Iain Mackay, Senior Vice President of Process Safety Management at Sphera, discusses the human barriers to digital transformation, particularly in more hazardous industries, and how to overcome them, increasing performance and safety.
Post pandemic, digital adoption across many industries has taken a quantum leap, speeding up digital transformation by several years. Despite this, progress and adoption of the right technologies remains slow across manufacturing, with adoption of AI and robotics standing at 9% and 4% respectively. Many industries still rely on manual processes, even pen and paper, to keep safety critical operations running.
This can create inefficiencies across the board, slowing the pace of change, putting pressure on talent, inhibiting continuous improvement and missing opportunities for technological innovation. One of the biggest areas of resistance to changing this status quo can come from a company’s workers, with a reluctance to change processes that may have worked well for decades – especially in hazardous industries like oil & gas.
Legacy mindsets serve a purpose but stall innovation
Human resistance to change and technology creates a huge barrier to digital transformation, particularly in sectors where safety and consistency have been prioritised over innovation. Employees often view digitalisation as a threat to established routines or even job security, slowing down technological adoption in these industries. In many cases, leadership teams also hesitate to disrupt tried-and-tested processes, fearing the risk of operational downtime, complex change management or costly implementation failures.
This reluctance to embrace digital transformation not only delays progress and innovation but also undermines safety and profitability. Manual processes and outdated systems increase the risk of human error, particularly in hazardous environments where mistakes can have catastrophic consequences. Without real-time data and predictive insights, organisations struggle to anticipate equipment failures or optimise workflows, leading to costly downtime and increased safety risks.
Unlocking safety and performance through digital transformation
Implementing digital technologies to manage risk and improve safety gives a company an overarching, real-time view of its operations. Digital planning tools remove the limitations of paper-based systems, enabling operators to visualise site activity, save time, and improve consistency. Employees can gain access to everything they need from lessons learned to documentation, in one central platform.
To successfully navigate this transformation, driving adoption requires clear communication and inclusion across the board. When the benefits of the changes are conveyed at all levels, operators can clearly see how the system supports and simplifies their work, while involving middle managers early builds advocacy. Management should highlight that the technology is designed to empower staff, removing complexity, reducing manual burden, and giving teams the tools they need to work more safely and efficiently, rather than replacing their expertise.
Digital transformation: A holistic approach to operational risk management
When digitalising processes, particularly in hazardous industries, a holistic approach to operational risk management is paramount. This starts with building a robust system of record that captures every process, incident, and safety metric in one centralised dashboard. This foundation allows organisations to learn from past events, benchmark performance, and measure progress against clearly defined standards. With reliable data at their fingertips, decision-makers can move beyond reactive risk management to proactive strategies that prevent issues before they even occur.
This data-driven approach not only improves safety but also drives efficiency and profitability. Real-time insights enable predictive maintenance and streamlined workflows, reducing downtime and operational costs. By connecting safety, compliance, and performance into a single framework, companies can create a culture of continuous improvement, where technology enhances human expertise and operational resilience becomes a competitive advantage.
Implementing the right digital tools to achieve operational risk management can take time, but with the right partner, it can become a foundation for safer and more sustainable operations.
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