ITASCA, IL -- The National Safety Council unveiled through its Work to Zero initiative a free online assessment to help organizations assess their readiness level for embracing safety technology to save lives.

Workplace fatalities are on the rise, with more than 5,300 work-related fatalities recorded in the United States in 2019, the latest year of available data. This represents the largest fatal case count since 2007. Work to Zero is aimed at reversing this trend through the promise of technology, with the ultimate goal of eliminating workplace fatalities by 2050.

“The only number of acceptable workplace fatalities is zero,” said Lorraine Martin, NSC president and CEO. “Through our Work to Zero initiative, we aim to help companies of all sizes keep their workers safe by using technology. Our new digital readiness tool is another resource to help make that happen so employers can ensure their people live their fullest lives, on and off the clock.”

Funded by the McElhattan Foundation, Work to Zero is making innovation more accessible by helping employers explore the importance of safety technology, what options are available and how to determine an organization’s readiness for adopting new technology solutions. NSC released a new white paper, Determining Readiness for Safety Innovation and Industry 4.0 that covers:

• Barriers to implementing safety technology
• Readiness and the importance of the human mindset
• Phases of readiness, including observing, experimenting, adopting, integrating and transforming
• Readiness to pilot technology

“Digitalization and advanced analytics have been applied by many businesses and operations to achieve breakthrough performances,” said Dr. Mei-Li Lin, senior vice president, Service Division Consulting, DEKRA. “Success hinges on not only being able to leverage technological advances, but by first ensuring the workforce is ready to embrace them.”

Click here to take a free readiness assessment now or visit the Work to Zero booth in the safety technology pavilion at the 2021 NSC Safety Congress & Expo in Orlando, Florida, to learn more. The following sessions about workplace safety technology will be held at the conference:

• Monday, Oct. 11, 1-2 p.m. ET: What is Your Organization’s Innovation & Digital Readiness Level?
• Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2-3 p.m. ET: Lifesaving Technologies - Highlighting the Use of Four Priority Technologies for Worker Safety
• Wednesday, Oct. 13, 10-11 a.m. ET: Identifying the Most Promising Safety Technologies for Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention