Post-disaster inspection of safety measures at construction sites in Taichung; only then may workers enter and work

Typhoon Megi struck, causing many incidents of roofs, signs and scaffolding being blown down. Yesterday (the 28th), Huang Heting, Director-General of the Labor Affairs Bureau of the Taichung City Government, visited the Largan Precision new factory building project and the Nantun Civil Sports Center construction project to inspect the post-disaster restoration situation, and required construction contractors to check all safety measures, especially construction fences, scaffolding, safety nets and safety lifelines, to ensure they are truly reinforced, and only after confirming there is no safety concern may workers enter and work.

Director-General Huang called on construction units to, after severe weather such as strong winds and heavy rain, inspect scaffolding, construction trestles and formwork supports, including damage to frame materials and installation conditions; the condition of reinforcement materials such as diagonal bracing, cables, crossbars and horizontal tie bars; and the settlement and sliding of footings (foundations), and to truly carry out reinforcement work. If there is large-scale damage, dedicated engineering personnel or a professional engineers' association should be invited to conduct a joint inspection to confirm safety, and demolition work should be properly planned. In addition, attention should be paid to the risk of electric shock caused by wet ground and scattered electrical wires, all of which should be properly sorted out in advance before resuming work to avoid secondary disasters.

Director-General Huang explained that the city government's Labor Affairs Bureau will cooperate with the Central Region Occupational Safety and Health Center of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will conduct a full inspection of private projects after the disaster, while the city government's public projects will be fully inspected by the Labor Inspection Office. At the same time, the Central Region Occupational Safety and Health Center is asked to investigate the cause of the scaffolding collapse at Le Méridien Taichung. Regarding deficiencies in occupational safety and health regulations, it will be recommended that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration include them in deliberations on legislative amendments and add relevant disaster prevention provisions. The Labor Affairs Bureau will subsequently also cooperate with the Central Region Occupational Safety and Health Center of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to hold a meeting to review measures to strengthen disaster prevention and labor safety, so as to protect the safety of workers and citizens.