Technology at Work
New opportunities and challenges arise when workplaces introduce and use technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. It is therefore important to keep occupational safety and health (OSH) in focus throughout the process. Here you will find examples of knowledge and tools relating to the introduction and use of technologies at work.
About Technology at Work
When Danish workplaces introduce technologies such as robots, surveillance and artificial intelligence (AI), both work itself and the conditions under which it is carried out are affected. Collaboration and dialogue are among the factors that may help ensure a safe and healthy working environment when new technology is implemented.
How Can Workplaces Gain the Most from Introducing New Technology?
Workplaces achieve the greatest benefit from introducing new technologies when they consider both the opportunities and challenges this may present for their employees. It is therefore important to involve employees throughout the process. In this way, the introduction of new technology can become a benefit for both the workplace, for employees and for the working environment.
NFA has developed an ethical checklist to help workplaces structure their ethical considerations when introducing new technology.
-
Many Danish workplaces use AI or technologies based on AI. This is also reflected in NFA’s research, which, among other things, examines:
- how AI affects the working environment, both positively and negatively, in sectors such as education, social and healthcare services, knowledge work (employees who collect and process information), industry and retail.
- whether AI can help promote a healthier working environment for warehouse workers by distributing heavy lifting more evenly between employees, both during the working day and from day to day, and by strengthening warehouse workers’ influence over their own tasks.
- whether AI can be trained to analyse air samples and detect whether the working environment is free from asbestos when work resumes in a building following asbestos removal.
- whether AI can contribute to investigating how to prevent fungi in museum collections from growing and spreading spores that may adversely affect employees’ health.
-
Drones, visualisation technologies (e.g. cameras and GPS), digitalisation and algorithmic management are examples of technologies that may lead to increased workplace surveillance. But what consequences does this entail? NFA’s research indicates that these technologies can both intensify time pressure and increase demands on employees. They may also challenge the trust, influence and transparency that characterise relationships between colleagues and between employees and managers.
These technologies hold significant potential for solving tasks related to planning, communication and error detection. However, there is a lack of clear ethical guidelines for how they should be applied in practice. As a result, employees are often left to judge for themselves where the boundaries lie. How, then do we ensure, that workplaces can reap the benefits without creating new challenges for the working environment? NFA’s research points to the need for more organisationally embedded ethical frameworks and practices.
-
Exoskeletons, robotic cutters and stone-cutting machines are examples of another group of technologies that are increasingly contributing to improvements in the physical working environment in Danish workplaces.
For example, carpenters experience less physical strain on their shoulders, neck and forearms when carrying out overhead installation work while wearing an exoskeleton – a technical aid worn externally on the body. This is demonstrated by research from NFA. The findings suggest that exoskeletons may have the potential to reduce physical strain and thereby prevent pain in muscles and joints among employees.
Workers in the construction sector are exposed to high concentrations of dust in the working environment when cutting building materials. Over time, this may lead to the development of diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer. Researchers at NFA have shown that the use of a mobile robotic cutter with local exhaust ventilation can reduce dust levels in the working environment by up to 98 per cent.
Research on Technology at Work
Find Inspiration for Your Work with Technology at Work
-
-
Will be updated soon.
