Background to the problem
Worker safety is a critical priority in waste management operations, particularly within the EGF Group and the Mota-Engil Group, of which Amarsul and Valorsul are part. Day-to-day activities take place in dynamic and complex environments, involving the movement of heavy vehicles, industrial equipment, demanding manual operations, maintenance work, exposure to noise, dust and adverse weather conditions, as well as interaction between different teams and service providers.
Despite advances in safety prevention and management, many high-risk situations continue to depend on human observation and intervention, communication between teams and the ability to respond in real time.
Advances in digital technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are creating new opportunities to move from a reactive approach to one that is increasingly preventive, predictive and data-driven, enabling hazards to be identified in advance, supporting decision-making and better protecting employees.
In this context, Valorsul is seeking innovative solutions that utilise connected technologies and AI to enhance worker safety throughout the entire waste management operational chain.
Overview of the current context
Amarsul and Valorsul are urban waste management companies which, together, process around 154,000 tonnes of waste per year and serve approximately 2.44 million inhabitants across Greater Lisbon, the Western Region and the Setúbal Peninsula.
Their activities include:
- Waste collection and transport;
- Sorting and recycling centres;
- Treatment of organic waste (food waste);
- Waste-to-energy plant;
- Bottom ash treatment;
- Sanitary landfills;
- Transfer stations;
- Ecocenters (collection centre for other types of household waste);
- Industrial maintenance operations;
- Environmental monitoring.
Operations take place in industrial environments where workers, vehicles, mobile equipment, heavy machinery and continuous processes coexist, requiring high safety standards and effective operational risk management.
The challenge
We are seeking connected, data-driven solutions powered by Artificial Intelligence that will improve the safety of staff working across the various operations in the waste management chain.
The solutions must be capable of collecting, analysing and transforming operational data into alerts and concrete actions to prevent accidents, reduce exposure to risks and support faster, more informed decision-making.
Proposals may combine different technologies, including:
- IoT sensors;
- Smart Personal Protective Equipment (PPE);
- Computer vision;
- Location and georeferencing systems;
- Edge computing;
- Artificial Intelligence;
- Predictive analytics;
- Safety monitoring and management platforms;
- Real-time alert systems.
The solution must function in a real-world operational context, be user-friendly for staff and generate value without significantly increasing the complexity of operations.
Expected results and objectives
The solutions presented should contribute to one or more of the following objectives:
- Early identification of hazardous situations;
- Prevention of unsafe behaviour;
- Reduction of workers’ exposure to operational risks;
- Reduction in the likelihood of accidents and incidents;
- Improved compliance with safety procedures;
- Reduction in response times in critical situations;
- Support for data-driven decision-making;
- Increased situational awareness amongst operational teams;
- Improvement in occupational health and safety indicators;
- Strengthening of the safety culture in operations.
Non-exhaustive list of topics that may be covered
- Smart helmets with integrated sensors;
- Connected Personal Protective Equipment;
- Automatic detection of falls or when workers are immobilised;
- Systems for detecting fatigue, distraction or drowsiness;
- Monitoring of hazardous environmental conditions;
- Proximity alerts between workers and vehicles or mobile equipment;
- Intelligent systems for stopping, locking and accident prevention;
- Automatic detection of risk areas using computer vision;
- Geo-referencing of workers in operational areas;
- Monitoring of isolated work;
- Alert systems for confined spaces;
- Integrated operational safety management platforms;
- AI for identifying unsafe behaviour;
- Emergency response support systems;
- Digitisation and analysis of safety incidents for predictive prevention;
- Monitoring solutions for industrial maintenance teams;
- Technologies for contractors and external teams in industrial environments.
Requirements to be met when presenting the solution
- The solution must enable the development of a pilot scheme in a real operational environment.
- It must demonstrate the potential for integration with the current processes.
- It must include performance indicators that enable the benefits achieved to be measured.
- It must comply with the applicable principles of privacy and data protection.
- It must comply with current legal and labour requirements.
- It must minimise the impact on staff’s day-to-day operations.
- It must demonstrate scalability for adoption at other EGF Group sites and operations.
For solutions where a demonstration cannot be carried out directly at Amarsul’s or Valorsul’s premises, the pilot may take place at another site or in an equivalent operational environment, provided that conditions allow for the technology’s performance to be adequately validated.