Revealing hidden risk in a global cement operation through AI-enabled analysis

A global cement manufacturer seeking to better understand risk exposure across a large and complex safety data set.

The challenge

The organisation had access to more than a million safety records, yet struggled to extract meaningful insights. Data was inconsistently classified across sites and systems, preventing a clear understanding of risk exposure or the relationship between leading indicators and high-consequence events.

This created a false sense of security. Despite many actions and audits, the organisation lacked visibility into whether efforts were addressing the most critical risks, leaving significant blind spots in the management of fatality and severe injury exposure.

The approach

dss⁺ deployed the dss⁺ 360 digital platform to consolidate, clean and standardise safety data across the organisation. Using AI-enabled analysis and a proprietary risk taxonomy, the platform classified incidents, hazards and observations into a consistent framework.

The data was then cross-referenced against the organisation’s top fatal risk areas, directly testing whether safety activities were aligned with the most critical exposures. This revealed that less than 5% of safety observations were addressing top fatal risks, highlighting a fundamental misalignment in focus.

By combining structured data analysis with risk prioritisation, the organisation gained a clear, actionable view of where controls were failing and where intervention was most needed. 

Impact on the ground

• Resources redirected to highest-risk activities
  
• Improved alignment between safety efforts and critical risks
• Shift to risk-based safety management

The inflection point

“Having data is not the same as understanding risk. By structuring and analysing it properly, we exposed where effort was being misdirected and helped the organisation focus on what truly matters.”

- David Pereira, Managing Director, Digital, dss⁺