safety management or are unfamiliar with reporting procedures.
SafeLedger lets workers log daily safety checks and near-miss incidents through their smartphones, after which the AI cross-checks the entries and helps complete legally required documentation. If an accident occurs, it also guides users through the response procedure and how to write an industrial accident report, drawing on occupational safety and health laws and case precedents.
Lee described SafeLedger as "a zero-additional-hardware safety management platform that stacks up safety records like a ledger." Because it requires no separate sensors or wearable devices and runs entirely on a smartphone, it lowers the cost burden for small businesses.
The team also built in safeguards so the AI's answers are not blindly trusted. Without objective grounds such as laws or precedents, the system does not respond arbitrarily and instead returns "no response." Even when analyzing on-site photos, it only flags risk factors, leaving final judgment and legal responsibility to humans.
KDT's project-based education helped the TIMÓN team build the service in such a short time. "Instructors traveled to actual industrial sites, including the Daebul National Industrial Complex, to teach us, which let us feel firsthand the harsh safety-management realities at small subcontractors — something we could never have learned at a desk," Lee said.
He added that repeated hands-on training — discovering gaps at the site and directly planning and developing technology-based solutions — built valuable experience. That experience became the driving force behind creating such a polished service for the hackathon.
On KDT's strengths, Lee said, "The curriculum is built around the actual needs of companies and industrial sites, so young people can intensively learn practical, field-ready skills in a short period." He added, "Its greatest strength is that the skills we learn are not limited to earning certificates — they can be applied directly to solving real industrial and social problems."
The TIMÓN team plans to expand SafeLedger's use, starting with shipbuilding subcontractors at the Daebul National Industrial Complex.
fact0514@heraldcorp.com
