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Integrating Technology in Workplace Safety: The Role of AI and IoT
2. Employee Behavior Monitoring:
- Identify patterns of unsafe behavior early.
- Tailor training programs to address specific issues detected by the system.
3. Environmental Hazard Detection
- Use IoT sensors to monitor changes in environmental conditions like temperature or air quality.
- Predict hazardous situations such as gas leaks or extreme weather events.
4. Incident Trend Analysis
- Analyze past incident reports to find common factors.
- Implement targeted interventions where the risk is highest.
Case Study: Newmetrix and JE Dunn
As highlighted by the National Safety Council, Newmetrix—an AI-focused workplace risk prediction software firm from Massachusetts—teamed up with JE Dunn, a Missouri-based building contractor employing 3,500 workers across the U.S.
Initial issues revolved around storing project documentation, images, and videos on individual smartphones and devices.
Implementing workflows to ensure all data was accessible to Newmetrix’s predictive AI software.
- Solution Implemented:
- Utilizing diverse data, including project location, weather conditions, staffing levels as well as images and videos from 2016 to 2021.
- Prompting site superintendents for additional safety conversations with workers based on insights derived.
- Outcomes Achieved:
- Predicted 75 percent of recordable incidents on the top seven ranked projects for risk each week.
- Initiated approximately 350 additional safety conversations between supervisors and employees.
Overall, Newmetrix’s advanced risk prediction software provided JE Dunn with a practical safety analytics solution that significantly enhanced workplace safety through actionable insights. This collaboration showcases how leveraging historical data can lead to proactive incident prevention in dynamic environments like construction sites.
The Role of Technology Leaders
We’re at a point where businesses are able to work with third parties to produce their own AI-enhanced, IoT-enabled predictive analytics tools that suit their specific needs. It just takes leaders to grab this opportunity.