Prioritising health and safety in the workplace is a must for all businesses, no matter what industry or sector you’re in, allowing you to recognise a range of different hazards so that appropriate control measures can be implemented to enhance safety culture, secure higher levels of compliance and protect your organisation from potential reputational damage.
As should be expected in the digital age, health and safety practices in the 21st century are increasingly leveraging the use of technology, with artificial intelligence (AI) now really starting to come to the fore.
AI in the workplace
Occupational safety and health management could be revolutionised by the use of AI, making it easier to predict unsafe working practices and behaviours, easier to identify hazards in a range of different circumstances and easier to put preventative measures in place to protect employees and members of the general public.
Data analysis, for example, can be facilitated far more efficiently through the use of AI. Data collected by different apps, software and devices can be monitored constantly to better identify potential risks, for example, with reports then generated to build up a more in-depth picture of an organisation’s safety culture.
It also allows for more effective comparison against competitor performance on a global scale.
Elsewhere, AI technology can be harnessed to better identify patterns, trends and issues relating to health and safety, allowing for preventative measures to be brought in to drive down the risk of accidents and injuries in the workplace.
Risk assessments can also be improved upon through the use of AI and easy access to real-time data, with these assessments tailored specifically to individual organisations and the incidents that have taken place.
In the actual work environment, AI is already demonstrating how effective it can be at helping promote a solid safety culture.
For example, AI-powered robotics can now be used to perform high-risk tasks that would previously have required people to carry out, enhancing safety compliance, of course, but also improving productivity and efficiency across the board.
What’s particularly good about using AI as a health and safety tool is that it allows businesses to move away from a more reactive approach, making them more proactive about how risks are assessed, managed and reduced.
Gain the NEBOSH health and safety at work award
The NEBOSH health and safety at work award is an excellent qualification to gain for team leaders, supervisors, facilities managers and HR professionals, as well as lone workers who need to identify hazards and evaluate risks in different working environments.
Taking the course will help you reduce incident and injury rates, improve health and safety awareness among your employees, improve employee engagement, secure higher levels of compliance and ensure that your business reputation is protected against future health and safety failures.
If you’d like to build your health and safety knowledge further, our NEBOSH General Certificate course is a great place to start. It’s designed for anyone looking to develop practical skills and gain a respected qualification in workplace safety. To find out more, get in touch with the ACT team today.
