The cost of safety

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Safeguarding the wellbeing of employees and guaranteeing their safe return home after a day's work is a non-negotiable for every business. Unfortunately, this is sometimes overlooked, leading to potential risks that we can't afford to ignore. In 2021, the US recorded 5,190 fatal work injuries, representing an 8.9 percent increase from the previous year. Surprisingly, 82 percent of employers expressed a desire to enhance health and safety protocols in the Health & Safety Leadership survey. This indicates a willingness to improve safety cultures but also suggests a lackluster approach that necessitates improvement. A safety culture entails establishing rules, regulations, protocols, and policies that prioritize employee safety. It involves effective communication of company values, leadership in operations and communication, and clear expectations for employees. A strong safety culture encourages employee involvement, raises awareness of potential risks, and provides education on safety management systems. Leaders must set an example and reward safe practices for a safety culture to succeed. Failing to implement a safety culture can have severe consequences. Businesses incur higher costs associated with workplace injuries, amounting to $171 billion annually in the US, including expenses for claims, legal fees, and lost productivity. Ignoring safety protocols also leads to decreased productivity, increased injuries and deaths, damaged products, negative reputation, legal issues, and higher worker turnover. Conversely, prioritizing safety through a comprehensive safety culture saves lives and money in the long run, despite the time and effort required to establish it.

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Reactive v proactive safety management

When it comes to managing health and safety, there are two distinct approaches: reactive and proactive. Reactive organizations wait for incidents to occur before taking action, while proactive organizations aim to prevent incidents by identifying and resolving potential hazards beforehand. The benefits of proactive safety management are significant. By prioritizing proactive measures, organizations can effectively reduce incidents, thereby saving valuable time and resources. Proactive strategies also ensure that health and safety considerations are integrated into daily business operations, fostering a positive mindset and a safer work environment. Moreover, allocating resources towards proactive measures is a more efficient use of funds compared to dealing with the direct and indirect costs associated with incidents. Despite these advantages, many companies rely heavily on reactive safety management. One reason for this is the perception that reactive approaches are more cost-effective upfront. However, the long-term costs of preventable incidents, including medical expenses, productivity losses, equipment repairs, and damage to employee morale and business reputation, far outweigh the initial investment in proactive measures.

Driving value with Protex AI

At Protex AI, our client success managers have worked closely with our clients to monitor and analyze the use of our software, diligently assessing its utilization across diverse industries and geographical regions over the last 12 months. Through comprehensive analysis, we have quantified the remarkable value our solution delivers in terms of return on investment (ROI). Our findings unequivocally showcase the tangible and substantial benefits our valuable clients have experienced. 

Visibility: Understanding your risk

The impact of gaining enhanced visibility of risk areas throughout an organization has had a momentous effect on our clients' ability to cultivate a proactive safety culture. Visibility is key to ensuring that safety efforts are prioritized and embraced throughout an organization. With our AI-powered solution, we have successfully enhanced visibility in unsafe behaviors & events by a remarkable 1072%. By leveraging our platform, you can identify and analyze safety events in real-time, empowering you to make informed decisions and drive improvements across the board. Alice Conners, HSE Specialist at Castle Donington, emphasizes the significance of this enhanced visibility, stating, "We can't be everywhere at once, and we can't be on site 24 hours a day. So having Protex AI is like having an extra set of eyes, and it helps us in keeping our colleagues safe." With Protex AI, organizations gain an invaluable advantage—an additional layer of vigilance that enhances safety measures even when physical presence is limited. By deploying Protex AI, you equip yourself with an ever-watchful companion, providing peace of mind and supporting the wellbeing of your colleagues.

Validation: Reducing safety incidents and LTIR

Ensuring the validity of the data used in safety decision-making is crucial, as EHS teams heavily depend on accurate and reliable information to assess risks, identify behavioral patterns, and make well-informed decisions regarding safety measures. Protex plays a pivotal role in assisting teams to make well-informed safety decisions by providing enhanced visibility into safety issues. By leveraging Protex, EHS teams are equipped to successfully implement safety initiatives and training programs, leading organizations to achieve on average an astounding 74% reduction in safety incidents. Through computer vision and advanced analytics, Protex can identify potential risks, enabling proactive interventions and mitigating hazards before they escalate. Along with the reduction of incidents, our solution has also led to on average a substantial 22% reduction in Lost Time Injury Rate (LTIR), ensuring employees' well-being and minimizing productivity losses caused by work-related injuries.

Value: Transforming safety into business advantage

Helping to provide safer workplaces is a top priority for Protex, but we also recognize the importance of effectively communicating the value of our solution to C-suite executives. Protex not only enhances safety workflows but also delivers substantial cost and time saving benefits. On average, the direct and indirect costs of an incident can be significant, often resulting in substantial financial losses for organizations that vary across industry, geographies and revenue. By implementing our solution, clients have experienced estimated average site cost savings of $246K. These costs include:

Also, with an estimated impressive return on investment of 820%, the value we bring to your organization extends far beyond safety metrics. By investing in Protex, not only are you fostering a safer work environment, but you are also making a sound financial decision that positively impacts your organization's bottom line.

Conclusion: Unleashing the full potential of AI-powered safety

The findings presented here represent just the beginning of the true ROI our solution can bring to your organization. As we continue to analyze the multifaceted benefits, we anticipate to gain further insight to the improved direct and indirect costs previously mentioned. By partnering with our clients to achieve their companywide objectives and KPIs, we work collaboratively to build a strong business case for AI safety projects, empowering you to secure the necessary resources and support to implement cutting-edge solutions. At Protex we are committed to revolutionizing safety management and helping organizations to unlock the full potential of AI to create safer workplaces.

Together, let's pave the way for a future where safety is not just a priority, but a catalyst for business growth and success.

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