Revolutionizing Workplace Safety: The Power of AI in Detecting and Preventing Unsafe Behaviors

It is well known among safety professionals that unsafe behaviors contribute to a significant number of fatalities and injuries. Imagine, therefore, what a game-changer it would be if EHS managers could intervene when these behaviors occur to prevent these tragedies from happening, or in the case of near misses, escalate in the future. This is especially critical in high-hazard industries where human error can result in catastrophic events.

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The Importance of Behavioral Safety

Behavioral safety focuses on predictive leading indicators – for example, flagging unsafe acts and responding promptly and effectively to prevent incidents. EHS managers can foster a cultural change that promotes safe behaviors throughout the workforce by addressing these indicators.

Unsafe acts happen when employees violate workplace safety, intentionally or unintentionally. These acts include everything from drivers using mobile phones on the road to workers taking shortcuts across vehicle zones; from staff attempting to free jammed objects, including removing safety guards on active machinery, to employees jumping over barriers.

One of the difficulties for EHS managers is that they are rarely in the right place at the right time to spot these violations. However, with computer vision-based artificial intelligence (AI), it is now possible to continuously monitor unsafe behaviors in real-time 24/7, enabling EHS managers to challenge non-conformance when it happens.

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The Challenge of Unsafe Behaviors

Investigations into workplace accidents by regulators like the Health and Safety Executive in Great Britain reveal that unsafe behaviors are often a significant contributory factor (www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/topics/behaviouralintor.htm).

Reading through individual prosecution cases, you will often find instances where a factory worker has sustained life-changing injuries attempting to remove a jammed object from machinery or a delivery driver (or staff member) who has been fatally struck by a forklift in a busy yard where vehicles are moving around pedestrians. 

EHS managers face daily challenges in their efforts to maintain a safe work environment and encourage the entire workforce to comply with safety protocols. This is especially the case when workers feel sustained pressure to deliver against tough deadlines and/or previous violations have either gone undetected or unchecked and have not resulted in a serious event, such as an accident.

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AI’s Role in Behavioral Safety

Unlike many safety programs that use lagging indicators such as fatality, injury, and near-miss data to manage risk, AI helps EHS managers better predict where problems can arise. Combined with cutting-edge camera software that continuously tracks worker movements 24/7, AI analyzes vast amounts of data to identify common patterns of behavior, including both safe and unsafe acts.

Armed with these rich insights, EHS managers can gain full visibility of activities and are then better placed to step in and minimise and even remove risks.

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Introducing Protex AI

Protex AI, a leading international provider of AI for workplace safety, is on a mission to “empower global EHS teams to protect their industrial workforces, helping them to minimise the risks they face and the likelihood of incidents occurring, whether they are near-misses, injuries or fatalities.

Our software integrates seamlessly into any work environment’s CCTV network. This AI tool captures and analyzes unsafe behaviors autonomously in real-time. Its user-friendly functionality allows EHS managers to filter, tag, and share events internally, all while securely preserving worker privacy.

Protex AI alerts EHS teams about all types of non-compliant behavior, such as incorrect manual handling techniques, unsafe pedestrian and vehicle interactions, or risky shortcuts on their walking routes or with dangerous equipment. The insightful data collected enables EHS teams to produce actionable reports that provide full visibility of risks across a business, allowing proactive steps to minimize future unsafe events. Not only can Protex AI help businessesbusiness reduce the risk of accidents and the associated costs, but in doing so it can also minimize potential disruptions to production and consequently deliver greater operational efficiencies.

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Decision makers that adopt computer vision-based AI tools like Protex AI can transform the safety culture in a business by enhancing behavioral safety throughout the workforce. 

Providing EHS managers with effective tools to spot unsafe acts when they happen, means they can step in immediately and highlight the risks associated with this behavior while simultaneously reinforcing reinforce safe behaviors that also protects the wider workforce. 

To find out how Protex AI gives you full visibility of unsafe behaviors so you can avert accidents before they escalate, visit: https://www.protex.ai/product/behavioural-safety

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