The majority in this room work for companies operating in inherently hazardous conditions, but preventable incidents must no longer be accepted as inevitable. With the right partners and technologies, companies can dramatically reduce risks and improve both safety and operational outcomes.

Many companies continue to resist change with maintenance and operations processes managed on paper or single point solutions that lead to a lack of information and human errors. By embracing innovation and prioritizing resilience, leaders within high hazardous industries can turn today’s safety challenges into tomorrow’s competitive advantage.

A leading example comes from one of the world’s largest mining companies right here in Australia, who recently implemented a digital integrated permitting and energy isolation management system with Sphera.

Objective: Eliminate isolation breaches and enhance the accuracy of work permits, risk assessments, and safety controls.

By replacing paper-based permitting processes with digital workflows, they achieved significant improvements:

• Increased Efficiency: Permit creation time was reduced from hours to minutes, expediting authorization for high-risk work.
• Fewer Isolation Breaches: Built-in approval protocols ensured safety measures were verified before work began.
• Enhanced Risk Visibility: A mobile-enabled system connected teams in real-time, improving oversight of high-risk operations.
• Improved Knowledge Retention: Risk profiles, isolation records, and lessons learned were digitized for future reference and training.

This companies results demonstrate that digitization is not just a tool for efficiency, it is a vital enabler of safety, risk management, and long-term performance in hazardous operations.