An international initiative steered by the UAE has resulted in a new global benchmark for safety and sustainability in industrial practices considered fit for addressing some of the challenges of the digital transition era.
With the proliferation of artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and the industrial internet of things across the global manufacturing, petrochemicals and heavy industries spheres, the first-of-its-kind Manifesto for Global Industrial Safety debuted last week at Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit or “GMIS” in Abu Dhabi.
Developed by the Global Initiative for Industrial Safety in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Lloyd’s Register Foundation, and the Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy, and GMIS itself, it is an attempt to provide a strategic blueprint for stakeholders to harness technology and effectively address safety risks for workers around the world.
The manifesto’s five guiding principles include – upholding the human right to safe working conditions, making technology central to any safety decisions that an industrial facility makes, exploiting and piloting new technologies that could support safety, monitoring, promoting and exchanging best practices across the supply chain, and improving industrial safety in developing nations.
Luomei Shu, Director of UNIDO’s Institutional Partnerships in the Investments and Technology Promotion Offices and Institutional Partnerships Division, underscored the guiding principles and the critical need for joint action, noting: “We need to ensure that access to technologies is evenly distributed and secured. This is certainly possible, if the international community responds to it.
“However, it’s not just one employee, one company, or one country can improve safety. It is a shared responsibility.”
Namir Hourani, managing director of GMIS, noted: “There is a clear consensus that investments in enhancing industrial safety are not just necessary for safeguarding the workforce and assets but are also critical drivers of long-term benefits and sustainable growth.
“At the end of the day when it comes to adapting to new changes awareness and education remain critical. Ultimately, the manifesto is a pivotal framework for industrial safety but not a panacea. Its intention is to provide a set of clear guidelines, foster collaboration and further safety and security across entire industries and their supply chains.”
Hourani added that the manifesto has resonated with stakeholders across diverse industries and markets, with “over 1000 sign-ups” and interest from leading organizations.
“It is driving transformative change in industrial safety, representing a global call to action which unites stakeholders to ensure that industrial progress and workers safety go hand in hand.
“To us, it represents a global call to action which unites stakeholders to ensure that industrial progress and workers safety go hand in hand.”
Much of the drive that led to the manifesto was driven forward by the UAE which has been a powerful advocate of such an initiative, the idea for which was first floated at GMIS 2021.
Mohammed Kamali, Chief Trade and Industry Officer at Abu Dhabi Investment Office, noted: “GMIS is a testament to meaningful collaboration. Implementing advanced technologies is not only a powerful tool for productivity but also embeds safety as a cornerstone of our industrial evolution.”
The Middle Eastern economic powerhouse has placed deep emphasis on prioritizing advancements in technology and safety standards in recent years, often directly linking it to improved workforce protection, strengthened operational resilience, and a more sustainable industrial throughput.