How will the work environment (including new technologies, new materials, changes in work practices and changes in the workforce) significantly change and what are the impacts on workplace safety? How do these changing risks interact and how can they be mitigated?

Background

HSE Strategic Objective: Maintain Great Britain’s record as one of the safest countries to work in (https://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/assets/docs/the-hse-strategy.pdf)

The legislation under which HSE operates has enabled Great Britain to become one of the safest places in the world to work through a combination of our extensive proactive regulatory work, enforcement, and prosecutions. To underpin policy, regulatory and operational activities in this strategic objective the evidence requirements in this area will include:

To develop the existing system of ongoing data collection, analysis, interpretation and result dissemination so that it remains fit for purpose to enable appropriate targeting of interventions and enforcement to maintain safety performance.

To extract insight and intelligence from data to develop data driven solutions which will improve safety performance by building on our learning and knowledge from the Discovering Safety programme.

To further develop understanding of the current and future world of work to ensure that our regulatory approach remains suitable and sufficient, taking account of any social, demographic and technological changes (including artificial intelligence).

To maintain and develop our risk models and evidence that supports statutory requirements and regulatory regimes to maintain safety within major hazard industries.

The questions provide more detail of the evidence needs within the main Areas of Research Interest Question Group.