Safety World Congress - The Future of Safety and Work
In November 2023, Andrea Rowe attended and presented at the “The 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in 2023” in Sydney. The brought together over 3000 global leaders in safety and harm prevention from over 120 countries.
The Congress provided a global forum for the exchange of knowledge, best practices, and experiences to promote safe and healthy work environments for all.
Andrea presented as part of the symposium "Digital Transformation and the Human Factor in Machine and System Safety – Opportunities and Risks" which focused on the role of digitalization in occupational safety, health, and well-being. Topics included cybersecurity, IoT, AI and machine learning, virtual and augmented reality, robotics, and cobots.
The event presented good practices supported by scientific evidence, addressing new technologies like remote access control, cloud connections, and smart protection devices. It aimed to provide a comprehensive view of a modern, digitalized, prevention-oriented production system. Presented shared new technologies that can reduce the physical burdens on human workers and other technologies such as Artificial Intelligence that can enhance the safety managers’ role. Presenters guided the audience where caution is needed when introducing new technologies.
Andrea Rowe's presentation highlighted the digital transformation in machine and system safety. She focused on collaborative robots (cobots) and their interface with humans, exploring historical robot laws, categories of robots, machinery safeguarding, and key safety principles for working with cobots and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). She emphasized the importance of safety in environments where humans and robots coexist, stressing effective safety protocols and comprehensive risk assessments.
*AI used to write this article.
