What solutions are being developed in your field to improve employee safety?

As industries shift toward sustainability, the circular economy is gaining momentum, aiming to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency. However, this transition introduces new safety challenges, particularly in chemical and occupational safety.

Reusing waste and by-products can increase exposure to hazardous substances. Some harmful materials may be intentionally included in production cycles, while others must be removed. Managing unexpected chemical interactions and preventing harmful substance accumulation are critical concerns.

One key solution is replacing hazardous chemicals with less harmful or bio-based alternatives. While these can reduce health risks, they also introduce new challenges. For example, hydrogen is an efficient energy source but highly flammable, requiring strict safety measures. Similarly, wood-based lignin has a low ignition energy, making it highly explosive.

Additionally, evolving materials challenge existing regulations, as current legislation has yet to fully address the safety requirements of new chemicals. Ensuring safe handling, storage, and use of these materials requires continuous research and regulatory updates.

By proactively addressing these challenges, industries can enhance workplace safety while advancing sustainable solutions.

In the consulting and design industry, we don’t face many physical safety risks. That is why the focus shifts to psychosocial aspects of employee safety – though safety precautions are still essential when working on-site or visiting factories.

At Elomatic, we prioritize improving employee safety through a combination of leadership development and psychological safety initiatives. For example, the Elomatic Leadership Academy focuses on enhancing managers’ leadership skills, which fosters psychological safety within teams. This ensures that employees feel comfortable voicing concerns, making mistakes, and engaging openly, contributing to a healthier work environment.

By analyzing feedback from our annual employee experience surveys, we can identify areas impacting psychological safety, which guides targeted initiatives to address concerns and strengthen workplace culture. We also collaborate with occupational health and safety experts to ensure safe working conditions and provide comprehensive training and clear guidelines to mitigate potential risks.

While our work is predominantly knowledge-based, focusing on interpersonal dynamics is essential. Ensuring that employees feel secure in their work environment – both physically and emotionally – helps foster a more effective and resilient workforce.

Employee safety – specifically, the safety of software product users – is our top priority, but it is also a complex challenge with many dimensions. In today’s world, people are bombarded with information from multiple sources: mobile phones, operator screens, and co-workers are just a few examples. This constant influx of data can lead to information overload during the workday.

To combat this, we focus on developing products that highlight only the most relevant performance indicators and present them in an easily accessible manner. While “cognitive ergonomics” may sound like a fancy term, it simply refers to designing intuitive and efficient solutions that help users process new information quickly, without unnecessary mental strain.

Additionally, our production optimization solutions enhance employee safety in more traditional ways. By reducing the likelihood of unplanned shutdowns, we not only improve operational efficiency but also cut down the time production operators spend in hazardous areas while resolving issues. Each incident avoided holds both economic value in terms of production loss and, more importantly, enhances employee safety – making it invaluable.