Integrating Technology in Workplace Safety: The Role of AI and IoT
Integrating AI and IoT into workplace safety enhances predictive analytics, real-time monitoring and proactive risk management to significantly reduce accidents and improve overall safety.
- By Juliet Pavelko
- Jul 17, 2024
The workplace has not always been a safe place. In fact, it is only really in the last half-century that serious efforts have gone into protecting people as they fulfill their professional roles from day to day.
While improvements have been made in a piecemeal fashion over the course of several decades, we’re now seeing a one-two technical transformation in this arena being brought about by artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). Here’s a look at how this is shaping up and what’s already possible thanks to this tech.
Utilizing Predictive Analytics for Incident Prevention
Predictive analytics is revamping workplace safety by forecasting incidents before they happen. This is important given that there were 2.8 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses recorded in workplaces nationally in the most recently available annual data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The only way to bring this down is with better tech.
Understanding Predictive Analytics
At its core, predictive analytics involves:
- Data collection. Gathering historical data on past incidents, equipment performance and environmental conditions.
- Pattern recognition. Using machine learning to identify trends or anomalies that precede accidents.
- Risk assessment: Evaluating potential risks based on current data and predicted future events.
Take the example of HelloFresh, a provider of stress-free meal delivery that serves customers across the planet. The company’s Associate Director of Food Safety and Quality Assurance Reshma Malick said, “The way I see it, the most important aspect of achieving success is not just doing what you ‘have to do’, but also learning what you ‘have not to do’."
This is crucial in a context where it’s not just employee safety that’s at stake based on choices made and patterns overseen in-house but also customer safety.
Practical Applications in Safety
Here’s how businesses can leverage predictive analytics effectively.
1. Equipment Maintenance
- Schedule maintenance before failures occur.
- Reduce unexpected downtimes which lead to risky emergency repairs. This can avoid costs of up to $22,000 per minute.