Using robot employees helps reduce risk within the workplace and perhaps even save lives by doing the dangerous tasks.
At the same time, there is also a potential risk posed to human employment. In fact, the BBC estimates that there’s a 53% chance that health and safety officers will be replaced by robots.
Before we consider the use of AI in the health and safety industry, it’s important to understand the difference between AI and automation. The two are often difficult to distinguish from one another as AI underlines automation, therefore there isn’t always a clear difference.
One of the most recent examples of AI within the health and safety industry is Cortexica and Cisco’s development of a system which can analyse all workers’ PPE equipment and ensure best practices are always used. Managers are then alerted to any non-compliance and workers are denied access to the site until they acquire the proper PPE. This technology has the potential to save lives and seriously reduce injury.
Many companies within the health and safety industry are adapting AI and automation technologies as they not only minimise risk but can also save costs by automating key processes. AI and automation also provide greater accuracy and reliability than human employees.
