Robots can reduce workplace injuries by 8%: report

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By Lee Yeon-woo

Introducing robots in the workplace can reduce workplace injuries and improve workers' health significantly, according to a working paper released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Monday.

Based on statistics and health-related surveys, the report found that regions having a significant number of industrial robots from 2010 to 2019 showed a decrease in industrial accidents.

It noted that when the number of robots per 1,000 workers increased by 9.95, the number of workplace injuries per 100 workers dropped by 8 percent.

It was especially effective in preventing more severe injuries resulting in permanent disability, reducing the number of such cases by 16.9 percent.

“Industrial robots are usually deployed to automate dangerous work, such as welding, window cleaning for high-rise buildings, heavy lifting, working with chemicals and cleaning up nuclear sites,” said Kim Hye-jin, a researcher from the BOK's Economic Research Institute who authored the report. “Thus, a decline in workplace injuries due to robotization is more pronounced for more severe injuries.”

The research also found that the areas where more robots were in use caused a reduction in the number of low-skilled workers reporting health problems. In the report, low-skilled workers were defined as workers with high school diplomas or below.

Korea has by far the highest robot density ― 932 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers as of 2020, which is about eight times the global average of 126.

Nonetheless, at the same time, the country has one of the highest industrial fatality rates in the world. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the number of fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers in Korea is 4.57, 2.5 times that of Spain (1.78), and 3.3 times that of Japan (1.4).

Regarding this, Kim said that it is necessary to maximize the benefits of industrial robots when establishing policies in the future.