[B]Risks at Work Are Expanding: Safety from Industrial Areas to All Workplaces[/B]

[Semih Asil]

## Risks at the Workplace are Expanding: From Industrial Areas to All Work Environments, Safety

Traditional workplace safety boundaries are increasingly expanding as environmental hazards are considered as important as human injuries. Now, "industrial" risk factors are no longer confined to factory floors but extend to retail stores and areas with direct customer contact.

For many years, workplace safety was applied in specific physical areas such as factories, warehouses, and distribution centers. Risks in these areas were typically defined as falls, collisions, lifting-related injuries, and equipment malfunctions. Solutions focused on protective equipment, safety protocols, and incident response procedures.

### Two Fundamental Changes in Risk Definition

With the acceleration of automation, work environments and risk definitions are changing. By the end of 2025, 50% of large warehouses are expected to be automated. This transformation completely changes where and how occupational safety risks emerge and are perceived.

There are two fundamental developments shaping the concept of workplace safety:

• Environmental risks are becoming as critical as human safety.
• The concept of "industrial area" is expanding to include work environments previously outside systematic safety management.

These changes not only broaden the scope of safety solutions but also necessitate a complete re-evaluation of risk management in every sector.

### The Rise of Environmental Risks

Traditional safety metrics focused almost entirely on human injuries. However, environmental factors such as temperature fluctuations, power loss, and equipment malfunctions are now also considered important indicators that predict human injuries and create significant financial risks.

For example, in pharmaceutical cold chain management, refrigeration failures are not just a loss of energy; they can lead to millions of dollars in losses due to product spoilage. They also create conditions that threaten the safety of employees dealing with emergencies. Similarly, in the food sector, environmental control failures lead to foodborne illnesses and associated increased costs.

Leading companies continuously monitor environmental conditions as much as human safety, instantly detecting and responding to temperature, humidity, and ventilation issues.

### From Industrial Areas to All Work Environments: Risk

Safety risks are not limited to factory and warehouse areas. Supermarkets, pharmacies, and retail stores also face similar risks. For example, storage and stock areas in supermarkets have a risk profile quite similar to large warehouses, but systematic safety practices are often lacking in these areas.

According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 335,000 workplace accidents were recorded in the retail sector in 2023. Injuries in food and beverage stores increased by 6.5% to 78,200 cases, exceeding the manufacturing sector.

Risks are also increasing in terms of customer safety. In 2025, the average cost of customer-related slip-and-fall lawsuits in the US was around $45,000, more than double that of 2015.

### The New Safety Imperative

Safety is no longer a function exclusive to high-risk industrial areas; it is becoming a universal discipline that must be applied everywhere people work and in areas where environmental conditions are important. Furthermore, due to workforce demands and employee expectations, systematic safety management is becoming mandatory in the retail sector as well.

New safety approaches bring new challenges such as respecting customer privacy, narrow profit margins, and applicability in public spaces. However, considering workers' compensation, liability costs, and productivity losses, establishing a comprehensive safety infrastructure is also economically inevitable.

Organizations that integrate safety infrastructure into all work environments will gain advantages in talent attraction, operational efficiency, and risk management. The lines between industrial and commercial safety management are increasingly blurring, and the definition of workplace risks is expanding.