From chaos to clarity

THE DIGITAL revolution has led to an exponential growth of sources of data – from social media data to wearables data. Because of this, the health and safety sector is bursting with data that is unstructured, and siloed from business operations, making it challenging for health and safety teams to draw actionable insights. 

Each day, more and more organisations move to implement and deploy AI technologies with the intention of refining operational health and safety, changing behaviours, and imroving health and safety metrics. However, achieving these outcomes is not straightforward, linear, or guaranteed. The key lies in the importance of data integration and analysis, providing a pathway to transform unstructured data into valuable insights for proactive health and safety management.

Deciphering data

At the heart of this challenge lies the distinction between structured and unstructured data. Structured data, with its organised format, lends itself to straightforward analysis but often captures only a fragment of the operational landscape. Unstructured data, on the other hand, holds a reservoir of qualitative insights—text from safety observations, IoT data, sensor readings from wearables, and AI-generated safety insights. Despite constituting the majority of data generated today, its complexity and lack of standardisation make it a tougher nut to crack.

Tackling the data maze

Leveraging technologies like computer vision, IoT, and virtual reality, organisations aim to enhance workplace safety and operational efficiency. However, the deployment of such technologies is not without its hurdles. Unstructured data can overwhelm systems and individuals alike, leading to data overload without actionable outcomes. The integration of this data into standard operating procedures and real-time management processes is critical to unlocking its value.

Formulating a safety strategy

Deploying new technologies often promises to mitigate risks and enhance workplace health and safety. However, the mere introduction of cutting-edge tools without aligning them with health and safety strategies or addressing specific safety challenges can introduce complexities, especially with unstructured data management.

For health and safety leaders, the emphasis must be on crafting deliberate digital strategies. This involves delineating the role of technology in safety management, determining the types of data to be collected, and outlining how this data will be stored, utilised, and integrated into ongoing operations and future planning efforts. Achieving a data-driven occupational health and safety (OHS) program necessitates a comprehensive approach to data strategy, ensuring that all facets of technology deployment contribute to a cohesive health and safety framework.

A crucial step in developing a digital strategy is assessing the current digital literacy levels of health and safety leaders, their teams, and the broader organisation. This assessment informs the planning of technology projects and the utilisation of data to enhance safety performance and inform the evolution of health and safety management systems.

Understanding digital literacy levels and establishing specific change management governance and plans are foundational. The National Safety Council (NSC) offers tools for assessing digital readiness, supporting organisations in navigating the digital transformation in health and safety management.

A data-driven approach to health and safety is not solely about data collection; it's about leveraging insights to inform strategic decisions and continuous improvement efforts. Effective data use requires clear communication about what the data reveals and its implications for safety outcomes. This approach, often described as transforming "numbers to narrative," plays a vital role in elevating the role of health and safety within an organisation, showcasing the value of digital solutions in achieving safer workplaces.

The role of generative AI in safety

Generative AI is altering the way we approach unstructured data. The arrival of large language models such as ChatGPT, unstructured data sets are able to be analysed and consolidated at rapid speed in ways that were previously impossible. This has led to a significant shift in how businesses view unstructured data, and it being a critical enabler of innovation.

A substantial advantage of generative AI is its ability to unlock previously inaccessible insights from unstructured data. This data has traditionally been difficult to analyse due to its unstructured nature. With the assistance of generative AI, patterns and trends within this data can be identified that were previously hidden. These patterns and trends are leading businesses to clear action and next steps.  

This has major benefits for businesses across all industries, and is extremely helpful from a health and safety perspective when trying to review large scale data such as safety observations overlaid with incidents, or identify systemic issues across a workplace, or enterprise.  With access to these insights, EHS teams can make more informed decisions in critical risk reduction, assist with safety communications, aid in reporting tasks and break down insights into specific work areas, operational zones, shifts and so on. They can also gain a deeper understanding of their workforce, the employee safety experience, training requirements and workplace design changes.

Charting the future

The pursuit for a safer more technology focused workplaces has led to the emergency of data driven safety, which is shaping the redesigning of workplace health and safety management systems. With more technology, comes more unstructured data, something which is becoming the norm and plays an important role in taking action on safety. To maximise the benefits of unstructured data, business and health and safety teams must have a detailed digital strategy which encompasses the collection, and use of unstructured data. Businesses must be aware of their digital literacy and readiness and be open to improving this, whilst continuing to deploy advanced technologies to reduce risk and enhance operations. 

This vision for the future is not just about leveraging new tools; it's about fostering a culture of innovation and commitment to safety that transcends traditional boundaries. The digital revolution in health and safety management is here, and it's up to us to navigate its waters with wisdom, courage, and foresight.

Dan Hobb’s is co-founder & CEO of Protex AI. For more information, visit www.protex.ai