We’re proud to announce that our research was recognized with the Best Presentation Award at the 24th International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality (CONVR 2024) in Sydney, Australia. This achievement highlights the hard work of our team and partners, as well as the potential of technology to make construction safer for everyone involved.

Our research focused on our product SWMS AI, an AI tool designed to help create accurate, detailed safety assessments for high-risk industries, in particular the construction industry. The research project is a collaborative effort between DTU Construct and AecFoundry, and is supported by the European Union Horizon 2020 program.

If you’re interested in reading the preprint of our paper, you can do so here.

Why This Matters

Construction is one of the most hazardous industries in the world. It requires thorough risk assessments to identify potential dangers and put safeguards in place before work begins. But creating these assessments—like Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) in Australia or Job Safety Analyses (JSA) in the U.S.—is time-consuming, complex, and prone to human error.

Smaller companies, which often don’t have dedicated safety professionals, face even bigger challenges. That’s where we saw an opportunity to help. SWMS AI uses artificial intelligence to assist with creating detailed risk assessments quickly and accurately. It’s designed to make safety expertise more accessible to everyone, regardless of their experience level.

How SWMS AI is Making an Impact

SWMS AI is a subscription-based SaaS platform that has already proven its value to over 1,200 companies worldwide. These organizations have used the platform to generate more than 2,500 safety risk assessments, identifying over 20,000 hazards across a wide variety of industries and high-risk work activities.

From construction, mining, and manufacturing to plumbing, roofing, electrical trades, funeral contracting, food preparation, and laboratory work, SWMS AI is helping teams stay safe and compliant in their day-to-day operations.

The platform is especially popular in industries where safety is tightly regulated and critical, particularly in regions or sectors where gaps between industry practices and safety standards are significant. It is also a vital tool in areas where access to expert safety knowledge is limited, such as in less developed countries. Notably, one of our largest user bases is in South Africa, highlighting the tool’s ability to bridge knowledge gaps and support safer workplaces globally.

By making expert-level safety risk assessments accessible, SWMS AI is helping organizations around the world improve their safety practices, reduce risks, and protect workers.

How SWMS AI Works

SWMS AI simplifies the process of creating detailed safety documents by leveraging a robust database of over 20,000 resources from trusted organizations, including Safe Work Australia, OSHA, and the Health and Safety Executive. This ensures the platform provides accurate, expert, and up-to-date information tailored to specific tasks.

When a user inputs a description of a task, SWMS AI combines keyword-based and advanced semantic searches to retrieve the most relevant safety data. From there, the platform’s AI agents autonomously generate structured safety risk assessments in seconds, addressing key aspects such as:

• Work Steps: Identifying the sequence of actions required to complete the task safely.

• Hazards: Highlighting potential risks at each step, based on the activities and equipment involved.

• Risk Scores: Assessing each hazard using a Risk Matrix that evaluates severity and likelihood of occurrence.

• Control Measures: Recommending strategies to mitigate or eliminate risks, aligned with the Hierarchy of Controls.

• Equipment and PPE: Specifying the necessary tools and protective gear to reduce risks effectively.

The result is a comprehensive, expert-level safety risk assessment that’s ready for review and refinement by safety professionals. By significantly reducing the time and effort needed to create these documents, SWMS AI allows teams to focus on implementing safety measures and improving workplace conditions.

Making Expert Safety Knowledge Accessible

SWMS AI goes beyond automating safety assessments—it makes expert safety knowledge accessible through intuitive, AI-powered user experiences. Central to this is Oscar, our safety assistant, who provides users with direct access to the system’s extensive knowledge base and resources.

Oscar is designed to help users understand occupational safety regulations, implement industry best practices, and address specific safety concerns. By simply typing a question, users can receive expert answers tailored to their needs. Whether it’s clarifying a regulation, creating toolbox talks, or finding guidance for a complex safety scenario, Oscar provides reliable, actionable insights.

This conversational interface ensures that even those with limited safety expertise can navigate complex topics confidently and efficiently. By combining advanced natural language processing with a vast repository of safety data, Oscar transforms SWMS AI into more than just a tool—it becomes a trusted partner for improving workplace safety.

The Road Ahead

Winning this award is an exciting milestone, but it also gives us an opportunity to reflect on the broader implications of our work and where we’re headed.

Through the development of SWMS AI, we’ve gained invaluable experience in building domain-specific agentic AI systems that enhance and automate expert knowledge work. These lessons are helping us refine our modular AI infrastructure, enabling us to better serve clients across the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry.

Our vision is to expand this infrastructure to create agentic AI platforms that not only streamline knowledge work but also automate administratively intensive tasks. These platforms don’t just perform tasks efficiently—they also collect and organize data, providing clients with actionable insights to improve decision-making and operational outcomes.

This approach is exemplified by two of our current projects:

• Archie (www.archiecodes.com):
  Archie serves as a copilot for building codes and standards, helping users navigate complex regulatory frameworks with ease. By combining deep domain expertise with AI-powered knowledge management, Archie enables AEC professionals to access critical information instantly, reducing time spent searching and ensuring compliance.

• Upsafe (www.safewithoscar.io):
  Oscar, the AI safety platform behind Upsafe, is designed to streamline safety reporting and occupational health and safety (OHS) administrative workflows. By automating processes like safety observations and reporting, Oscar helps teams focus on creating safer workplaces while reducing the burden of paperwork.

These tools are part of our broader mission to empower AEC professionals with intelligent systems that enhance productivity, improve accuracy, and free up time for more strategic, value-driven activities.

By continuing to innovate in this space, we aim to not only address immediate challenges but also unlock new opportunities for our clients to work smarter and safer. Whether it’s through risk assessments like SWMS AI, compliance management with Archie, or safety optimization with Upsafe, we’re committed to shaping the future of knowledge work in AEC.

Acknowledgments

This project would not have been possible without the support and collaboration of some amazing people and organizations. A huge thank you to DTU Construct, Jochen Teizer, and Kilian Speiser for their dedication and expertise, and of course our team at AecFoundry.

We’re also grateful to the organizers of CONVR 2024 for hosting such an inspiring event and providing a platform for innovative ideas.

Building a Safer Future

At its core, SWMS AI is about creating a safer workplace for construction teams. By making risk assessment faster, more accurate, and easier to access, we’re taking steps to reduce workplace hazards and protect lives.

This award is a reminder of the importance of that mission, and we’re excited to keep moving forward.

Let’s keep innovating and working together to build a safer industry!