In the evolving landscape of corporate responsibility, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles have taken center stage, urging businesses to extend their focus beyond financial metrics. The European Union has already set a precedent by mandating ESG reports for major companies, and this shift is gaining traction globally as June 2023 study from the Center for Audit Quality showed that ESG reporting remains a priority for public companies, with the reporting practice has become a fact for 99% of S&P 500 companies. The implications are profound – consumers and employees increasingly prefer companies committed to ESG best practices, signaling a transformative era where Safety Management as a fundamental aspect of the Social part of ESG becomes paramount, especially in hazardous work environments.
Not only reporting obligations
PwC’s 2021 U.S. survey highlights a significant trend: 83% of consumers prefer companies implementing ESG best practices, and 86% of employees favor workplaces aligned with ESG values. This underscores a paradigm shift where companies need to demonstrate financial prowess and a commitment to social and environmental responsibility.
Another exciting research (Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine) exploring the link between workforce health and safety and stock market performance yields compelling insights. While correlation doesn’t imply causation, the results consistently suggest that companies prioritizing health and safety deliver more excellent value to their investors. So it strongly supports the idea that focusing on the health and safety of a workforce is good business.
Alarming statistics have been unchanged for years.
Eurostat’s 2021 report on accidents at work in the EU reveals 2.88 million non-fatal accidents and 3,347 fatal accidents. In the U.S. ((Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, Private industry employers report), there were 5,190 fatal work injuries in 2021, with a worker succumbing to a work-related injury every 101 minutes. The National Safety Council estimates the economic impact at $167.0 billion.
Specific industries consistently rank high in safety concerns. With inherent risks, construction, transport, and manufacturing require a heightened focus on safety management. It’s no surprise, then, that ESG rankings, such as the MSCI ESG Rating, allocate up to 30% weightage to Health and safety issues in the overall ESG company score, particularly in the Energy and Industrials sectors.
Elevating Safety Management
What is the next step in safety management for today? Seeing how ESG reporting is becoming a reality, it seems that data-based monitoring of security processes is becoming a fact. And automatic acquisition of event data and their analysis seems to be the key to taking safety management to the next level. One of the obvious sources which enterprises have already recognized is CCTV surveillance technology. You can easily find that the effectiveness of video technology in identifying risks associated with workforce behavior and working conditions is well-documented (e.g. Italian case-study article). But without automatic event identification, it is a tool that requires constant attention, because the positive impact of using CCTV decreases after the initial novelty effect and consistency in everyday work with people is required so that it is not just a one-time increase in the level of safety. This is where Noctuai’s computer vision applications, part of the AICam platform, can take over.
Noctuai’s computer vision applications continuously monitor danger zones and personal protective equipment usage and can provide real-time man-down alerts. Moreover, the AICam platform allows for the swift development of tailored analytics solutions for which we are asked very often because visual inspection is the most natural for us, and this type of automation is the fastest way to control processes.
Working with data – a new challenge in ensuring safety
But now we are adding a simple tool – a video analytics dashboard to form AICam Safety Suite that facilitates the analysis of multi-camera systems, offering statistical overview that enable a quick review of crucial moments from the past. So AICam identifies risks and empowers companies to create comprehensive health and safety programs, for example, by giving a tool to quickly form safety KPIs for teams of employees working in hazardous environments. The recorded videos from events with severe consequences and those that may lead to such can help formulate training systems based on real situations and behaviors, ushering in a proactive approach to safety management. Of course, if you already use another solution/software for threat collection, analysis, and reporting, AICam is easy to integrate and can be one of the crucial data sources that fits into your safety management processes.
As the ESG revolution reshapes corporate priorities, computer vision becomes crucial for companies looking to navigate this new era responsibly. With its ability to automate observation processes and facilitate immediate responses based on data, Noctuai’s AICam Safety Suite is not just a product but a strategic ally in advancing Safety Management practices.
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