This project is funded jointly by the UK and Turkish governments. Our focus is on an important socio-technical challenge: how can advanced computational methods and low-cost sensor systems be employed to support regulators and employers in increasing Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulation compliance?
The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimate that millions of workers die every year because of occupational accidents and work-related illnesses (ILO, 2014), and more than 96% of these fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries. The great majority of accidents are preventable through adherence with existing international OHS standards. These regulations have not, however, always been implemented or sustained. We are exploring the use of low-cost devices in conjunction with automated reasoning models to understand how workplaces can be effectively instrumented. Such systems may collect information about the environment and activities through various sensors, reason about compliance with OHS regulations, and support coordination of responses to emergencies to mitigate damaging effects. We are investigating how automated monitoring of this kind can operate hand-in-hand with existing inspection regimes to more efficiently utilize scarce expert resources and enhance trust in compliance assessments.