On Wednesday last week, the jib of a tower crane operating on a nearby construction project fell onto the Taichung MRT’s Green Line, smashing through the noise barrier and landing on the tracks. An MRT train then collided with the crane jib, resulting in one death and 10 injuries.
This accident has caused great public concern. While a preliminary investigation is under way, the Taichung City Government has ordered that work be suspended on nine construction projects, including the one on which the crane was working, run by Highwealth Construction Corp. The city is also investigating the construction companies involved.
The domino theory of accident causation proposed by US industrial safety pioneer Herbert Heinrich says that accidents are often the result of a domino-like series of faults, in which one act of negligence causes more dominoes to fall, eventually causing an accident to occur.
Three such dominos can be seen in last week’s accident, namely failures in the construction company’s outsourcing management, human operations and the Taichung MRT’s emergency response system.
First, the construction firm failed to provide adequate safety measures to ensure the safety of its workers and nearby pedestrians. Second, there was carelessness on the part of the workers. Third, Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp’s emergency response system failed to promptly detect and respond to the danger, thus acting as the final domino.
To prevent similar accidents from happening again, the government should implement the following suggestions.
First, bolster its supervision of the construction industry to ensure that construction firms abide by safety regulations and provide adequate safety measures.
Second, enhance workers’ awareness of industrial safety and strictly supervise their operation of machinery.
Third, increase supervision of rapid transit companies to ensure that they effectively inspect, maintain and repair their emergency response systems to ensure passenger safety.
With regard to preventing accidents in the construction industry, the government should respond with measures that go to the source of the problem. The government and relevant departments should bolster their supervision of the construction industry and enforcement of related laws, requiring construction companies and their contractors to strictly abide by regulations to ensure the safety of workers and the surrounding environment.
The government must also increase its supervision of rapid transport companies, requiring them to ensure passenger safety by properly inspecting and maintaining their emergency response systems.
In addition to government supervision, all parties involved in the construction industry must conscientiously perform their duties with regard to safety management by giving their workers a safe working environment and equipment, and ensuring that their employees are properly trained and aware of safety rules.
As for the workers themselves, they must also consciously abide by safety regulations and operating procedures, thus ensuring their own safety and the safety of others.
Accidents in the construction industry have an immeasurable effect on society. The government must protect the health and safety of workers and the public by uncovering the root causes of accidents.
Only in this way can the construction industry continue to develop and make greater social and economic contributions.
Jean Liu is a podcast executive producer.
Translated by Julian Clegg
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry gives it a strategic advantage, but that advantage would be threatened as the US seeks to end Taiwan’s monopoly in the industry and as China grows more assertive, analysts said at a security dialogue last week. While the semiconductor industry is Taiwan’s “silicon shield,” its dominance has been seen by some in the US as “a monopoly,” South Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University academic Kwon Seok-joon said at an event held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In addition, Taiwan lacks sufficient energy sources and is vulnerable to natural disasters and geopolitical threats from China, he said.
After reading the article by Hideki Nagayama [English version on same page] published in the Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Wednesday, I decided to write this article in hopes of ever so slightly easing my depression. In August, I visited the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan, to attend a seminar. While there, I had the chance to look at the museum’s collections. I felt extreme annoyance at seeing that the museum had classified Taiwanese indigenous peoples as part of China’s ethnic minorities. I kept thinking about how I could make this known, but after returning
What value does the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hold in Taiwan? One might say that it is to defend — or at the very least, maintain — truly “blue” qualities. To be truly “blue” — without impurities, rejecting any “red” influence — is to uphold the ideology consistent with that on which the Republic of China (ROC) was established. The KMT would likely not object to this notion. However, if the current generation of KMT political elites do not understand what it means to be “blue” — or even light blue — their knowledge and bravery are far too lacking
Taipei’s population is estimated to drop below 2.5 million by the end of this month — the only city among the nation’s six special municipalities that has more people moving out than moving in this year. A city that is classified as a special municipality can have three deputy mayors if it has a population of more than 2.5 million people, Article 55 of the Local Government Act (地方制度法) states. To counter the capital’s shrinking population, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) held a cross-departmental population policy committee meeting on Wednesday last week to discuss possible solutions. According to Taipei City Government data, Taipei’s