AI unearths safety buried in paperwork
It's been three years since the Serious Disaster Punishment Act took effect. Since then, safety managers have been paradoxically burdened with compliance paperwork, leaving them unable to focus on on-site safety. However, the recent introduction of "SafeBuddy," an AI-based safety management solution, is gradually changing the situation. By taking a photo at a site, the AI searches the legal basis and automatically generates a risk assessment and draft training materials. Safety managers only need to review and approve the documents.
With paperwork time reduced to less than a tenth, safety managers are getting back to the field.
“I was confident that we could create an environment where safety managers could focus solely on the field.”
Seong Ju-pil, the new CEO, decided to start his own business in 2019 in his mid-30s, having worked in construction and manufacturing for nearly 10 years and in the smart safety field for nearly five years. His experience working at a large corporation, where he used coding to integrate Excel and other business tools to improve work efficiency, was the catalyst for his decision to start his own business.
“The problem I felt in the field was that activities such as education, inspection, and testing were focused on mere ‘documentary’ records, but did not actually lead to the prevention of accidents.”
This is the point he focused on. If safety activities for legal compliance are viewed solely as document creation and submission, their effectiveness in preventing safety accidents will inevitably be diminished.
RAG-based AI searches laws and automates documentation… "On-site safety is the focus"
CEO Sung Joo-pil explains that SafeBuddy allows businesses to proactively identify and define customized, legally mandated safety activities. As safety activities are implemented on-site, documentation is naturally created, accumulated, and managed within the system.
In particular, by building a RAG system utilizing LLM-based services, the characteristics of each type of work are cited in legal guides (such as KOSHA) when generating data.
"This system presents sentences based on evidence rather than guesswork, ensuring evidence and reliability, allowing users to easily check legal standards."
However, data generated by AI services is merely a "draft." The Serious Disaster Punishment Act does not permit fully automated and complete safety document creation systems. The final decision and responsibility rests with the business owner or safety manager responsible for workplace safety.
SafeBuddy's AI is not a "documentation tool," but rather a "safety secretary" that helps businesses prepare the minimum amount of documentation and comply with laws appropriate to their industry and size, and a "spokesperson" that systematically provides legal evidence when necessary.
SafeBuddy is supplied to public institutions in subscription form and is used in various fields beyond construction, such as safety management for contracting and services, safety management for golf courses, manufacturing, logistics, facility management, and construction sites.
The expansion strategy is three-fold. First, modular templates allow for rapid implementation of risk factors, legal education, and inspection items specific to each industry and workplace type. Second, API integration with existing systems ensures ease of use. Third, a simple UI for the digitally disadvantaged will enhance management of foreign and elderly workers, lowering barriers to on-site adoption.
We compete and cooperate with major IT companies at the same time.
"Since our founding, we've focused on service development and advancement in the smart safety DX field. Our planners have extensive user experience in the safety field, which is a strength. While we compete in our respective fields, our collaborative model, which incorporates customizations tailored to customer needs and standard API integrations into existing systems, is also effective."
We also strive for differentiation in terms of usability. Having operated the service for four years in the smart safety DX field, we planned and designed it from the beginning so that clients wouldn't perceive it as additional work. The system remembers data that needs to be entered at least once. Subsequently, the system provides learned data as default values for other related safety documents, eliminating the need for re-entry.
For those with digital disabilities, the app features a screen with large buttons and large fonts, along with a chat-like input feature for document creation. The new DX service is currently used by approximately 7,000 workers, and the company claims there have been zero customer service complaints regarding usability issues for those with digital disabilities in the past two years.
Over the past several years, we have been working with Hyundai Engineering & Construction and DL E&C on a collaborative and demonstration project to build the "SafeEdu" project, which integrates the DX of SafeBuddy's "Safety Education Log" function with an "AI-based smart safety and health education system" for workers.
In a survey of workers using the system in a demonstration with Hyundai Engineering & Construction, 79% responded "good," 18% "average," and 3% "bad" to the question, "Is it better than traditional lecture-style training?" 70% responded "good," 24% "average," and 6% "bad" to the question, "Are you able to understand the training content?" In a survey of managers, 100% responded, "I would recommend applying it to other sites."
GS Certification pushes to enter the public sector… Targeting annual sales of KRW 1 billion and securing 100 clients.
In terms of revenue model, B2B accounts for the majority of sales. Reliance on government support programs is decreasing year by year. However, the company selectively participates in government-funded projects that involve collaborations with large corporations or that allow for practical demonstrations. New contracts are now gradually emerging, and these are converting into recurring subscription revenue.
“SafeBuddy provides the optimal work environment for each client with flexible customization, and prioritizes customer service,” explains CEO Seong Joo-pil.
Saeim plans to obtain GS certification within the year. This will allow it to fully enter the public market and complete the registration of smart safety equipment software items, broadening its distribution channels. Going forward, the company plans to expand its service offerings and prepare for market expansion by offering multilingual UI and interpretation capabilities and participating in the standard API market.
He stated, "Our next business goal is to achieve annual sales of over KRW 1 billion and over 100 paying clients." He added, "SafeBuddy aims to become a simple and reliable major accident compliance solution. By disseminating 'work standards that provide easy documentation of safety activities,' we will establish a culture of safety accident prevention centered on leading indicators. Furthermore, by increasing the transparency of safety data between primary and subcontractors, we will establish ourselves as a national industrial safety management platform."
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