A workplace safety patrol program that uses AI and drones to proactively identify hazards at accident-prone worksites is being expanded nationwide. Some say the initiative represents a field-centered safety management model designed to close the risk gap at small businesses that lack dedicated safety personnel.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency held the "2026 Safe Workplace Guardian Best Practices Competition" at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday.
The Safe Workplace Guardian program deploys 1,000 retired professionals and labor-management experts with hands-on safety and health experience to conduct regular patrols of small worksites vulnerable to industrial accidents. The program has been in full operation since February, with an annual patrol target of about 280,000 visits.
The competition showcased cases that went beyond simply flagging hazards to achieving tangible safety improvements on the ground. Particular attention fell on "rooftop guardians" — specialists dedicated to roofing and solar panel installation sites where fall risks are high — and on cases in which the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency integrated smart technologies such as AI and drones.
One standout case involved a drone patrolling above the Daegu industrial complex that spotted a solar panel installation crew working without fall-prevention equipment. The drone immediately relayed the situation to a rooftop guardian, who arranged for safety equipment to be installed on the spot. The case drew high marks for capturing the hazard in real time, correcting it immediately and allowing the project to be completed without incident.
From Ulsan, an AI-based smart patrol system was also presented. In that model, AI analyzes field data collected by guardians to generate a regional construction status map, while an AI chatbot assesses accident risk levels and flags high-risk worksites for priority attention. The system allows patrol personnel to be concentrated at sites with the greatest likelihood of accidents, boosting prevention outcomes.
At the awards ceremony, two grand-prize teams each received the Minister of Employment and Labor Award and prize money of 1 million won ($662), two excellence-prize teams received the minister's award and 700,000 won, and four merit-prize teams received the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency chairman's award and 500,000 won. The winning cases will be produced as short-form videos and case study booklets for distribution to guardians and field offices nationwide.
Ryu Hyeon-cheol, head of the ministry's Industrial Safety and Health Bureau, said the winning cases "are significant in that they carried out tailored patrol activities targeting small worksites with a high risk of fatal accidents, contributing to closing the risk gap with large companies." He added that the ministry would actively spread best practices "so that effective patrols can reach small businesses where safety management is otherwise hard to deliver."
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