ITASCA, Illinois, Aug. 11, 2021 - United behind the shared mission of saving lives and eliminating leading causes of preventable injuries and deaths in the workplace, DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS) and the National Safety Council today announced a new strategic alliance in which the two organizations will collaborate to increase the breadth of available safety technologies and advise companies on how to use technology effectively to mitigate risks in the workplace.
Developing and implementing new technologies to reduce risk and improve worker safety is vital given stagnating workplace fatality trends. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2019 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, there were 5,333 fatal work injuries in the United States in 2019, nearly a 2 % increase over 2018 and the largest number of fatal occupational injuries since 2007.
The strategic alliance will enable both DSS and NSC to expand the marketplace availability and depth of technologies provided to organizations through their complementary initiatives: DSS’ SafetyTech.ai and the NSC Work to Zero initiative. Both are designed to educate organizations and increase employers’ adoption of life-saving safety technology. In addition to both organizations developing joint content to support this effort, NSC will support SafetyTech.ai through co-branding and provide its 15,000 member companies access to the SafetyTech.ai platform.
“DSS and NSC recognize the importance of utilizing and implementing safety technology to monitor work practices and improve the safety of workers,” said Davide Vassallo, CEO of DuPont Sustainable Solutions. “In the past two years, we have seen the number of safety technology providers increase at a rapid pace – from hundreds to thousands. It is critical we help ensure that companies are well-equipped and knowledgeable about how technology can promote employee safety and prevent fatalities.”
“Everyone deserves to return home safely at the end of their workday — and technology can make our shared goal of eliminating workplace fatalities a reality,” said Lorraine Martin, NSC president and CEO. “This strategic alliance with DSS will make it even easier for employers to identify the best technology solutions available for their unique safety challenges and help save lives.”
SafetyTech.ai is a web-based platform that aggregates technology in one place so that companies can access the specific information they need by hazard. SafetyTech.ai currently has more than 400 safety technology vendors and 204 live solutions that address three main technologies: Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality; Artificial Intelligence and Analytics; and Wearable/Sensor technology. More than 20 use cases are currently in the system, including remote assistance, worker fatigue, lone worker, and simulated learning. Companies can register for SafetyTech by visiting safetytech.ai.
The NSC Work to Zero initiative launched in January 2019 with a grant from the McElhattan Foundation. Work to Zero focuses on educating employers on technological safety enhancements that promise to reduce and, ultimately, eliminate deaths in the workplace. NSC recently launched a new web experience for companies to view common hazardous situations and understand how safety technology can help save lives. They also developed resources on four emerging technologies, including drones, fatigue monitoring and wearables, proximity sensors and VR/AR. Each year, NSC hosts the Work to Zero Summit to bring together EHS experts to discuss the latest life-saving technology. For more about the Council’s Work to Zero initiative, visit nsc.org/worktozero.
About DuPont Sustainable Solutions
DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS) is a leading provider of operations management consulting services that enable organizations to protect people, operate efficiently and build capabilities to accelerate progress towards becoming a more sustainable, engaged organization. By leveraging its DuPont heritage, deep industry and business process expertise, and diverse team of expert consultants, DSS helps clients turn operations management into a competitive advantage. Additional information is available here.
About the National Safety Council
The National Safety Council is America’s leading nonprofit safety advocate – and has been for over 100 years. As a mission-based organization, we work to eliminate the leading causes of preventable death and injury, focusing our efforts on the workplace, roadway and impairment. We create a culture of safety to not only keep people safer at work, but also beyond the workplace so they can live their fullest lives.
