Lloyd’s Register Foundation Launches Centre to Tackle Workplace Safety
In a world where nearly three million lives are lost each year due to workplace-related injuries and illnesses, the newly launched Global Safety Evidence Centre by Lloyd’s Register Foundation is setting out to change the narrative. Backed by a decade-long £15 million commitment, this initiative is more than just a research hub – it’s a bold attempt to unravel the persistent question facing occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals: what truly works when it comes to saving lives?
The centrepiece of this initiative is evidence. Reliable, accessible, and actionable evidence.
“Evidence is critical to improving the safety of people and property: without it, we cannot fully understand the nature and scale of safety challenges faced by people around the world, nor what works to protect them from harm” said Nancy Hey, Director of Evidence and Insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
A Response to the World Risk Poll and Industry Demands
Insights from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll are as revealing as they are concerning. Around 18% of workers globally reported experiencing harm on the job within a two-year span. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) adds weight to this with their staggering estimate: three million deaths annually linked to workplace conditions.
And yet, despite the grave reality, a gap remains where there should be knowledge. This is precisely what the Foundation is aiming to fill.
RAND Europe, commissioned by the Foundation, recently published two reports – one a systematic review of OSH interventions and the other a consultation with safety professionals. The conclusion? High-quality, comparative evidence on which safety measures work best is in short supply. Worse still, much of the existing data isn’t easily digestible or relevant for safety practitioners working on the ground in diverse sectors and regions.
Funding and Jobs
The Centre isn’t wasting any time. It has announced a £2 million open call for researchers worldwide, targeting evidence gaps not just in OSH but in the broader realm of safety science. That includes efforts to understand how we value prevention, assess risk, and even learn from previous failures.
At the same time, it’s building its own team, with active recruitment underway for data analysts, research managers, and stakeholder coordinators. Professionals with a passion for safety are invited to apply via the Lloyd’s Register careers portal.
“We are keen to partner and collaborate with other researchers, analysts and funders, professional and trade bodies, and most of all, safety practitioners, whose knowledge and expertise we need to harness – not just to identify evidence gaps, but as part of the evidence base itself on how to reduce harm” Hey explained.
From Robots to Rising Temperatures
Looking beyond the present, the Centre is preparing reports that explore how innovation and climate change are reshaping safety landscapes. Later this summer, publications will delve into:
- The role of emerging technologies like AI, robotics and virtual reality training in accident prevention
- The increasingly apparent link between climate change and workplace safety risks
These future-focused studies signal that the Centre isn’t just patching existing gaps but is also scanning the horizon to prepare for what’s coming next.
Martin Cottam, Chair of the Centre’s Expert Advisory Panel and former chair of ISO’s OSH Management Committee, shared his perspective: “As safety practitioners we are presented with a sometimes bewildering range of tools and methods with which to manage safety risks, but often without much evidence to demonstrate their effectiveness. The work of the Centre will help safety practitioners navigate this landscape, enabling them to be confident in selecting approaches that have been shown to deliver real safety improvement.”
International Recognition and Endorsement
The Centre’s mission has already garnered praise from global stakeholders. Joaquim Pintado Nunes, ILO Branch Chief responsible for OSH and the working environment, hailed the Centre’s role in addressing long-standing issues:
“Lack of data remains one of the biggest challenges to improving workplace safety worldwide — it’s the fourth major gap identified in national OSH systems by ILO Member States. The launch of the Global Safety Evidence Centre marks a vital step forward in closing this gap.”
Indeed, in many parts of the world, data on safety remains fragmented or simply non-existent. Without robust, localised data, decision-makers and practitioners are left making educated guesses rather than evidence-backed choices.
Safety Science and High-Hazard Workplaces
The Centre will initially focus on two core programmes:
- Safe Work in High-Hazard Industries
- These include highways, construction, mining, and manufacturing
- Building on insights from the World Risk Poll, the goal is to enhance preventative measures where stakes are highest
- Advancing Safety Science
- Exploring risk modelling, system failures, human factors, and behavioural safety
- Developing methodologies to measure and demonstrate the value of safety investments
This dual approach ensures both the immediate dangers and systemic challenges are addressed in parallel.
Bridging Research and Real-World Practice
One of the most commendable aspects of the Centre is its commitment to making research usable. It’s not enough to publish findings in academic journals; what’s truly needed is practical guidance that can be applied by safety officers, project managers and policymakers.
The Centre’s role is to act as a translator between dense academic data and the realities of a construction site or logistics hub. That means crafting tools, guidelines and communication materials that actually work in the field.
In the words of Nancy Hey: “Many professionals who need to consider safety do not have access to sufficient high quality evidence; either because it does not yet exist, or because it has not been collated and communicated to them in an understandable and actionable form.”
A Safer Future, Built on Evidence
The Global Safety Evidence Centre is more than just a think tank. It represents a commitment to grounded, informed action. By bringing together practitioners, researchers, policymakers and funders under one umbrella, it aims to create a shared body of knowledge that is as diverse as it is practical.
As workplace environments evolve with technology and climate pressures, the need for a reliable compass grows. The Centre is stepping up to provide just that – helping the highways sector and others navigate safely into the future.
