Occupational safety and health in digital era

ĐBP - The Action Month on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in 2026 has been deployed by Điện Biên province under the theme: “Innovating management and improving the efficiency of occupational safety and health in the digital era.”

This is not only an action message but also reflects an urgent requirement amid the strong digital transformation taking place across all fields of production, business, and social life.

Collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in the 2025 OSH movement receive Certificates of Merit from the provincial Labor Federation.

In recent years, OSH work in the province has seen many positive turnarounds. The awareness of enterprises, employers, and employees has been step-by-step enhanced; many safe production models have been maintained; and dissemination and OSH training have been prioritized. Over the past 10 years, functional agencies have organized 627 dissemination and training classes on OSH for over 32,000 turns of laborers and employers.

According to statistics, from 2025 to present, the province recorded 1 occupational accident within formal labor relations, causing 2 fatalities, which represents a 75% decrease in cases and a 50% decrease in deaths compared to the whole year of 2024. Although the number of occupational accidents decreases year by year, they still occur in high-risk sectors such as construction, transport, materials exploitation, and project execution.

The risk of occupational unsafety at construction projects outside formal labor relations remains present.

Beyond the corporate sector, freelance and agricultural labor also harbor many safety risks. In 2025, the province witnessed 10 occupational accidents involving workers without labor contracts, leaving 10 people severely injured. In many rural and mountainous areas, residents still maintain the habit of working without protective gear and lack safety knowledge when using machinery and electricity in production.

Currently, OSH work is deployed with various modern solutions that help prevent labor risks more effectively. Surveillance camera systems at construction sites, safety management software, apps warning of safety hazards, and online training courses help detect safety risks early and limit unfortunate accidents.

Innovating dissemination is one of the core tasks to enhance OSH efficiency. During the 2026 OSH Action Month, the Department of Home Affairs introduced various technological communication toolkits, including dissemination posters, slogans, leaflets, manuals, and training materials on OSH and fire prevention to serve local agencies, units, and enterprises.

Forces participate in a street parade to promote the 2026 OSH Action Month.

Present-day OSH work does not stop at handling incidents post-accident but shifts strongly toward early and remote prevention. This is a major advantage of digital transformation. High-risk industries will be monitored more closely through digital management systems. Employees can access safety instruction videos, participate in online training, and update technical procedures via smartphones. Meanwhile, enterprises can manage labor safety profiles through digital data, monitor equipment in real time, and receive early warnings about safety risks.

No matter how modern technology is, the human factor still plays a decisive role in OSH work. In reality, many accidents stem from subjectivity, working by habit, or bypassing technical procedures. Meanwhile, the rate of enterprises complying with occupational accident reporting regimes remains very low. In 2025, only nearly 8% of more than 1,300 operating enterprises in the province fully implemented reporting regimes on occupational accidents, showing that many businesses still downplay OSH work.

Launching the 2026 OSH Action Month, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyễn Văn Đoạt emphasized that development sets increasingly high demands for OSH work, not only to protect laborers but also as a prerequisite for sustainable development. Labor safety must become a mandatory requirement and a criterion for evaluating the task completion level of agencies, units, and businesses. Heads of organizations must take direct responsibility for OSH within their management scope, while strengthening inspections in high-risk areas.

The Điện Biên Cement Joint Stock Company monitors production operations and labor safety through a digital environment.

Over the past 10 years, functional forces have organized 10 thematic inspections on OSH at 57 enterprises, alongside inspecting OSH compliance at 10 construction projects, focusing on adherence to labor laws and OSH regulations. Through these inspections, several shortcomings were uncovered at certain enterprises and units, such as failing to fully conduct OSH training, limited and unimproved working conditions, and a lack of proper attention to preventing occupational accidents.

A safe working environment cannot just rely on inspections or high-profile dissemination campaigns during action months. It is crucial to form a safety culture within each agency, enterprise, and individual worker.

As a bright spot in ensuring OSH, the Điện Biên Rubber Joint Stock Company currently has more than 880 laborers, predominantly from ethnic minority groups. The company determines that building a safe labor culture starts from the awareness of each worker and the responsibility of each production unit. Given the nature of frequent exposure to toxic environments and safety hazards in rubber latex harvesting, the company has reinforced dissemination, guided safe working procedures, fully distributed labor protection gear, and organized periodic inspections.

Workers of the Điện Biên Rubber Joint Stock Company during a production shift.

Notably, the company accelerates digital transformation in OSH management by digitizing labor profiles, updating safety training data, and monitoring equipment inspections on electronic platforms. Information about technical workflows, hazard warnings, or training schedules is rapidly transmitted through online management groups, helping workers capture new regulations in a timely manner and raise their awareness of proactive risk prevention.

According to Nguyễn Công Tám, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Điện Biên Rubber Joint Stock Company, the unit has deployed multiple labor safety solutions tailored to its practical conditions. The focus is placed on periodic safety technical training programs and on-site incident response drills to improve workers’ responsiveness when unexpected situations occur. Concurrently, the company builds a dedicated team of OSH officers at farms, contributing to forming a safe, professional, and sustainable working environment.

Building a safe, humanistic, and modern working environment requires the joint hands of the government, businesses, and laborers. In the digital era, technology can help mitigate risks, but safety is only truly sustainable when built from the awareness, responsibility, and self-discipline of each worker.

Thu Phương
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