According to technology thought leaders, we are now in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In this scenario, the mechanized manufacturing of the First Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth-century, the mass production of industry in the Second Industrial Revolution in the early twentieth-century, and the computerized processes of the middle of the twentieth-century have given way to the smart, data-driven automation of the twenty-first-century. Manual processes have been replaced by the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Processes that used to require significant personal attention and maintenance can now be fully automated with minimal human interaction and can generate vast amounts of data that can be analyzed to produce information for critical, real-time decision making across the organization.
Leaders in environment, health, safety, and sustainability (EHS&S) are justified in being excited for these developments. Greater automation means machines and machine-assisted processes can be used to keep human workers out of dangerous situations, which reduces the risk of workplace injuries and fatalities. Further, better methods for collecting and analyzing data means more efficient processes that produce less waste and use less energy, which has significant benefits for environmental and sustainability requirements. Better data also means moving from the responsive approach of analyzing lagging indicators like injuries and incidents to preventing negative outcomes by using leading indicators based on predictive analytics.
Yet EHS&S practitioners have lacked critical information that allows them to benchmark their requirements against the expectations of the marketplace. Without deep insight into the emerging technology trends for adoption rates, data analysis methods, drivers for adoption, and budget considerations, EHS&S practitioners are reluctant to spend money on unfamiliar technology solutions that have the potential to revolutionize their business.
In the Trends in Emerging Tech for EHS&S from the National Association for EHS&S Management (NAEM), information technology (IT) and EHS&S practitioners from leading companies provide their insights into the current state of play for technology adoption. You’ll learn about the following benchmarks:
• The catalysts driving EHS&S leaders to adopt emerging technology solutions.
• The emerging technologies that companies are currently using or planning to use.
• The techniques companies are using to analyze the data that results from the use of emerging technologies.
• How companies are building budgets for emerging technologies and which factors impact those budgets.