Insight report on global safety challenges

Many of us are unaware of how critical infrastructures support our daily lives, including the supply of water, power and food or transportation and communications systems.

This report focuses on where safety is at risk, particularly the challenges associated with people interacting with infrastructure, and threats to the infrastructure itself.

An expert consultation from across industry and academia was led by the Nesta Challenge Prize Centre, using a combination of interviews, workshops, an open online survey, and outputs from previous Nesta projects.

As the consultation evolved it became clear that concerns extended not just to the infrastructure operated today, but to future systems enabled by emerging technologies.

Twelve main themes across a broad range of industries were identified:

1. Safe operation of drones now and in the future
2. Safe operation of autonomous systems
3. Critical infrastructure that is safe from cyber attack
4. Safety of complex systems in high-hazard industries
5. Fossil-fuelled transport and industry that do not create unsafe air
6. Safe supply chains for medical waste
7. Safe supply chains for electronic waste
8. Ensuring safety at sea
9. Safety in the fishing industry
10. Safety of supersized structures
11. Making food supply chains safe
12. Safety of water and water infrastructure

It was also possible to identify some broad trends across multiple themes. These trends are:

• Decommissioning (for example, disposal of e-waste, ships, medical waste, etc)
• Cyber security, connectivity and internet of things (for example, malicious and accidental failures)
• Human factors (how people’s actions significantly affect safety)
• Updating standards in light of new technology (for example, safety regulation for increasing complex connected infrastructures)
• Controlled return to safe state (for example, emergency evacuation of large structures and controlled failure of complex systems).

The report provides a framework for key stakeholders to more deeply interrogate and present solutions for some of the biggest risks facing the safety community.

If you wish to use and reference Insight Report on Global Safety Challenges, please include the following DOI: https://doi.org/10.60743/j9jf-4239.

Example Citation in Harvard Style:

Lloyd's Register Foundation (2017) Insight Report on Global Safety Challenges. Lloyd's Register Foundation. doi: 10.60743/J9JF-4239.