By Edward Pyle, Vice President, SCSA
The construction sector has long struggled to improve productivity, lagging behind industries such as manufacturing. A major contributor to this lag is the slower adoption of technology within construction businesses. In fact, marketing research conducted by the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association (SCSA) reveals that while members recognize the benefits of digital transformation, many also express concern about potential downsides—such as cost, disruption, or the fear of replacing people with machines.
Still, change is underway. In recent years, many construction firms have embraced digital tools. They conduct meetings online, manage schedules through cloud platforms, use mobile apps for field data, and deploy dashboards and analytics to track safety and project performance. These tools have already delivered new efficiencies and enabled better coordination across job sites and offices.
Working Effectively with Generative AI
The rise of generative AI presents another opportunity to address long-standing productivity challenges and administrative bottlenecks. Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, are increasingly popular because they can automate and enhance a wide range of tasks. They can help draft documents, develop safety plans, answer technical questions, create reports, summarize legislation, and produce training materials—essentially functioning like a highly capable assistant that works quickly, consistently, and around the clock.
For example, a prompt like “Generate a fall protection plan for a commercial construction site, referring to Saskatchewan legislation” can produce a strong draft that covers key legislative requirements and structural elements. This draft can then be adapted to meet the specific conditions of your job site. Likewise, everyday business communications can be streamlined with prompts such as “Write me an email and text reminder to staff about inspecting PPE.”
Where companies once struggled with blank-page syndrome or relied on costly consultants to produce safety manuals and internal policies, AI can now handle the heavy lifting of that first draft. Editing and customizing AI-generated content is typically much faster than creating it from scratch. A powerful workflow might involve generating a draft using AI, tailoring it to reflect your company’s unique conditions and culture, and then having it reviewed by a safety professional or SCSA Advisor for alignment with COR® or to benchmark against industry standards.
For construction companies focused primarily on field operations, this can be a significant time-saver. Many smaller firms, in particular, have limited administrative staff. It may be challenging to stay on top of documentation, training, and reporting. AI helps level the playing field by making high-quality content more accessible.
However, like any tool, generative AI needs to be used with intention and care. It’s essential to approach it with the right mindset and safeguards.
AI Won’t Replace Your Culture
While AI can mirror your tone, it doesn’t understand human relationships that shape team culture. AI-generated outputs should always be tailored to reflect your organization’s values, norms, and real-world experiences. A safety plan that looks good on paper still needs buy-in from your team.
Be Mindful of Data Privacy
Many free AI tools learn from user inputs, which can risk exposing sensitive or proprietary information. For example, uploading draft contracts, financial details, or incident reports into a public-facing tool could inadvertently share that information with third parties. Before entering business data, review the platform’s privacy policies and compliance with standards such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, or Sarbanes-Oxley. When in doubt, de-identify or generalize information—or avoid including it altogether.
Human Oversight Is Essential
AI tools do not assume legal responsibility. Employers, supervisors, and workers remain fully accountable for the accuracy, compliance, and effectiveness of safety materials. A safety manual created with AI support still needs a qualified human to ensure it meets legal requirements, company protocols, and industry best practices. AI tools can also make factual errors, so critical content must always be verified.
Rather than resisting or ignoring AI, construction companies are better served by learning to partner with it. This doesn’t require becoming a tech expert—it means being curious, open-minded, and willing to experiment. Start small by testing an AI tool on a communication template or training outline. Invite your team to identify opportunities where AI could reduce repetitive work or help solve persistent documentation challenges.
Resources like Dancing with Robots by Bill Bishop offer useful frameworks for understanding how AI can fit into the modern workplace. The core idea is not to compete with AI—but to work with it. In construction, AI tools can take the friction out of paperwork, support decision-making, and free up time for more field leadership, mentorship, and execution.
By using AI responsibly, construction leaders can reduce administrative burdens, improve safety program efficiency, and focus more energy on what matters most—getting the job done safely and effectively.
The SCSA is the centre of excellence for construction safety training and programming.