Every organization should be on the journey to a zero accident culture, according to most guidances and governmental directives. The good employer model places a strong emphasis upon safe practices and technological innovation provides a theoretically easier path to improve safety standards.
When setting budgets, this invariably provide opportunities for businesses to tighten safety precautions and reduce incident rates.
Duane Duhamel, Director Health, Safety & Environment at ISN tells Digital Journal that he expects the tracking of safety metrics to change in future years, and foresees organizations leveraging more innovative technologies to improve safety in their work environments.
According to Duhamel: “2023 will continue to expand the traditional scope of HSE in the workplace. We’re moving beyond traditional policies like machine guarding and lockout/tagout to include concepts like Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB), Human Organizational Performance (HOP), and psychological safety under the health, safety and environment (HSE) umbrella.”
These are concepts designed to work together to boost team dynamics, productivity, and innovation through the workplace.
Duhamel adds that many businesses are entering a new phase of maturity when it comes to workplace safety. He observes: “We are seeing an increased transition toward leading indicators and away from Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and similar lagging metrics.”
As an example of a more forward looking approach, Duhamel finds: “In 2023, event tracking will need to focus on potential outcomes, employee perceptions and levelled risk in addition to tracking U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) case classification details. With fatality rates across industries remaining flat for several years, there’s much work to do related to SIF and PSIF identification, prevention, and predictability.”
OSHA defines a recordable injury or illness:
- Any work-related fatality.
- Any work-related injury or illness that results in loss of consciousness, days away from work, restricted work, or transfer to another job.
- Any work-related injury or illness requiring medical treatment beyond first aid.
It is important that the approach to safety and welfare at work matches the changes that have occurred across the industry. As an example, Duhamel mentions: “Over the past two years, workplaces have also adapted to a hybrid work model which will act as the catalyst for increased reliance on Artificial Intelligence and Immersive Technologies in 2023.” The ramifications from this are: “Traditional practices of classroom-style training will also incorporate new methods, like Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) training. Along with training opportunities, some companies are using VR to track at-risk behaviors and other safety concerns, such as practical application of hazardous jobs and tasks that tend to have higher incident rates.”
