Jonathan Guest’s mission may be a simple one, but the founder and creator of Safety Shield Global accepts the process of actually achieving it is likely to take him the remainder of his working life.
While his dedication to the cause may have already delivered in terms of industry-wide recognition and implementation on a global scale, he knows the job will not be done until he achieves what he set out to do more than 15 years ago.
After hearing that a good friend had tragically been crushed to death by an excavator on a building site, Jonathan charged himself with the task of not only improving safety for worksite employees, but to eradicate the risk of death and serious injury altogether.
Such a massive undertaking has already transformed his life. Once the owner of a leading pipeline and tunnelling business in the North West of England, he is now leading a company which has set – and continues to set – new standards in site safety across an array of sectors and industries.
Harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence, the modern day Safety Shield has been implemented in countries across the world on 20,000 machines and helped to save countless lives with a 70% reduction in collision incidents on sites where it has been utilised.
Its reliability and accuracy measure of 99.6% has been confirmed through six ISO certifications and has been awarded via a number of independent testing bodies. It was the very first Human Form Recognition (HFR) system on the market and continues to be the very best.
But as Jonathan freely accepts himself, the job is nowhere near done. And as the science of AI continues to enhance and improve, so must Safety Shield, with its team of dedicated research and development engineers eager to implement suitable technology advancements with the potential to edge them towards 100% safety and the total elimination of injury incidents.
“Our goal is simple, and has been the same since we started down this path more than 15 years ago,” he said. “We are determined to completely eradicate incidents of death and injury from environments where heavy plant machinery continues to pose a danger to vulnerable workers.
“Our AI model at Safety Shield stands out in the plant and machinery industry, boasting a remarkable accuracy rate of 99.6%. Such unparalleled precision is a direct result of our extensive data utilisation for model training which allows the model to learn more complex patterns and make more accurate predictions.
“Despite this success, our commitment to innovation remains unwavering. We are dedicated to transforming behaviors on sites until we achieve our ultimate objective of zero harm. The notable adoption of this technology by UK firms has catalyzed its global implementation. I am proud to say that SSG is now dedicated to mitigating risks associated with people and machinery on a truly global scale in countries across Europe as well as in the USA, Canada, and Australia.”
Such impressive worldwide reach has undoubtedly been aided by last year’s presentation of a King’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation – an honour which saw Jonathan invited down to Windsor Castle where he met King Charles III.
An endorsement by the King of England tends to have some sway when you are looking to do business in North America and Jonathan accepts it represented a boost to both him personally and to the company as a whole.
The aim now is to build on that success by utilising the very latest AI technology advancements to ensure SSG products remain state-of-the-art. It is a continual process and one which will soon result in the launch of a ‘plug-and-play’ SaaS model, enabling seamless integration of its software with any existing camera system available on the market.
Close collaboration with leading equipment manufacturers will enable SSG to implement this cutting-edge technology into their plant and, by doing so, slash hardware expenses for end-users and streamline the installation processes to less than an hour.
Being able to incorporate their software into any current electronic control unit and camera set-up will transform conventional monitoring systems into industry-leading AI collision-avoidance solutions.
The first such product to be launched, Safety Shield is also offering a series of special training days where third party engineers can learn how to install and maintain the technology – giving clients the power of long-term sustainability of the product.
“It was a huge honour being granted The King’s Awards for Enterprise: Innovation,” he added. “The award is testament to the unwavering commitment, energy, and passion of our team and since receiving this prestigious award, our horizons have expanded significantly.
“We have garnered considerable attention from international markets, including the USA, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. Companies from these regions have expressed keen interest in our product, drawn to us by the distinction of the King’s award.
“Furthermore, our local Member of Parliament highlighted our achievements in the House of Commons, recognizing us as trailblazers in AI innovation for safety. This acknowledgment positions us as pioneers in the field and underscores our potential to support the government’s initiatives, particularly in the realm of AI growth zones.
“The King’s award has not only elevated our profile but has also solidified our standing as a leading authority in AI technology for safety on a global scale.”
