Ultimo says AI safety agent missed no actions in trial

Ultimo has released results from the first commercial deployments of its AI safety agent for industrial health, safety and environment teams. In a controlled trial group of manufacturing businesses, the system recorded no missed recommended safety actions.

Described as an HSE digital worker, the product monitors work orders and shift logs, identifies recommended safety actions, automates compliance reporting and flags conditions for review by safety teams. Each recommendation is audit-logged, while final decisions remain with human staff.

The results come as manufacturers face pressure to manage safety risks across large asset bases while meeting compliance demands with limited staffing. Ultimo cited International Labour Organisation estimates that nearly three million workers die from work-related accidents and diseases each year, while a further 395 million sustain non-fatal injuries.

Agristo, a European potato processor, was among the first companies to use the system in a production setting. Its experience formed part of the initial commercial deployment data disclosed by Ultimo.

"Ultimo's AI suggests our HSE actions. Reliable, smart, and to date not a single measure has missed the mark," said Piet Gabriël, Group Maintenance Engineer at Agristo.

According to Ultimo, the same pattern appeared across the wider trial group: AI-generated safety recommendations were acted on, manual compliance review work was automated, and safety teams were able to spend more time on analysis and prevention rather than administration.

Broader rollout

The HSE agent is part of a wider range of AI tools from Ultimo covering maintenance planning, technician guidance and natural-language reporting. These tools can be deployed on their own or alongside the company's enterprise asset management platform.

A notable part of the launch is that the HSE digital worker can be bought and run independently of Ultimo's main EAM software. That means manufacturers and other industrial operators can adopt the safety tool without replacing or overhauling existing asset management systems.

Ultimo said the agent improves through continued use by learning from work orders, shift logs and safety actions. It is positioning the HSE system as the first in a larger set of digital workers spanning maintenance, operations and safety.

Ultimo operates in the industrial software market, where suppliers are increasingly adding AI tools to maintenance and operations systems to reduce manual work and improve decision-making. Safety applications are likely to attract close scrutiny because of the operational and regulatory consequences of incorrect or missed recommendations.

That makes the claim of a perfect recommendation capture rate significant. However, Ultimo did not disclose the number of trial participants, the duration of the controlled trial group or the total volume of recommendations assessed. Without those details, it is difficult to compare the result directly with other industrial AI deployments.

Steven Elsham, Chief Executive Officer at Ultimo, said the product is intended to reduce the monitoring and administrative burden on specialist teams rather than replace them.

"Industrial safety teams are being asked to track more hazards, across more assets, with the same headcount," said Steven Elsham, Chief Executive Officer at Ultimo. "The regulatory environment is tightening, and the consequences of a missed action are severe. In hazardous industrial environments, that pressure falls on skilled people who should be focused on the complex, high-stakes decisions that only they can make, not on routine monitoring and compliance administration. What we have built handles that load automatically, so the humans who work in these environments can direct their expertise where it counts. These early results validate the approach, and we are moving quickly to put it in the hands of more customers."

Ultimo said it supports more than 150,000 technicians managing over 22 million assets across more than 2,500 customers in sectors including manufacturing, logistics, energy and utilities, and healthcare. The company is part of IFS.

The industrial software supplier has also highlighted external recognition for its products, including a Gartner Customers' Choice award and placement as a Verdantix Green Quadrant Leader for enterprise asset management software for two consecutive years.

The early deployment data gives Ultimo a reference point as competition grows in AI software for industrial operations, where buyers are looking for practical tools that can be introduced into existing workflows with clear audit trails and human oversight.