H&S Bites 6: AI CCTV, Reporting Apps and the Future of H&S Risk Indicators

As part of our ‘H&S Bites’ series, we are looking at some of the largest health and safety fines imposed over the last 12 months and the practical lessons that flow from them, as well as some interesting trends identified by our Health & Safety specialist team, part of our wider Corporate crime, investigations and inquiries team.

In this final article, we look ahead to the future of health and safety, exploring how new technologies and data‑driven approaches are influencing the way organisations understand and manage risk.

Key points:

• Digital safety reporting is expanding: Some organisations now equip workers with a health & safety reporting app. This, enables near-instant reporting of hazards and near misses (often with photos and precise data) which can result in a higher volume of safety data, captured more quickly and accurately.
• AI turns data into early warnings: With more safety data flowing inwards, AI tools are helping health & safety teams sift, spot patterns and predict risks that may previously have been hidden in manual reports & large datasets. AI can flag emerging issues faster, and help identify trends.
• AI CCTV: There are examples of  AI-enabled CCTV tools which looks to  detect unsafe conditions (like missing PPE or unsafe vehicle movements) and send real-time alerts so that supervisors can intervene before an accident happens. This builds on other existing technologies, for example transport providers who use cameras / real-time biometric data to monitor head posture, blinking patterns, and eye-closure times (e.g. micro-sleeps) to manage fatigue / inattention risk.
• Implications: The use of AI, may allow organisations to move from relying on traditional lagging indicators (like incident rates) which shows failures after the event, to using leading indicators (hazard observations, behaviour metrics, real-time data analysis) supporting a more proactive approach to risk management and addressing risks before harm occurs. Reporting tools (e.g. employee-facing apps) and data-gathering technologies (e.g. AI CCTV) also lower the barrier / effort in gathering these leading indicators.
• Alignment with legal duties:  Duties to manage risks so far as is reasonably practicable encourages proactive safety measures. Used well, the tools identified above can support employers, premises owners and other duty holders in fulfilling these duties. But deployment must be proportionate. Consultation with workers is key, and perception is important. New technology should be seen as a safety tool, not unwarranted surveillance. Transparency and compliance with data protection laws (e.g. on CCTV use) are essential to maintain trust and uphold privacy.

Looking ahead, the use of reporting apps and AI-driven analysis are amongst the tools that could transform health & safety by empowering dutyholders to take a more predictive, preventive, data-informed approach to health & safety management. By harnessing these tools in line with legal duties and ethical practices, organisations can strengthen their ability to identify risks early, respond swiftly and continuously improve workplace safety culture.

By Charlotte Whitaker, Lloyd Nail and Alice Eckley

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Read the previous article in our series: H&S Bites 5: Companies with no employees - Burges Salmon

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