Recently, the business press has fixated on discussions surrounding ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and Alibaba’s advances. A lot of manufacturers will be shrugging their shoulders at all this; while there may be some use for one of these (basically) super-smart text generation auto helpers in the main office, you’ll be thinking, it’s hard to see what practical use they would be on the shopfloor. They’re not exactly robots, after all, and UK manufacturing is doing very well on that front anyway.
However, AI is really important for you—but in the form of a different form of AI, one that isn’t about generating text or answering questions, but instead about revolutionising safety, efficiency, and compliance across your operational environment. It’s Computer Vision. It’s already a $15bn market worldwide—and growing fast.
Sure, you can be forgiven for thinking, “Why should I care about AI in any form? I’ve navigated Brexit, survived COVID-19, and my business is running perfectly smoothly.” The answer is simple: AI-based Computer Vision technology can make your workplace safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective—and could give you a very handy extra weapon in what could be a tough year for the sector. Let’s see how.
Enhancing workplace safety with AI Computer Vision
One of the biggest challenges in manufacturing is workplace safety. Falls, forklift collisions, and PPE non-compliance can have severe consequences, and preventing them is a top priority for you and your team.
The good news is that Computer Vision provides real-time monitoring and alerts, allowing decision-makers to intervene before incidents escalate. A useful way to think about this is as a “safety pyramid”; at the base of the pyramid are minor, often unnoticed incidents—like a worker stepping into an unsafe zone, or failing to wear a hard hat. But as these issues go unaddressed, they accumulate, eventually leading to major accidents or even fatalities at the top of the pyramid.
AI could have a big help here, as it can detect:
- A worker moving around your factory without the required Hi-Vis or PPE
- A pedestrian coming into close contact with a moving forklift
- A distracted employee using a mobile phone in a hazardous area.
By shifting from reactive safety management to proactive prevention, manufacturers can significantly reduce workplace injuries and associated costs. In fact, we already work with manufacturers who are using Computer Vision to capture and address these small incidents before they turn into serious problems—effectively turning their CCTV into 24×7 problem-spotting machines that never need a tea break or miss something through tiredness.
Boosting your efficiency and cutting your admin costs
I started with safety because it really is so, so important in our game. But there’s a series of other great things you can do for your business with computers that can see the world around them beyond safety.
For example, you could use it to eliminate time-consuming manual processes. As things stand now, managers spend hours reviewing security footage, investigating incidents, and checking compliance records; why not use Computer Vision to automate much of this oversight, providing instant alerts and reports so that managers can focus on higher-value tasks?
As stated, AI-driven systems offer 24/7 monitoring—something you just can’t achieve consistently and cost-effectively with people. Instead, AI vision gives you an always-on approach that ensures that every corner of a facility is under constant observation, providing actionable insights without requiring additional personnel.
Streamlining access control and boosting your compliance status
Useful as it is, Computer Vision isn’t just about monitoring, though. it also plays a critical role in access control and compliance. AI-driven checkpoints streamline site access by verifying whether workers have the proper credentials and safety gear before entering a facility. This prevents unauthorised individuals from accessing restricted areas, for example, and reduces bottlenecks at entry points.
Similarly, AI-based compliance monitoring automates the verification of contractor documents, insurance, and training certifications—tasks that were traditionally handled manually, massively reducing the risk of non-compliance while saving significant administrative time.
Now, worker privacy is also very important here, and you might be a bit uneasy about the idea of a computer scanning everyone’s face all the time. I would certainly not install any kind of equipment myself if there was any danger of face recognition being used to break any GDPR or other data laws, and there is definite concern about exactly where we are with all this.
But at the same time, you already have CCTV on site to protect your people and all that amazing machinery you have invested so much in. All we’re really talking about here is boosting the sensitivity and usefulness of those devices and things like turnstile checkpoints—and if you ensure (with help from an expert installer and manager of such systems) no data about people could ever get out of your company’s secure systems, then I don’t think this is a huge problem. However, you still want to be clear with your staff and visitors about exactly what is being done, and why they can feel safe about it.
Why you can trust AI Computer Vision
What’s really important to grasp, actually, is that this sort of AI’s actually far safer than the stuff in the headlines. For all the hoo-ha about text-based AI, there are a lot of issues with things like ChatGPT. That means, and very understandably, that some manufacturers are hesitating to embrace AI, citing concerns about trust and accuracy. So, it’s very important to see that Computer Vision is a completely different technology; unlike Large Language Models (LLMs) that pull information from the internet and sometimes “hallucinate” incorrect answers, Computer Vision operates on a closed-loop system.
The kind of systems I’m talking about here are actually a form of the other main form of AI, Machine Learning, where software trains itself on a set of examples until it gets to (and even surpasses) human-level pattern matching, and so can do a useful job without us having to hold its hand all the time. In the case of our solutions, the computer has been programmed to recognise specific objects and behaviors, such as detecting whether a hard hat is present or if a worker is standing too close to a moving forklift.
That means this type of AI isn’t speculative, but it’s actually 100% fact-based. It doesn’t generate opinions or guess outcomes, it simply reports what it sees with precision. And, unlike human monitoring, AI doesn’t get tired, distracted, or make subjective judgments.
Why AI Computer Vision is a cost-saving investment
While some may fear AI replacing jobs, the reality is that Computer Vision supplements human oversight, allowing teams to be more effective. Instead of hiring additional personnel to monitor cameras or enforce compliance, Computer Vision provides a scalable solution that enhances existing operations. The cost savings are significant, both from reduced labor expenses and the prevention of costly workplace accidents.
Summing up, we could be on the start of a very exciting journey with AI in our part of the economy. Just two years ago, before the explosive appearance of text-based Artificial Intelligence like ChatGPT, AI in business was rare. Today, Large Language Models are mainstream, and you can’t move without someone promising Agents (though their actual appearance may be some time off).
When I talk to global manufacturing firms, I get the feeling the same hockey stick of adoption is about to happen with practical and data-safe Computer Vision. Adopting it early, therefore, could grant you a real competitive edge—while also, as I hope I’ve demonstrated, improving your safety, efficiency, and reducing your operational costs. Those who ignore it may risk falling behind, as industry standards evolve and it becomes even more a familiar part of the British manufacturing landscape.
Is now the time for a manufacturer like you to explore Computer Vision technology—not just to stay ahead of competitors, but to create a safer, more efficient workplace? Given that AI is no longer a futuristic concept but a practical tool already transforming manufacturing operations worldwide, I’m struggling to see why you wouldn’t.
Perhaps the better question is no longer whether AI Computer Vision will be part of manufacturing… but whether you’ll be among the first to reap its benefits?
