AI in OHS

In construction and engineering, safety is (or should be) about foresight; that means anticipating risks before they turn into incidents. Now, with the rise of artificial intelligence, we have access to tools that can analyze insane amounts of data, identify patterns, and even predict potential hazards before they happen. But while AI is impacting and transforming safety across industries, it’s important to remember that technology is a tool just like a hammer or a pencil, albeit a super advanced one. At the end of the day, safety is about people, and as long as humans are doing the work, humans need to be the ones looking after the safety of those doing it.

Predicting Risk Before It Happens

One of AI’s biggest strengths is its ability to process historical safety data to detect trends and predict potential hazards. By analyzing past incidents, near-misses, and environmental conditions, AI systems can provide early warnings for risks that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. This can be pretty useful in high-risk industries like construction, aviation, and large-scale infrastructure projects, where a single mistake or failure can have catastrophic consequences.

AI-driven predictive maintenance is already proving its worth in infrastructure, aviation, and building systems. For example, in aviation AI can analyze engine performance data in real-time, flagging potential failures before they cause disruptions or accidents. In infrastructure, AI-powered sensors monitor bridges, tunnels, and high-rises for structural weaknesses, allowing for proactive repairs rather than reactive fixes.

Beyond analyzing past data, AI is also being incorporated into the design process itself, helping engineers identify potential safety risks before construction even begins. AI-driven modeling tools can simulate different scenarios, stress-test structures, and optimize designs to improve safety and resilience from day one. This proactive approach means that engineers can use AI not just to react to risks, but to design them out of the equation entirely, or at least try to.

AI and Safety in the Built Environment

Crystal ball aside, AI is also playing a huge role in active safety measures. In some new buildings, AI-powered fire detection and suppression systems can identify smoke or temperature anomalies faster than traditional alarms, triggering a response before flames have the chance to spread. While that’s happening, AI is also being used to improve HVAC systems by monitoring pollutants, humidity, and ventilation to improve air quality. Think of how this is especially important in environments like hospitals or high-occupancy buildings where poor air circulation can result in serious health risks.

Security is another area where AI is making an impact. From AI-driven surveillance systems that detect potential threats in real-time to automated emergency response mechanisms that guide evacuations, AI is helping create safer environments. However, even the smartest system is only as effective as the people interpreting and responding to its insights.

Can AI Replace Human Judgment?

There is no doubting AI’s potential but there are still some small challenges to integrating it into safety programs. Trust, accountability, and regulatory concerns all come into play. Can we fully trust an algorithm to make decisions about worker safety? Who is responsible when an AI-driven system fails? And most importantly, should AI be making these decisions in the first place?

At this point in our evolution, AI should support, not replace, human oversight in safety critical fields. Automation can handle data analysis, pattern recognition, and even decision-making assistance, but it lacks the intuition, adaptability, and experience that human professionals bring to safety management. What AI also can’t account for is human fallibility, meaning the unpredictable split-second decisions people make in high-pressure situations that can either save a life or put themselves in danger. No matter how advanced AI becomes, it can’t override human instinct, distraction, fatigue, or the countless other factors that influence behavior on a job site. That’s why while AI can help mitigate risks, it will never eliminate them entirely. Machines don’t understand the realities of the job site. They don’t feel the weight of responsibility when someone’s life is at risk. That’s why AI is still only a tool used by people, not a replacement for them.

As long as there are humans doing the work, humans must be looking after the safety of them. While AI is changing the game in safety in engineering, infrastructure, and building systems by helping us see risks sooner, react faster, and manage safety more effectively, the responsibility for safety will always rest with the people doing the work. Technology can assist, but it cannot replace the judgment, experience, and care that human workers bring to the job.

AI isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, it’s only going to get more advanced and be able to do more. Until AI reaches the point where it does all the work for us, where no one has to wake up, put on work boots, suits, or uniforms, and we all get to just enjoy our lives like Jacque Fresco imagined (Fresco was the founder of The Venus Project, a vision of a future where automation and resource-based economies eliminate the need for traditional jobs), humans will still be the ones doing the job. And as long as humans are doing the job, humans must be the ones looking after the safety of those doing it. AI can assist, predict, and optimize, but it can’t replace responsibility, judgment, or the reality that at the end of the day, safety is, and always will be, a human responsibility.

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