Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen An Luong: "Digital transformation helps safer and more effective labor hygiene and hygiene"

To better understand the digital transformation process in this field, the reporter (PV) of Labor and Trade Union Magazine had a conversation with the Associate Professor. Dr. Nguyen An Luong, leading expert in the field of occupational safety and health, former Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, former Director of the Institute of Labor Protection (now the Institute of occupational safety and health science), former President of the Vietnam occupational Safety and Health Association.

PV: Currently, GDDS is widely applied in many industries and professions, but many people do not know how GDDS in the field of occupational safety and health is. Can you please explain this more clearly?

Associate Professor. Dr. Nguyen An Luong: In fact, there is currently no unified definition of a digital asset, but the focus is on applying advances in digital technology, mainly on the development of the Internet, cloud computing, big data to all activities of the management and operation process, of agencies, businesses, and individuals, making their operations more and more efficient and of high quality.

Thus, it can be understood that the grassroots trade union in the field of occupational safety and health will help agencies, enterprises, and units have better conditions and protection for employees, helping employees work in safer environments, reduce occupational accidents and diseases, and increase labor productivity. Unlike tradition, the application of technology to ensure safety helps the safety process take place quickly, conveniently, effectively, without taking much effort. Remember in the field of occupational safety and health, just being faster in one setback can save many lives.

With the development of society and the increasingly modern machinery technology, ensuring occupational safety and health must be given top priority, first of all, the "key" to the fastest destination is the application of the investor's contract. However, according to my observation and understanding, the application of CDS in this field is currently quite slow and not synchronous.

In my opinion, first of all, managers in agencies and enterprises need to have a full and deep awareness that digital issues in the field of occupational safety and health cannot be applied. Then, we must improve our understanding of the grassroots trade union and turn that awareness into specific and practical thoughts and actions.

The key to the problem is that leaders of agencies, units, and business owners must be determined, have long-term plans and measures, and invest funds for the application of grassroots trade in this field. Thanks to that, the work tasks of agencies and units, the production and business results of enterprises will be of better quality and efficiency, and officers, employees, and employees will be safe and assured of working and producing.

Reporter: As someone who has devoted almost his entire life to management and scientific research in the field of occupational safety and health, have you heard about it or have you witnessed with your own eyes that businesses have applied occupational safety and health in the field of occupational safety and health in a strong and effective way?

Associate Professor. Dr. Nguyen An Luong: I do not have the conditions to monitor all, but in my opinion, the current development of the issue of grassroots unions in occupational safety and health in our country is still slow, the awareness and understanding of grassroots unions in this field of many agencies, units and enterprises is still weak; information and training work on this field has not been developed; specific contents on grassroots unions in occupational safety and health have not been implemented in many agencies, units and enterprises.

However, there are also some units that have implemented grassroots security in occupational safety and health, including the "Safe Monitoring" software that has been put into operation by the Southern Power Corporation (EVNSPC) after many upgrades, adjustments and additions to appropriate features; helping to save time for remote labor safety management for management levels.

Management features including many contents and parameters have helped this unit monitor daily work on the power grid in a timely and effective manner.

The "Safe Guard" software also helps serve the training, review and dissemination of experiences on occupational accidents, thereby raising awareness of compliance with processes and regulations, limiting the responsibility of managers of safety officers, engineers and on-duty operations as well as employees.

Thanks to that, the task of the safety team's managers is also faster, more timely, less arduous than before, and the work efficiency is higher than before the grassroots construction.

Hopefully, in the coming time, to strive to effectively implement Resolutions No. 52-NQ/TW dated September 27, 2019 of the Politburo, Resolution No. 50/NQ-CP dated April 17, 2020 and Decision No. 749/QD-TTg dated June 3, 2020 of the Government on policies, policies, and action programs on the 4th industrial revolution of grassroots trade unions, agencies, enterprises, and units need to further promote the implementation of grassroots trade unions in general and grassroots trade unions in particular in the field of occupational safety and health, meeting the requirements of improving the quality and efficiency of production and business in the new period.

Reporter: The Vietnam Trade Union has great responsibility in occupational safety and health, including the issue of scientific research on occupational safety and health technology. So, in your opinion, what is the role of trade unions in promoting the application of grassroots trade in this field?

