In the past, workplace injuries were a common occurrence, and there were no proper environmental health and safety (EHS) standards in place. The Industrial Revolution saw the rise of heavy machinery and child labor, which made it even more challenging for EHS teams to protect workers' health. However, over time, unions formed and employee rights were established, leading to the enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970. EHS teams were then created to combat risk and keep workers safe. Since then, there have been two clear revolutions in the H&S space.

The first generation of EHS workflows began during the Industrial Revolution, where the focus was on protecting workers' health. Safety practices were more stringent in the 20th century with the introduction of regulations and standards. However, this approach was still reactive and required frequent audits and measures to reduce risk and create a safer workplace.

The second generation of EHS workflows emerged in the early 2000s when the health and safety industry was digitized. Companies like Intelex and Cority enabled EHS teams to log incidents over time and recognize trends of accidents and risks in the workplace. This approach allowed EHS teams to be more organized in their approach to health and safety, but it still relied on manual, intermittent audits of the facility floor.

Now, we are seeing the third generation of EHS workflows, which involves a shift in how we perceive safety due to the evolving capabilities of technology. We can now embrace and implement a new form of safety that is proactive and predictive. This means that data drives the decision-making process, and with advancements in technologies like artificial intelligence, we can identify risks and trends before they become a problem.

Surveily is an example of the future generation of EHS workflows. They are embracing this new form of proactive safety and empowering companies and EHS teams to realize an injury-free workplace with computer vision that understands risk. This allows EHS teams to make more informed decisions earlier, to mitigate risks and protect workers.

In conclusion, we have come a long way as a civilization when it comes to EHS, but we still have a long way to go to realize an injury-free workplace. The third generation of EHS workflows offers a promising future with the ability to create a near injury-free workplace by identifying risks long before they become a concern or cause injuries.