It is 2025 and with smart technologies having come up, workplace safety is not the same anymore. In the US alone, fatal work injuries dropped to 5,283 in 2023, which means 3.5 injuries for every 100,000 workers. However, even then, a lot of workers die or get injured every year in the workplace and the costs involved with this can be quite staggering. With the help of smart technologies, you can improve workplace safety, productivity and compliance quite effectively. Here are 10 ways how you can do it.
Put computer vision to work where your risks are highest
You can detect PPE non-compliance and line-of-fire exposures with AI video analytics, and also spot any blocked emergency routes in real time. It is easy to get surface actionable alerts from platforms like Intenseye and Protex AI that can plug into your existing cameras.
When these signals are integrated into the daily gemba of EHS teams, they can report hazard abatement much more quickly. There are fewer risks of misses when this happens. It is a good idea that you get an idea about the top OSHA hazards and the most cited violations every year.
Use AI on forklifts and mobile equipment
There can be serious injuries upon collisions with industrial vehicles. This continues to be a persistent source of damages. You can catch risky behaviors like speeding or phone use during driving and even reduce blind spots with the aid of pedestrian-detection cameras such as Blaxtair, forklift monitoring suites like Onetrack or VIA Mobile360), and analytics.
AI-vision avoids tag-dependency fatigue. It can also suppress nuisance alarms. Vehicle-pedestrian strikes have accounted for a fair share of construction injuries in the UK. With the help of smart technologies and processes, these can be reduced.
Digitize Permit-to-Work (PtW) and Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)
There can be problems with paper-based permits. There can be skipped fields, missed isolations and delayed signatures. You can ensure time-stamp approvals, embed hazard libraries, and standardize steps with the help of Electronic PtW/LOTO systems like PermitSentry and Enablon Control of Work. There was a 94% drop in permit-related incidents in the European sites of Pfizer in just one year after PtW was digitized.
Connect your workers with wearables
You can also try this important step. With ergonomic wearables and proximity wearables, you can improve the posture of workers and help them to reduce high-risk movements. There has been 52% injury reduction with the SafeWork system of StrongArm Tech, as per its report.
Multiple customer case studies were also reported by VelocityEHS Industrial Ergonomics. Carhartt reduced OSHA recordables by over 50%. Likewise, Johnson Matthey recorded a 97% drop in ergonomic injury rate across 35 sites. All these are quite encouraging and you can use such wearable devices in your work sites.
Use connected gas-detection ecosystems
Using Industrial Scientific iNet and other similar networked detectors with cloud analytics can also be very useful for improving workplace safety. You can shorten response times, reduce spot instrument misuse, and make bump/calibration compliance much easier.
Deploy fatigue and distraction monitoring for high-risk driving
As per reports, there have been 70–90% reductions in fatigue events in mining and transport applications with driver-monitoring systems using eye-tracking and face analytics. This can be a lifesaver if you have fleets or mobile plant.
Replace rope access and risky entries with drones
You can also reduce exposure hours a lot if you use drones for work-at-height and confined space inspections. According to The National Safety Council, “inspection” incidents might be a small contributor but work at height along with confined space collectively account for 25% of serious outcomes.
Standardize incidents, actions, and training in an EHS platform
Greenheck Group achieved a 26% drop in TRIR and 67% faster incident investigations after implementing Intelex. Similarly, construction firm Moss credits EHSQ tech with maintaining TRIR 0.44 and saving $110k on hand injuries in a year. With class-best EHS systems like Intelex or VelocityEHS and by centralizing incidents, taking corrective actions, investing in training, and using proper analytics, you can show prompt responses and avoid future accidents more easily. It is a good idea to get more aware of the smart technologies available on the market, to make the best choices for your business.
Aim your tech at OSHA’s Top 10 to lift compliance fast
Most injuries in workplaces occur due to fall protection, hazard communication, LOTO, PITs, ladders, and respiratory protection failures. You can use targeted smart tools to address these problems, such as digital SDS/labels, e-LOTO, PIT AI cameras, and smart fit-testing logs. When you use these top technologies and tools, you can reduce workplace issues quite effectively. If you feel at a loss, you can get in touch with a safety professional or expert who is aware of all the OSHA safety rules and regulations, so that your business can always stay in compliance with the necessary guidelines.
Close the loop with behavioral and learning tech
Digital observation apps and micro-learning show up in the data. When frontline reporting is integrated with targeted training, it can reduce TRIR and DART and also boost trust. With ergonomics e-learning connected to task redesign, as in the case of Parker Hannifin, major improvements happened in workplace safety. You can adopt similar methodology and measures to boost safety in your workplace and make sure that you are workers remain safe with the help of top-notch technologies that exist today. You have to make the most of smart tools that are known to boost security in construction sites and other work sites.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, improving workplace safety with smart technologies is not only about gadgets; it is also about identifying the weak spots and using smart tools to fill up those gaps effectively. You have to work with reliable vendors and use robust equipment and technologies that are known to be fail-safe. This can go a long way to improve your occupational safety and keep your workers secure at all times. It can also improve your business impression, reduce your operation expenses and make your business more successful than ever before.
