Responding is Mary Foley, expert services strategy director, and Octavio Sambiase, senior expert services manager, Enhesa, Arlington, VA.
The digital transformation in business is accelerating regulatory complexity. Platform, app and artificial intelligence-driven models are reshaping how services are deployed, monitored and scaled across jurisdictions. However, this shift exposes organizations to a spectrum of emerging risks – many less visible, but equally significant, as traditional hazards.
Under the European directive on platform work (Directive 2024/2831), digital platforms are defined as services that coordinate work through online systems, even where no formal employment contract exists. In practice, this means business operations are structured by algorithms – task allocation, performance monitoring and workflow oversight are increasingly automated. These changes outpace legacy approaches to health and safety management.
Setting the standard: compliance as a growth enabler
Industry leaders are integrating regulatory intelligence and health and safety oversight into their operational frameworks from the outset. Rather than reacting to legislative change, they prioritize continuous regulatory monitoring, benchmarking and structured risk assessment across all markets in which they operate. Industry leaders deploy solutions for horizon scanning, regulatory database management and supply chain transparency to identify jurisdiction-specific obligations and anticipate regulatory shifts.
This systems-based approach is critical as physical, psychosocial and algorithmic risks converge in digital business models. Effective compliance now demands clear governance, real-time visibility and the ability to operationalize regulatory requirements at every level of the organization.
As platform and AI-driven companies operate across increasingly diverse environments, the risks their workers face can range from ergonomic and psychosocial issues in digital settings to physical hazards in location-based services. Implementing sufficient human supervision of processes and transparent communication is vital, especially as algorithmic systems can shape workload intensity, performance metrics and even worker well-being. Ensuring clarity around how digital tools impact day-to-day responsibilities empowers both compliance teams and workers to engage safely and effectively.
Data, AI and the imperative of expert validation
As highlighted in our latest piece for Forbes, “Know Your AI: How Technology Is Rewriting the Regulatory Risk Playbook,” robust compliance programs are underpinned by actionable data. Although AI can process large volumes of regulatory information, its value depends on alignment with local requirements – examples can include topics such as contractor obligations, permitting or site-specific protocols. Without governed, expert-validated AI, there’s significant risk of oversight. The future of health and safety governance lies in connecting reliable, authoritative insights directly to operational decision-making.
Training workers on digital and AI systems, fostering visibility across the organization, and staying ahead of emerging risks through environmental compliance are now essential parts of a resilient compliance strategy.
Translating regulatory intelligence into operational excellence
Sustainable growth in the platform and AI economy doesn’t come from technology alone. It’s driven by organizations that translate regulatory clarity into decisive, operational action – across every site, system and worker interaction. As digital ecosystems evolve, the organizations that set the standard will be those with the foresight to anticipate change, the rigor to maintain oversight, and the resolve to embed health and safety governance into every layer of their operation.
In this new era, resilience isn’t optional – it’s the foundation for scaling safely and thriving in an increasingly complex world.
Editor’s note: This article represents the independent views of the author and should not be considered a National Safety Council endorsement.
