Revolutionising H&S: The role of AI and digitalisation at work

Published to coincide with World Day for Safety and Health at Work, 28 April 2025

Dr Mohlomi Raliile, Department of Construction Management, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, E. Cape, SA

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) commemorates World Day for Safety and Health at Work every year. The 2025 theme ’Revolutionising Health and Safety: The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digitalisation at Work’, reflects the inevitable integration of AI and digital technologies across all industries. This is particularly important for the construction industry, which has the highest fatality rate among all industries and is responsible for 30 to 40% of all workplace accidents globally, despite employing only 7% of the global workforce. Despite the known causes of accidents courtesy of established accident-causation theories, the industry relies heavily on traditional health and safety (H&S) methods, which are limited due to the complex nature of construction processes. The construction environment is complex, where an interplay between various factors randomly occur under varying conditions in highly adaptable socio-technical situations makes it challenging to manage risks. Therefore, the construction industry could benefit from adopting AI and digitalisation to promote a holistic approach to H&S management.

Pros: For the construction industry, AI and digital technologies offer transformative potential. Machine learning algorithms can process vast data sets to identify and predict construction risks in real-time, detecting issues such as non-compliance with personal protective equipment requirements, faulty equipment, unsafe postures, slips, trips and falls, road hazards, unsafe lifting practices, poor housekeeping, and risky behaviours. Real-time alerts can be issued to enable immediate corrective action, significantly enhancing worker H&S. Moreover, AI can revolutionise compliance processes. Automated compliance checking (ACC) systems offer a faster, more cost effective, and more accurate alternative to traditional manual methods, streamlining H&S planning and legislative adherence. The combination of AI with 5G connectivity now enables the remote operation of construction machinery, even underground or across vast distances, without previously encountered network latency issues. Workers can manage autonomous machines, mobile robots, drones, and collaborative robots (‘cobots’) from healthy and safe, centralised locations, handling hazardous materials, operating in extreme temperatures, and mitigating exposure to chemical and biological risks. These technologies also address ergonomic hazards, with ‘cobots’ and exoskeletons augmenting human strength and reducing musculoskeletal injuries, meaning promoting a healthier and more sustainable workforce in the face of an ageing labour pool.

Cons: Although AI and digitalisation promise considerable benefits, it is crucial to acknowledge that every technological revolution entails trade-offs. Innovation inevitably disrupts established systems, potentially affecting job security, skills retention, and social structures. Over-reliance on automation, risks rendering workers deskilled, exacerbating psychological stressors such as technostress and heightening precarisation [precarious work] and work intensification. Poorly designed systems may further compound ergonomic difficulties. Furthermore, automation and robotics can unintentionally reinforce workplace inequalities, particularly where technology fails to accommodate the needs of women, individuals with disabilities, or those with lower educational backgrounds. Even highly educated professionals may find themselves displaced if their skills are subject to automation. The success of machine learning systems ultimately depends on the quality of their training data, underscoring the need for inclusive, representative development practices.

Interventions: It is inevitable that AI and digitalisation have a place in the future of workplaces. However, realising their benefits demands a collaborative effort. Governments, employers, and workers must actively participate in developing clear systems of rights, responsibilities, and duties, with incident prevention and workforce sustainability remaining paramount. In construction organisations, management must lead this cultural transformation by systematically evaluating new technological risks, implementing preventive measures aligned with the H&S hierarchy of controls, and continuously updating H&S policies in line with technological advances and worker feedback.

Recommendations: Further, research is essential to assess digital technologies’ long-term H&S impacts. Industry-academic partnerships are necessary to ensure seamless integration, fostering technologies that augment, rather than replace human judgement in H&S practice. A humane, rights-based approach is critical to building a sustainable, inclusive construction industry, a far cry from the current reality in South Africa! For the government, this shift entails assuming greater responsibility in terms of funding research, securing data privacy, combating the emergence of ‘cyber mafias’, strengthening legislation, and enforcing its implementation. – Mohlomi.Raliile@mandela.ac.za