Associate Professor. Dr. Nguyen An Luong: Based on the three basic functions identified by the Constitution and Charter of the Vietnam Trade Union, the Vietnam Trade Union has a great role and responsibility in occupational safety and health, from participating in the development of legal documents, policies, standards, regulations on occupational safety and health, participating in the management, inspection, supervision of the implementation of occupational safety and health work to propaganda, education, training on occupational safety and health, mobilizing a large number of cadres, workers, civil servants, and employees to participate in the mass movement to do a good job of occupational safety and health.

The special thing is that the Vietnam Trade Union has been entrusted by the Government to research occupational safety and health technology, manage the National Institute of occupational safety and health science, and organize training for engineers and bachelors in occupational safety and health. Therefore, in my opinion, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has the task of promoting the implementation of grassroots unions in occupational safety and health work, it is necessary to assign tasks to departments and units under the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, especially the Labor Relations Department, the Institute of occupational Safety and Health Science, the Trade Union University, Ton Duc Thang University...; study and advise the Presidium to propose a comprehensive and specific action program on grassroots unions in occupational safety and health and guide trade unions at all levels to effectively implement that program, contributing significantly to the results of the implementation of grassroots unions in our country.

Reporter: How do you feel when receiving information about recent consecutive work-related accidents?

Associate Professor. Dr. Nguyen An Luong: I am very saddened by the new labor accidents that have occurred in the past few months, causing many deaths and injuries. While waiting for the official announcement of the labor accident investigation teams, through information on the mass media, I am very upset and think about the causes of those labor accidents. To clarify, I would like to raise the following 3 cases of labor fraud to analyze in depth the causes that I think are ultimately caused by humans (managers and employees) violating regulations on labor safety.

The work accident that occurred on April 22, 2024 at Yen Bai Cement Factory killed 7 people and injured 3 others while repairing crusher No. 3 when the crusher suddenly turned, causing an accident. The factory's leaders initially informed the press that it was "due to carelessness in the process of turning on and turning on the electricity", "due to a crusher engine failure".

Everyone understands and must know that when repairing equipment, the power source must be completely cut off from the machine, but there is a "cautiousness" here, and the "incident" engine here is understood to have electricity back, so it rotates and makes a rotary grinder. The engine does not have electricity on its own, someone must have touched it! So no matter how winding it is, it is because people have violated regulations on impacting the camera, causing accidents.

The firecracker explosion that occurred at Binh Minh Wood Company (Vinh Cuu District, Dong Nai) killed 6 people and injured 5 others occurred at 8:10 a.m. on May 1, 2024. Here the day before, due to technical problems in the boiler, the supplier came to repair it and the next morning the company's technical staff came to inspect and test run the boiler.

So the company received the record of handing over the repair results the day before, but early the next morning the technical staff put it into trial operation. If it has been handed over, such a repair is not good, and before handing over, the company's technical staff has violated regulations!

The incident of workers' labor due to a broken transport cable at the Dong Yen B Kindergarten (Quoc Oai district, Hanoi) on June 18, 2024 killed 3 people and injured 7 people, further demonstrating the serious violation of human rights. The cable car carrying materials and carrying people, and more than that, there were 10 people entering the cable from the 3rd floor down, which was too heavy, so the cable broke was natural.

Through the above analysis, although there is no official conclusion from the Labor Union Investigation Team, we all see that the fault is mainly caused by humans; due to the manager not checking, supervising, being irresponsible, and possibly not complying with the law and regulations on occupational safety and health; due to employees not fully understanding or intentionally violating occupational safety and health regulations to cause Labor Union.

occupational safety and health is a major socio-economic policy of our Party and State, an important task associated with the work and production of the unit that everyone, from managers, union officials, specialized occupational safety and health officials to cadres, civil servants, public employees, and employees must understand, respect and implement.

We need to take preventive measures as the top priority task, care for improving working conditions and environment, preventing and combating occupational diseases and occupational diseases to protect people in work, production labor - the most dynamic and valuable factor of the productive force, and making our country's socio-economic development increasingly developed.

Reporter: Thank you very much!