Accidents at work are a political challenge for all countries. According to the International Labour Organisation, almost three million people worldwide died in 2019 due to occupational accidents and diseases. In 2015 were more than 5 per cent less.

In spite of strict regulations and huge resources to increase company safety (for ISI calls alone, INAIL has so far allocated €4.4 billion), Italy recorded 9,263 deaths between 2017 and 2023. And in 2021 it ranked eighth among EU27 countries in terms of occupational fatality rate, reporting 2.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers, a figure 50 per cent higher than the European average.

The EU has set out an ambitious policy framework for the seven-year period 2021-2027 based on the "zero fatalities" approach and aims to eliminate fatalities completely. But how can prevention policies be made more effective? Artificial intelligence - as this UVI study shows - could help in identifying the areas of highest risk and better target interventions.