Venue: Killashee Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare
Date: 24 September 2025
AI and video: finally changing the game in manual handling
Manual handling is still one of the biggest sources of workplace injuries in Ireland. Bad backs, sore shoulders, weeks out of work – it’s a problem we’ve been wrestling with for decades.
We’ve all been through the training sessions, filled out the forms, ticked the boxes. Yet the injuries keep coming. The cost to businesses is high, but the real cost is borne by people whose health and livelihoods are affected.
AI and video are finally changing the game.
What’s different now
- Real visibility: Video shows the job as it’s actually done, not just how it looks on a checklist.
- Objective analysis: AI applies proven ergonomics rules (like REBA and RULA) to spot risky bends, twists and lifts with no bias.
- Immediate feedback: Workers get insights in the moment – before a small twinge becomes a long-term injury.
- The bigger picture: Employers see patterns across teams and sites, not just isolated tasks.
Why this matters
For the first time, workers can see themselves and understand what’s going wrong. It clicks. They change how they move. Injuries drop. Teams stay healthier.
And for businesses, there’s more at stake than ever. Health and safety regulations are tightening, and compliance can’t just be a paper exercise anymore. AI gives companies a way to meet rising regulatory demands while protecting their workforce and reducing downtime.
Looking ahead
This isn’t about replacing people with technology. It’s about giving people a fair shot at staying safe and healthy in the jobs they do every day. It’s about moving from box-ticking to a living, data-driven safety culture.
Ed Hartnett, Habitus Heatlh CEO, will be talking about this in more detail – and sharing real world result – at the IBEC conference on Wednesday.
We’ll post key takeaways here afterwards.
