Survey Reveals Wide Interest in Workplace Safety Technology, But Barriers to Adoption

Amid a perception by employers and employees of increasing workplace risks, there is also growing interest in safety technology to mitigate these risks, according to research by the National Safety Council. But while consideration of technology has increased, the adoption rate of new technologies lags, the research finds.

The NSC’s Work to Zero initiative surveyed employers and employees in 2020 and 2023 to gauge top risks that contribute to injuries and fatalities in the workplace, as well as determine familiarity with and adoption of various safety technologies.

Both employers and employees reported an increased likelihood of exposure to all surveyed workplace risks in the 2023 poll compared to 2020, with the most significant increases in perceived risks reported by employees.

Employers and employees were in agreement on the top three most likely risks, unchanged from 2020 to 2023: Fatigue, heavy equipment operation and thermal stress.

Among employers, the surveyed risks with the greatest increase in likelihood over the past three years were fatigue (78% in 2023 vs. 71% in 2020), and workplace violence (33% vs. 25%).

Among employees, the risks with the biggest increase in likelihood were heavy equipment operation (61% in 2023 vs. 48% in 2020), repair and maintenance (58% vs. 42%), work at heights (54% vs. 42%) and workplace violence (35% vs. 22%).

Safety Technologies

Across all surveyed safety technologies, the most notable increases in usage between 2020 and 2023 were for risk management software (up 6 percentage points),  drones (up 5 points) and proximity sensors (up 4 points), while use of other technologies has remained relatively similar over the past three years, NSC found.

Employers reported increased technology applicability and consideration across all surveyed technologies. Risk management software saw an increase in consideration to 82% in 2023 from 73% in 2020.  Consideration of worker impairment detection technology rose to 66% from 62%, and extended reality (augmented reality/virtual reality) consideration increased to 66% from 60%.

Adoption of safety lags consideration, the NSC survey found. For example, in 2023 only 38% of employers reported using risk management software, 19% used worker impairment detection technology, and 17% used extended reality (AR/VR).

The technologies with the highest adoption rates among employers in 2023 were risk management software (38%), proximity sensors (31%) and wearable gas sensors (23%), NSC found.

Employees are significantly more aware of emerging safety technologies compared to 2020 survey data, according to the report. In 2023, 31% of employees reported being very familiar with a range of safety technologies compared to only 20% in 2020.

Barriers to Adoption

The adoption of new safety technologies in the workplace follows three key phases: applicability, consideration and use, according to the report. However, significant gaps exist between these stages that are hindering widespread implementation, the NSC found.

“The gap between consideration and use can be described as an uptake or implementation barrier. If employers believe a technology is relevant to their workplace hazards and they are considering it, then it is critical to understand the reasons they are not moving forward with adoption,” the report noted.

While it has decreased since 2020, purchase cost remains a key obstacle for employers in adopting new safety technologies (cited by 44% in 2023, down from 55% in 2020). Many employers also have concerns about collecting personal information that could potentially violate employee privacy, with 49% citing this as a barrier. Additionally, 48% of employers feel their current safety equipment adequately meets their needs, while 46% say new technologies are simply not a priority for their workplace at this time.

Employees themselves present additional barriers to technology adoption, the survey found. Nearly half, or 46%, of workers say they don’t want to change the safety equipment they currently use. Similarly, 41% believe their existing safety equipment and technology sufficiently meets their needs, negating the necessity for new solutions in their view.

Despite those employee opinions, the survey found that 83% of employees agreed they would be open to trying and using new safety technologies in the workplace.

“As companies prepare to implement technology, it is critical to engage workers from the beginning of the process to gain insight on potential impacts of technology and to gather feedback from end users on their experience using it,” the NSC said. “Gathering feedback on workers’ experiences using and wearing technology is critical in understanding how successful full-scale implementation may be.”

To access the full report, visit the NSC website. &