The safety and operations forum outlined how amplifying human oversight with software can reduce site risks while improving operational visibility.

At EcoOnline’s 2026 United Kingdom & Ireland Construction Safety and Operations Forum, leaders called for better operational visibility and proactive measures as the sector continued to top the list for worker fatalities in 2024/25. Designed to support collective progress on construction safety, the forum—featuring customers such as AtkinsRéalis, Colas Ltd, and Winvic—explored where software can strengthen resilience as pressures intensify.

Shifting to leading indicators

Rising costs, tighter timelines, and increasingly complex operating conditions are shrinking the margin for error on site, amplifying familiar safety risks and increasing psychosocial pressures on the workforce.

That pressure is accelerating a shift from reactive safety practices to proactive, data-led prevention, with leaders putting more emphasis on leading indicators and clearer trend visibility to spot serious harm risks earlier. Pat Sheehan, Associate Director, SHEQ, at Colas Ltd, noted that his team’s “focus is on near-miss reporting and trend analysis as leading indicators, so we can act earlier and prevent incidents that have a much higher potential to cause harm.”

Reinforcing the limits of lagging measures, Dan MacLeod, Global Lead for Programs & Systems at AtkinsRéalis, said, “We put much more emphasis on Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) prevention. Total Recordable Injury Frequency (TRIF) reflects past outcomes, not future risk.”

Strengthening psychological safety

Noticeably distinct from other regions was the emphasis on the link between psychological safety and visibility into safety risks. EcoOnline’s 2025 survey of UK workers revealed that the most cited improvement from greater investment in safety was ‘more satisfied staff’.

Steven Poxton, Senior HSEQ at Winvic, warned that if workers “think blame is coming, reporting drops.” He suggested anonymous mobile hazard and incident reporting as one way to remove fear-driven under-reporting and improve visibility into near misses and emerging trends.

Ensuring contractor competency

With contractor competency varying widely across sites and supervisors increasingly stretched managing checks alongside day-to-day delivery, leaders unanimously agreed there is a growing need to digitise contractor certification, permitting, onboarding, and safety training. The goal is to reduce supervisors’ administrative burden and make competency more consistent in the field.

This focus aligns with Verdantix’s Smart Innovators: Control of Work Software report, where EcoOnline is a featured vendor. The report found that 40% of surveyed medium-, high-, and very-high-risk firms intend to increase control of work software spending in the coming year, and projects that spend will surpass $1.5 billion by 2030.

Balancing technology assistance and over-reliance

Members of the forum debated how to balance the adoption of new technologies in the era of AI with the need for human oversight. While cameras, automatic braking, and sensors can support safer outcomes on site, they should not replace situational awareness or active supervision. Participants warned that as comfort with these tools grows, it can reduce vigilance and create new hazards. As Pat Sheehan at Colas Ltd said, “Technology can reduce risk, but it does not remove the need for people to think and intervene.”

Tom Goodmanson, CEO of EcoOnline, said, “As pressures grow and technology moves faster than ever, construction leaders are looking for a trusted partner to help carry the burden, so they can protect people and future-proof their business. That’s why we bring leaders together through forums like this: to share what’s working, debate priorities, and accelerate safer operations. Our role is to support better decisions with insight, not replace human judgement. As the forum reinforced, construction safety should be data-driven, but it is fundamentally people-centred.”

Learn more about how EcoOnline supports construction safety.

About EcoOnline

EcoOnline delivers uncomplicated environment, health and safety (EHS), chemical management and ESG/sustainability technology solutions to forward-thinking leaders. Safeguarding your entire workforce, from frontline employees to lone workers and contractors, EcoOnline’s always-on solutions support your organisation through everyday operations and moments of emergency and crisis alike. Our connected suite of SaaS software enables over 11,000 businesses to protect their people and the planet by ensuring compliance, risk visibility and mitigation, operational predictability, and long-term resilience. Backed by an unwavering commitment to customer success, EcoOnline’s software is powerful yet simple to use – built on decades of real-world expertise, data and insights.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260318352923/en/

Media contact
Alyssa Fishwick, Sr. Director, Global PR
alyssa.fishwick@ecoonline.com

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