Safety Shield Global, a member of the CEA (Construction Equipment Association), has launched Safety Shield Nexus, a next-generation edge AI intelligence platform designed to transform how industrial safety data is interpreted, prioritised and acted upon in real time.
The new platform has been developed for high-risk environments including construction, infrastructure and heavy industry, and addresses one of the sector’s biggest emerging challenges: data overload.
Modern projects can generate thousands of daily safety signals, alerts and incursions, but only a small percentage require immediate intervention. Nexus acts as an intelligence layer within the Safety Shield ecosystem, filtering and contextualising live operational data so frontline teams can focus on the incidents that matter most.
Developed using advanced edge AI running on NVIDIA hardware alongside Safety Shield software, Nexus builds on the company’s Human Form Recognition (HFR) technology by introducing contextual, scenario-based intelligence.
Rather than simply identifying when an event occurs, Nexus analyses what happened, where it happened and the level of operational risk involved. By combining human detection, object recognition and scenario-based risk scoring, the system automatically classifies incidents into low, medium, high or critical risk categories.
High-priority incidents are escalated instantly to frontline teams through Safety Shield’s S.T.R.E.A.M app, supporting rapid responses and at-risk behavioural interventions on site.
Live infrastructure trials are currently being held on a major UK infrastructure project, with initial trial data showing a 95% reduction in safety data noise. Safety Shield Global said this enables site teams to focus on critical risks requiring immediate intervention, while other data is retained safely for future analysis.
Nexus has been designed as a domain-specific AI platform, operating solely within a client’s own operational environment and live site data. The platform does not rely on public internet models or external datasets, ensuring all intelligence remains site-specific and operationally relevant.
It also enables clients to converge wider operational intelligence streams, including safety, telematics, environmental monitoring and carbon reporting, into a single live platform.
Jonathan Guest, founder and CEO of Safety Shield Global, said: “Nexus is the next generation of Human Form Recognition. It transforms how safety data is analysed and ensures the people who need to know about immediate danger are informed instantly.
“Initial testing shows Nexus can reduce the number of incidents requiring workforce action by up to 95%, ensuring only the most critical events are escalated while everything else is retained safely for future analysis.
“My mission has never changed – to stop plant hitting people. Any death or life-changing injury is one too many. These incidents are always avoidable, and Nexus is a major step towards making that a reality.”
Viki Bell, CEO of the CEA, said: “Safety Shield Global is a strong example of a CEA member using engineering, data and AI to address a very real challenge on today’s sites.
“As construction equipment becomes more connected, the amount of information being generated around safety, machine movement and site behaviour is increasing all the time. The real value lies in turning that data into clear, practical action for the people working on the ground.
“Nexus shows how AI can be used in a focused and responsible way, helping site teams cut through unnecessary noise and prioritise the incidents that matter most. This is the kind of innovation that supports the move from detection-based systems towards more informed, real-time decision-making.”
Safety Shield Global said Nexus marks the next step in its work to move industrial safety beyond detection-based systems and towards real-time operational intelligence designed to help prevent incidents before they happen.