The ‘Global Initiative for Future Industrial Safety’, a new collaborative platform to promote industrial safety tech through policy, best practices and cross-sector collaboration, has been unveiled at the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) in Dubai.
Global Initiative for Future Industrial Safety. Credit: GMIS
Global Initiative for Future Industrial Safety. Credit: GMIS
Launched in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the initiative will bring together a global coalition of stakeholders with the aim of placing safety at the heart of Industry 4.0 and developing tools to advance safety in the manufacturing sector.
The project is a continuation of the ongoing partnership between GMIS, UNIDO and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, and is also supported by the University of Cambridge. The three partners aim to build a global consensus on universal safety standards, guidelines and training, and to promote the latest safety technologies and industrial innovations.
The partnership was announced earlier this week at the summit by Namir Hourani, Managing Director of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit and member of the GMIS Organising Committee, Philip Rice, Managing Director and Consultant of Lloyd’s Register Group and Sergey Korotkov, Director of the UNIDO Centre for International Industrial Cooperation in the Russian Federation.
Bernardo Calzadilla-Sarmiento, UNIDO Managing Director, Directorate of Digitalization, Technology and Agri-Business, said: "Innovation is happening at a rapid pace which means disruption not only surpasses safety but produces uncertainty. Sharing knowledge and expertise, innovative approaches and technologically driven solutions are critical to enabling secure industrial safety globally.
"Adopted at local, national, regional and international levels, this newly emerging industrial safety paradigm will be decisive in addressing industrial safety and security risks, ensuring high productivity and efficiency of enterprises and preventing devastating disruptions, while boosting competitiveness and impacting economies and societies at large. This collaboration is a crucial step in that direction.
"We are delighted to launch the Global Initiative for Industrial Safety as it carries a promise for developing universal standards and state-of-the-art capabilities necessary to reinforce the safety of the workforce against rapid industrial technological advancements."
A further goal of the Global Initiative for Future Industrial Safety is to act as an international platform to tackle new potential safety challenges created by emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. It also seeks to fill gaps in safety-related knowledge and awareness, take on issues of transparency, and gather new safety insights for businesses and policymakers.
The initiative will also ensure that emerging technology tools and solutions are adopted by industries safely through its three focus areas. The first is set to facilitate new evidence, insights and thought leadership; the second vouches to disseminate awareness and recognition; whilst the third aims to offer resources to convene communities of practice.
Dr. Ruth Boumphrey, Director of Research & Strategic Programmes for Lloyd’s Register Foundation said: "The launch of the Global Initiative for Industrial Safety is a continuation of a fruitful and dynamic relationship with GMIS, which initially began in 2019 to explore the safety-related challenges posed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
"Over the past few years, the Foundation has identified an urgent need for cross-disciplinary research and collaboration to develop possible actions and interventions to increase industrial resilience. Currently, 7,500 people die from unsafe working conditions every day globally, whilst 1,000 die from occupational accidents and an additional 6,500 from work-related diseases, together representing 5-7% of deaths globally. The data demonstrates a need for closer attention to potential hazards at industrial sites and a more thorough global approach, encompassing all nations.
"The Global Initiative for Future Industrial Safety holds great potential to shape the future of health and safety for manufacturers worldwide."
Badr Al Olama, Head of the Organising Committee of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation, said: "As the world’s first cross-sectoral and cross-functional platform to support industrialisation, innovation, and technology, GMIS has strong ambitions to facilitate the development of safety technologies for all.
"The ambitious co-development of the Global Initiative for Industrial Safety will lead the way for more resilient capabilities together with our partners and global organisations. The future of global industrial safety starts with shaping the policy responses of tomorrow, owing to cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities and refined best practices."
GMIS2021 is currently being held as part of the six-day GMIS Week from November 22-27 in Dubai at the Exhibition Centre, and features over 250 global speakers.
Participants can join #GMIS2021 live and access the full programme agenda at the following link: https://gmisummit.com/.
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