Resources companies sit on mountains of data. Can they use it to save lives?

Resources companies sit on mountains of data. Can they use it to save lives?

An announcement made yesterday at the BigTech’13 enterprise mobility conference seems to indicate that the answer is ‘yes’.

Perth-based company Synaptor revealed that it has developed a tool for predicting workplace accidents based on the data companies already gather from the field.

 “One company we’re speaking to here in WA gathers more than 40,000 observations about hazards and employee behaviours each month. This is incredibly useful data, but it’s currently not being used to the fullest.” explained Synaptor Managing Director, Justin Strharsky. “We can use this data to show live, interactive maps of risks. We can use it to predict when and how an individual is most likely to be injured.”  

 Synaptor worked with a local high-tech start-up to build the prototype of its predictive tool. “We’ve been fortunate to work with some very talented individuals who have held distinguished roles at Google and BNP Paribas. They bring a deep understanding of the latest predictive models and visualisation tools,” said Strharsky. 

Strharsky believes the accuracy of his predictive tool will improve with the addition of other data sources. “We know that companies gather lots of additional information about their workforce - shift length, swing length, and training records for example. We think all of these can contribute to a more accurate model for predicting accidents, and we’re eager to work with resources companies to use them to improve safety.”

Strharsky is confident that companies adopting his predictive analytics solution will see measurable benefits: “By understanding their changing risk profile, our customers will know how and where to focus their incident prevention efforts. They will know our prediction engine works because they’ll see their incident rates drop.”

The need for innovations in safety management such as this from Synaptor seems clear. According to SafeWork Australia, occupational illness and injuries cost the country upwards of $60 billion – nearly 5% of the entire GDP.