New technology, safer work: AI in Health & Safety

An idea born from curiosity and commitment

It began with a question from Michael Sturm, Head of our Corporate HSEQ team: What if AI could help us see what we’re missing? As part of his ongoing effort to identify new technologies and providers that could take KAEFER forward innovatively, he had already been scanning the market. That’s how Veunex was identified – a forward-thinking provider with a promising solution.

But the real challenge wasn’t finding the technology. It was finding a site ready to embrace something so new – and potentially controversial. KAEFER UK & Ireland stepped up. Not because everything was perfect, but because they had the right mindset: mature, transparent, and willing to try.

The pilot launched in our Jarrow workshop, where around 60 colleagues work. Over 12 weeks, an AI system analysed behaviours like glove compliance, safe distances from vehicles and rotating equipment, use of handrails, and general housekeeping. All under the watchful, but not judgmental, eye of AI.

Scepticism? Of course. But here’s what changed minds.

Let’s be honest. The first reaction? “Big Brother is watching.” That’s human. The unknown often feels like a threat.

What changed everything wasn’t a fancy dashboard or a corporate mandate. It was the people.

KAEFER UK & Ireland’s HSE Governance Advisor Eve Bellingham knew that trust can’t be demanded – it has to be earned. So, she created an AI Committee. Not made up of managers, but of volunteers from the workshop floor. Colleagues. Peers. People who understand the work because they do the work.

AI Committee: Carl Roberts, Eve Bellingham, Liam Clough, Adam Ivison, Paul Graham

The first two weeks were all about training the AI system – cameras occasionally misinterpreted scenarios like machinery positioning or missed light-colored safety gloves. That’s when the AI Committee stepped in. They sat down together, looked at the data, suggested practical adjustments, and actively shaped the system’s setup.

They realised the AI wasn’t there to catch them out – it was there to catch what they couldn’t see. And once that clicked, the system became a tool. A shared tool.

One example? The AI flagged unsafe proximity to forklifts outside the workshop. The result wasn’t a reprimand – it was a solution: handrails were added, and high-visibility jackets were introduced. Safer, together.

Privacy, ethics and trust – by design

Concerns about being recorded are valid. That’s why transparency was built into every layer of the project. During the system’s learning phase of 14 days, video footage was reviewed to train the AI. Faces? Blurred. Biometric data? Not collected. Storage? Limited to 24 hours, only during training. An independent Data Protection Impact Assessment confirmed everything aligned with GDPR and industry’s best practices.

After that, recordings stopped. Only anonymised data was used.

Importantly, the AI Committee was a safeguard. A voice for the people. And it worked.

What comes next?

After Jarrow, the system is now being rolled out in other UK locations: scaffold yards, fab shops, plant facilities. Each environment is different, and so are the safety challenges. But the core benefit remains the same: visibility. This technology isn’t about control – it’s about opportunity. About giving mature teams with strong safety cultures, the next level of insight to improve further.

Looking ahead, AI could even help optimise processes: spotting patterns in how people move, identifying inefficiencies and supporting LEAN initiatives. It’s not a silver bullet. But it’s a powerful piece of the puzzle.

Final thoughts: a tool, not a threat

Michael Sturm, Head of Corporate HSEQ, has a vision: that we embrace new technologies progressively in order to support people. “I see these tools as an opportunity to promote a positive attitude towards error management by working together rather than demonising them,” says Michael.

What is one of the most powerful advantages of AI? Precision. It generates exact, unbiased data, free from human interpretation, assumptions, and incomplete observations. In fact, during the pilot, the system made the same number of safety observations in Jarrow in one week as was typically recorded across the UK and Ireland in a whole month. This demonstrates the power of scalable, consistent insight.

This project showed what’s possible when we lead with trust, involve the workforce and stay curious. And yes, scepticism is natural. But if you give it a fair chance, if you look at the whole picture, you might find what Jarrow found.

Sometimes, the best safety tool is a new perspective.