The Managing Director of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Oluwaseun Faleye, has advocated for the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digitalisation in the promotion of safety and health within the workplace.
Speaking at the Occupational Safety and Health Forum commemorating the World Day of Safety and Health, organised by the Fund in Abuja, Faleye stated that in embracing technology, care should be taken not to forget the core things that drive safety and health in the workplace.
Faleye argued that AI would introduce innovations in workplace safety with a prediction, prevention and protection revolution, which will, in turn, promote safety and health in the workplace.
The NSITF chief emphasised the need for continuous learning and adaptation, investing in training and education to ensure workers are proficient in utilising tools.
Faleye further stressed the need to ensure compliance with appropriate ethics and that proper safeguards are implemented. He called for the reaffirmation of the NITF and NECA’s commitment to workers’ safety.
Faleye thanked NECA for its continued support and commended the organising team for putting in their best. He said the topic was timely and pivotal in reshaping safety in workplaces.
Earlier, while welcoming participants to the event, the Executive Director of Operations of NSITF, Mrs Mojisolaoluwa Alli-Macaulay, said it was a gathering of experts, practitioners and stakeholders to brainstorm on the best practices and challenges in the adoption of AI and digitalisation for safety and workers’ well-being.
She submitted that the aim of equipping occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals with the required knowledge and skills is for them to be able to tap into AI and Digitalisation and tackle the challenges thereof for a safer and healthier workplace in Nigeria.
In his goodwill message, the Director General of NECA, Smart Oyerinde, observed that the workplace environment in Nigeria is in a precarious state.
According to him, the event is an opportunity to restate the commitment to workers’ safety and deepen partnership among stakeholders.He declared that AI has come to stay and is shaping things and how stakeholders respond to safety in the workplace.
The DG reinstated NECA’s commitment to a safer and healthier work environment for Nigerian workers, revealing ongoing free training in this regard.
Also in a goodwill message, Chairman, the House of Representatives Committee on Safety Standard, David Idris Zakarias, lauded the NSITF management for its courage and doggedness in improving the efficiency of the Fund. He added that AI had the potential to transform the way stakeholders prevent, monitor and respond to hazards.
The Committee Chairman advocated for a worker-centred approach, saying, “Behind every tool and innovation are humans.
An innovation can only be measured in the form of the lives it protects.” He said the House remained steadfast in its collective pursuit of safety in the workplace.
The forum, themed ‘Revolutionizing Health and Safety: The Role of AI and Digitalization at Work’, was organized by the HSE Department of the Fund to explore the issues around the introduction of AI and digitalization and their roles in ensuring workers’ safety and health.
