Occupational Safety, Digitalization

Safety Management Trend Report 2020

Views and assessments of leading safety experts

Safety Management Trend Report 2020

Digitalization, software, artificial intelligence, big data and social networks – these are the things already shaping modern occupational safety. But does this also mean that such technologies are widely used and accepted as the standard? And how will the Corona pandemic influence the digitalization of occupational safety?

In the Safety Management Trend Report 2020, leading experts looking at the trends agree: digital innovation has positively influenced occupational health and safety. Digitalization has brought structure and new insights. And the general push into digital work caused by the measures put in place to slow the spread of Coronavirus will bring long-term benefits for EHSQ management.The Internet of things (IoT), robotics and sensors have also opened up countless new opportunities for making work safer, and big data analyzed by artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic vision in safety management. But are new technologies like AI or 5G also bringing about new safety issues?

The experts surveyed may call their approach ‘safety II’, ‘safety done differently’ or ‘behavior-based safety’ – the terminology varies – but one thing unites them all: in the end, the focus is on people. That’s why occupational safety must also reach hearts and minds in order to create a sustainable and positive safety culture. Leadership, communication, engagement and motivation are the keys. But how strong are we here?

Read the latest safety management trend report and find out for yourself. Industry thought leaders from nine countries evaluate and discuss trends, provide insight into their perspectives and assess the opportunities and risks of the latest developments.

A sneak peek at the Trend Report

Which trends deserve special attention this year?

“The most important trend is not one of advanced technology, new theory, or an unexpected novel risk. Indeed the most important trend for 2020 is that of continuous improvement.”

Professor Dr. Andrew Sharman

“Value-based safety is becoming mainstream. Call it "Safety Culture", "Vision", "Leadership" or whatever you want to call it”

Eduardo Blanco-Munoz

Where do you see potential for improvement?

“There is still a large potential for improvement in the area of learning and information sharing. Learning involves also the verification of the effect of changes and this is hardly done in the industry.”

Jop Groeneweg

“Also cooperation at shared workplaces and in contractor networks have huge potential for improvement to both purchasing and supplying companies.”

Tiina-Mari Monni

Which technologies have had the biggest impact on workplace safety in recent years?

“Smartphones. As they get better, faster, and cheaper they are going to be transformative. They will be more and more integrated into our lives, including how work gets done. Workers are already integrating them now, which creates new opportunities and new challenges.”

Ron Gantt

What impact do you expect emerging technologies to have on safety management?

“AI leads to new forms of man-machine cooperation. It requires rethinking machine safety. IoT will make safety partly dependent of cyber security. The latter is already the case today.”

Gerard Zwetsloot

Who are the people shaping the future in the safety management sector?

“Everyone, everywhere, who lives the HSE role as a call for action to inspire his/her own organization, family and friends to return home safe and fulfilled. We need lots of passion, enthusiasm and creativity within the HSE community and I see more and more people to enjoy this new role.”

Davide Scotti

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