Eni and Inail sign a protocol on research, innovation and safety in the workplace

Rome, 22 November 2022 – Research and testing of innovative technological solutions to improve occupational health and safety standards are at the heart of the memorandum of understanding signed today by the general director of Inail, Andrea Tardiola, by Eni CEO, Claudio Descalzi, and by the national secretariats of trade unions Filctem-Cgil, Femca-Cisl and Uiltec-Uil. The agreement lays the foundations for a structured, permanent collaboration aimed at preventing accidents and occupational diseases, starting from the construction sites of the National Recovery Plan.

In recent months, Inail has launched important partnerships with large companies such as Eni, chasing the opportunity to make a qualitative leap in the management of work-related risks by developing highly innovative tools and organisational models, which will also benefit the many medium, small and micro enterprises that form the backbone of the Italian economy. This project arises from multiple activities of process modernization across infrastructure, services and production. They will be developed thanks to the funds of the PNRR to support the development of innovative energy sources, technologies and social sustainability, which requires to strengthen health and safety measures.

The starting point are the numerous projects promoted in recent years by Inail, together with world-class organizations from the scientific and academic world in the fields of augmented reality, robotics, sensors for equipment and work environment monitoring, the study of innovative materials for work clothing and solutions for the prevention of occupational accidents and pathologies, such as collaborative exoskeletons, which will be presented at the "Made in Inail" research forum, scheduled to take place in Rome on the 25th and 26th of November.

Through the collaboration with Inail, Eni will make available to the Italian economy a portfolio of initiatives and innovative operational solutions which have strengthened the company's ongoing commitment to safeguarding health and safety, based on a business model developed by leveraging internal skills and a corporate culture focused on prevention. A significant contribution comes from increasingly digital-intensive new technologies and latest generation devices that boost the level of operator safety and that collect and study data on accidents in an ever more precise way to act preventively on potentially risky situations. At the same time, Eni applies methods of analysis of human factors in behavioural safety and promotes a culture of safety and its essential value among employees, contractors and local stakeholders.

The areas of collaboration defined by the protocol, which will last for five years in line with the expiry of the PNRR in 2026, include communication initiatives, personnel training programs, the implementation and dissemination of organisation and risk management models - with a focus on behavioral safety and human factor and on emerging issues such as smart working and work-related stress - insights into the application and interpretation of sector legislation, as well as the development of procedures, best practices and guidelines.

The results of the activities, carried out through the stipulation of specific implementation agreements, will also be considered in respect to the replicability of the interventions and the number of beneficiaries reached, directly or indirectly, through the energy supply chain.