Things have certainly come a long way from the very early days of Safety Shield’s evolution where an RFID sensor and helmet tag system were originally used to alert operators when a member of the workforce was walking into their machine’s danger zone.
The introduction of AI was a game-changer for the team, enabling them to launch the first ever full HFR system in 2018, acting as a third eye for the plant operator by sending visual and audible alerts to the control cab when a human form stands within the amber (outer) zone or more serious red (inner) zone.
Not only does it act as a warning system, the AI model works alongside a cloud-based monitoring system to ensure that every triggered alert is sent to a data centre which keeps records, video footage and incident logs.
Identifying trends and spotting specific issues, the programmes have proven essential in delivering best practice when it comes to the on-site health and safety of workforces.
And if science doesn’t sleep, then neither will Safety Shield.
While not all advancements will be of use to the Safety Shield product, through knowledge, experience and well-forged partnerships with tech providers, the team works tirelessly to ensure those which could deliver a potential improvement are exploited to the very maximum.
Engineers closely monitor advancements in AI frameworks, edge processing chipsets, and camera sensor technologies, ensuring they are always working with the most efficient and powerful tools available.
They also maintain close relationships with key suppliers and tech partners, who are happy to provide early access to development roadmaps and beta releases, allowing SSG to plan upgrades strategically, integrate new hardware as it becomes viable, and fine-tune software.
One key development currently being looked at is multimodal AI – where vision, sound, and even environmental sensors are combined to give systems a richer understanding of what’s happening around them, allowing for smarter alerting, more accurate threat assessment, and better collaboration with human operators.
In parallel, advances in edge AI and 5G connectivity will open up new possibilities for instant communication between machines and infrastructure, enabling fully networked safety ecosystems across entire job sites or fleets.
Ultimately, AI is steering the industry toward a future where proactive safety becomes embedded and instinctive in all machinery – preventing accidents before they happen, rather than simply responding after the fact. And SSG is committed to being right at the forefront of that transformation.
And while it was originally designed for the construction industry, the product is now being developed to work on any type of plant, for industries such as rail, waste and recycling, agriculture, forestry, warehousing and logistics.
Jonathan said: “Last year was a very special one for Safety Shield Global as the business went from strength to strength and we received recognition from the King. However, we know there is still work to be done and our teams of engineers have been busy developing systems which will go a long way to making our sites even safer.
“But the innovation won’t stop there. If science doesn’t sleep, then neither will we. AI is now deeply integrated into everyday technology and these major leaps in machine learning, computer vision, and edge processing have made it possible to deploy intelligent systems in real-time, real-world environments – without relying on cloud infrastructure or large-scale computing power.
“As a result, AI is no longer just predictive – it’s responsive, adaptive, and increasingly accurate in dynamic conditions. At SSG, these advancements have directly influenced the evolution of our human form recognition product. Our units can now process data locally, ensuring faster detection, lower latency, and greater data privacy. Such capability also means our systems continue to operate even when network connectivity is disrupted.
“Staying ahead in a fast-moving field like AI requires a proactive and deliberate approach to innovation. At SSG, we’ve built a culture of continuous improvement, with dedicated R&D time set aside specifically to evaluate emerging technologies, benchmark performance gains, and test compatibility with our systems.”
The goal is clear, and while the technology continues to advance, so does Safety Shield.
At Safety Shield Global we are proud to have created a world where AI helps reduce collisions between people and machinery. With our original Safety Shield solution, we were the first to bring human detection technology to the construction industry. Today, what we produce is still the most advanced on the market.
10 years in the making, the final solution is a result of extensive research and development from our in-house team. We’re on a mission to bring about behavioural change for onsite safety and we’re proud that our award-winning AI platform has been trusted by numerous blue chip construction companies in the UK and further afield.
Our dedicated team of safety experts and professionals have been trained and certified to handle the most challenging on-site safety situations. We use state-of-the-art equipment and protocols to ensure that all of your projects are completed safely and securely. Our team is committed to providing excellent customer service and an unmatched dedication to safety and quality.
