Scope

Several factors are contributing to increase dynamism and complexity of current approaches to prevent

accidents and to guarantee business continuity: one critical factor to evaluate is the massive diffusion of

digital technologies, which is forcing the adoption of new models to prevent accidents and to support

more effective resilience models. Briefly, from one side, digitalization is characterized by a transformative

potential mainly oriented to improve operational performance, reduce accidents and increase system

reactiveness through several ways. One example could be related to the enabling effectively the potential

of acquiring in real time an huge quantity of safety data – also related to early warning signals -, which

will be treated and analysed by AI models for extracting knowledge to prevent accidents. New risk

management models ad approaches are, thus, required. Moreover, from another side, digitalization is the

source of new emerging risks, e.g. due to the massive use of intelligent robotics systems interacting

directly with humans (like collaborative robots), to the use of decision support systems (e.g. based on

algorithmic management) that provide automatic feedbacks to humans, e.g. workers as well as safety

managers and/or analysts.

Similar conditions could be outlined in the resilience field, where digital technologies are contributing to

increase also forecast capabilities and preparedness in complex systems, like critical infrastructures and

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complex organizations, thus transforming traditional approaches, tools and organizational models. Digital

technologies could help to apply more proactive methods, e.g. to predict insight of what in the process

can go wrong because of internal or external disruptive disturbance

In addition, the increasing attention towards sustainability issues is transforming safety and resilience

approaches by adding new factors and impacts to be evaluated in an effective and holistic way; potential

contributions and impacts of digital technologies for supporting this transformative paths must be also

evaluated.

Knowledge and experiences about these topics will be shared in a seminar organized by ESREDA and

University of Salento from 22th to 23th May 2025 in Lecce (Italy). This seminar aims to bring together

researchers, practitioners, experts from public and private sectors for sharing their knowledge about

current and future challenges, tools and new approaches for accompanying the digital and the sustainable

transformation in safety ad resilience models applied in complex systems.