AI in Safety: a Powerful Tool, Not a Human Replacement

An article published by viAct recently caught our attention – the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in workplace safety. Indeed, AI can be a practical and useful tool in the workplace, for the automation of a myriad of tasks. Examples of such are the use of smart cameras in providing real-time video analytics in detecting unsafe acts, and in turn alerts may be sent to a central command centre to alert the safety department. Response time could potentially be reduced substantially. Permits and forms may take the form of electronic versions, submitted through an application for reference and approval, instead of printed versions.

Data collected from these tasks may assist in providing patterns and forecasting avoidable risks and potential incidents. Safety reviews no longer have to be an ‘after the fact’ exercise; if used wisely along with data, they can be effective proactive measures.

Does this mean, with AI we can safely (pun intended) dispense of our human skills? Most definitely not! As much as AI can hasten work processes, we still need human interpretation on the data presented. This is especially true dealing with workers from different educational backgrounds and skillset, some may be more adept at using tech than others. The varying adeptness may hamper AI rollout. Amongst the plethora AI solutions, Risk Assessment should also be verified by skilled workers, especially risk assessment generated by AI.

While the list of possibilities goes on with AI in the workplace, it may not fully appreciate our intent. We should not lose sight of what is fundamental – your personal knowledge, experience and skillset. Always get proper trained and improve yourself, to interpret information.

Remember, safety starts with us. Always.