New research shows 97 percent of America’s workplaces are still too vulnerable to health and safety risks, with 8.7 percent exposed to unacceptably high levels of risk, according to new findings released by workplace safety expert HSI.

Only 3 percent of organizations believe they are ready to manage their environmental, health and safety (EHS) risks. This is despite increasing advocacy for zero risk in the workplace, the report added.

The research, which included interviews and surveys of more than 1,000 EHS professionals across 20 industries worldwide and was undertaken by independent analyst firm Focus Networks, reveals the central problem to be the ability to capture vital data and then action that data in time to prevent or respond to an incident or crisis.

The global breakdown of responses was 37 percent North America; 29 percent Australia and New Zealand; 26 percent United Kingdom; 7 percent Other Countries.

Response based on organization size indicated 41 percent employed more than 1,000 employees, and 59 percent employed less than 1,000 total employees.

A surprising 68 percent of EHS leaders do not have confidence in the quality and quantity of data being captured, the report found.

EHS professionals believe processes could be made much better, with the goal of reducing workplace incidents and injuries as the leading expected outcome of a new EHS platform, followed by the desire to reduce time spent on administrative tasks.

“Behavioral economics tells us that executives are overconfident when assessing an organization’s ability to respond to future events. And we also know that one of the best antidotes for overconfidence is objective data. A 68 percent no-confidence vote by EHS professionals is very objective and very telling,” said Andrew Milroy, author of the report and lead researcher at Focus Networks.

The report found that EHS maturity varies across industries.

Healthcare and construction both have high risk levels, but their maturity is quite different, the findings showed.

Healthcare has a maturity score of 63.6 out of 100 and is the best-performing industry.

By contrast, the report found that the construction industry scored only 49.3 for maturity out of a possible 100, effectively failing to keep up with industry needs and standards.

“As much as we’d like to think otherwise, risk management is in its adolescence. And ineffective or faulty evaluation of risk likelihood and severity can be extremely serious in EHS, just as it is in cybersecurity,” said Jose Arcilla, president and chief operations officer, HSI.

“From a risk perspective, we can’t keep thinking ‘if this happens’ but rather ‘when this happens.’ And, if you’re not prepared to answer the ‘when’ question, you either have a healthy appetite for risk or are extremely complacent. Neither are good,” Arcilla added.

Many factors impact workplace safety programs.

For example, 70 percent of EHS leaders reported being saddled with multiple point solutions versus a multi-solution platform, increasing the lack of data integrity.

“First, many organizations are in a complexity blizzard. They can barely see the terrain they are on. This is because there are too many disconnected systems. Safety data is typically time-sensitive, and too many organizations cannot action data in time. Often people don’t even know where or how to report an issue. So, a simple, integrated system solves many problems,” Milroy said.

The four biggest gaps overall are:

• Lack of engagement with staff and workforce.
• Lack of integrated data that can be actioned in real time.
• Low or non-existent resources allocated to psychosocial and mental health challenges.
• Security and privacy issues.

In terms of connectivity, 47 percent of participants cited disparate systems as a major capability gap.

The research also found that most organizations approached health and safety in terms of compliance, with 75.8 percent of organizations reporting a compliance-focused approach, rather than as a part of risk management or as an investment in people and culture.

Another 67.1 percent of programs are simply “operational” with limited digitization, the report found.

“Compliance is a grudge purchase. So, it is no wonder people are not engaging with safety systems and don’t adopt better practices. The leadership team needs to change the narrative on health and safety, so it becomes part of the vision,” Milroy said.

A major challenge for immature organizations is effectively engaging their staff and workforce on EHS issues, the responses showed.

The research showed that best-practice organizations that have integrated technology and data dramatically reduce complexity. They also focus on the safety of the whole person, which goes beyond physical risks to include psychosocial factors such as anxiety and bullying, as well as cybersecurity and privacy.

State-of-the-art technology can dramatically simplify data collection, analysis and action, yet far too few organizations understand this relationship, instead preferring to keep adding stand-alone technology that is difficult to integrate.

“Yes, technology has developed in leaps and bounds, especially in our ability to integrate and use data in real time, but ultimately this is a leadership matter. It is about risk management and corporate culture. It is about the organization you want to be, not compliance, and if you don’t understand that you will fall further behind,” said Arcilla.

Gaining executive support is the leading concern with implementing a new EHS platform, the research found.

The findings suggest temporary and emerging technologies will improve EHS readiness but, so far, only the most mature organizations understand this potential and have acted on it.

Risk Level and EHS Maturity by Industry