Chair of the CIF Safety & Health Committee outlines the industry need for continual improvement in health and safety performance and how asks how the sector can engage with new technologies and ways of thinking to achieve this aim

Advancing faster than any innovation in our history, digital technologies have transformed our society and our daily lives. For workers and employers in many workplaces and in all sectors, digital technology offers increased opportunities but also presents greater challenges and risks in terms of safety and health. This presentation will look at the 2023-25 Healthy Workplaces campaign that is in line with the European Commission’s Vision Zero approach, aimed to raise awareness, provide practical resources and bring stakeholders together, to promote a prevention culture.

With the increasing move towards digitalisation of fieldworkers, Health & Safety and Operational leaders need to be abreast of the latest solutions being used by progressive organisations in the sector.

The session will include:

• Understanding Artificial Intelligence and how it is being applied within the design, construct, operate and maintenance processes
• A look at how predictive risk solutions are being used to aid fieldworkers and managers from data led sources of information
• Increasing awareness of remote risk visualisation and how it is being used to provide actionable insights that enhance Safety and Productivity through the construction phase
• An in-depth look at how smart solutions are now being used to connect the remote field workforce with management, through application programming interfaces that enable the integration between digital solutions

How do digitalisation and the interaction with new technologies at work affect us? How can we create healthy workplaces that keep pace with the latest technological developments? Patricia Rosen, a psychologist fascinated by the human mind, is working on this at the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA). In particular, she is a researcher within the “Human Factors, Ergonomics” group, where she is leading the “Physical worker assistance systems” team. Together with her interdisciplinary team at BAuA, she is focused on defining the user requirements of the technologies being developed at HumanTech, for which she will rely on the feedback of the construction workers to whom they are addressed.

In the past decades, we’ve seen a surge in the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across various industries. From healthcare to education and from agriculture to retail, AI has undoubtedly become an essential part of modern business models. In the construction industry, AI and other emerging technologies have the potential to reshape workflows, improve safety, and increase efficiency like never before.

This panel will examine:

·       what are the futuristic technologies that will power the AI revolution?

·       how emerging technologies, evolving work environments, and shifting societal paradigms are converging to create new opportunities and unique challenges for the future of health and safety

·       how human-centred technologies are advancing the European construction industry

Error is a given in any human activity but can be a ‘life or death’ issue in safety critical industries such as aviation or construction. Aviation has developed a safety management framework over fifty years which has had spectacular results. They are two very different industries so the framework can’t simply be transplanted but I believe a similar system can be genetically engineered in with the help of construction industry staff and management. We can achieve safety and financial benefits for front line staff, clients and managers, a rare win/win/win situation. 

Analyses of construction accidents show that workers need to have good teamwork and thinking skills, such as situation awareness and decision making to complement their technical expertise. These are known as non-technical skills and are widely trained in higher risk settings, such as aviation, rail, energy and healthcare. This presentation will examine how this approach can be applied in the construction sector to enhance safety and efficiency.

Peter’s case study will focus on the Shanganagh development and how modern construction methods adapted for the project have assisted with the reduction in health, safety and environmental risks. The case study will focus in particular on the benefits of off-site precast concrete manufacturing in a modern digital age.  

The European construction sector faces three major challenges: increase the safety and well-being of its workforce, improve its productivity and become greener, making efficient use of resources. To address these issues, the sector aims not only to achieve major advances in cutting-edge technologies that can enable a safe, rewarding and digital work environment for a new generation of highly skilled construction workers and engineers, but also to deliver housing for all at scale and at speed.

• What impact will new technologies in modern methods of construction have on health and safety. 
• How can we leverage modern construction methods and digitalisation for enhanced efficiency? 
• What lessons can we learn from other countries that are creating a pioneering concept where innovative, industrialised construction meets the human aspects of what a home should be?

“The Longest Trek” – an inspirational story of one man’s journey from being paralysed and told he would never walk again, to attempting to row across the wild and untamed North Atlantic Ocean.