Dräger’s most recent Safety & Health at Work Report found that while the energy sector is outperforming other sectors in workplace safety, looming financial constraints and evolving technologies could test its resilience.
Specifically, one-third of workers are concerned that cost pressures, specifically national insurance hikes, could lead to compromises on health and safety purchases.
As well as being statistics, these findings are signals that when the system is under strain, fears about complacency risks creeping in heighten. Nobody in the energy industry needs any reminders of what can happen when we take safety for granted.
A false sense of security is among the biggest risk to workers, and regulations are only effective when paired with a proactive culture that relentlessly pursues safety improvements, not just compliance.
Only time will tell what legacy is left by Offshore Europe 2025, but if it is a catalyst for continued action and renewed focus on ensuring those who work in the North Sea keeping our lights on and homes warm return home at the end of their rotation, then the whole event will have been worthwhile.
Achieving this will require more than identifying emerging risks—such as aging infrastructure, extreme weather events or evolving cyber-physical threats—but embedding the agility and resilience to respond to them before they escalate.
Data from Dräger’s report shows that energy leads adoption on artificial intelligence (AI). The sector has a higher awareness (49%) of the technology’s role in safety than other industries, with 64% confident it will help to reduce accidents by flagging risks early.
Building a proactive safety culture
