Digital technologies applied for supporting OSH management: a state of the art for automatic surveillance and digital assistant systems

Digital technologies are transforming occupational safety and health (OSH) across the different industrial sectors, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Currently, the adoption of digital technologies in the OSH field seems to be promising as several applications are starting to be applied; new emerging risks and criticalities must be now evaluated for these technologies aiming to provide a safe and efficient application. The focus of the study is on two main technologies applied in the OSH field: automatic surveillance and virtual assistant systems. The first category aims to monitor worker conditions to provide dynamic alerts and/or real time interventions. The latter aims to support workers and safety managers in providing more efficient support during hazardous tasks. The study proposes a critical literature analysis about the applications of these technologies for supporting OSH management, presenting different catalogues of the mostly used in terms of ease of use and perceived intrusiveness. Moreover, the study highlights four main categories concerning open challenges for OSH. On the one hand, the adoption of different technologies enhances situational awareness, proactive hazard management, and data-driven decision-making. On the other hand, a more human-centric and more personalized approach, including organizational strategies, communication, and workers interaction, is critical to maximize benefits, still not clearly regulated. Integrating feedback from workers and OSH experts supports a stronger safety culture, prevents psychosocial risks related to digitalization, and support the design of effective training programs.

Keywords: digital surveillance, virtual assistant, occupational safety and health, AI systems, wearable technologies.