While foundational supply chain risk management capabilities and improved visibility both contribute to fewer serious health and safety incidents, the most significant improvements—up to 97% lower workplace fatality rates—occur when these capabilities are implemented together as part of a coordinated strategy, according to Avetta’s Avetta Insights and Impact Report 2026.
“Supply chains have become increasingly distributed and unpredictable, forcing organizations to navigate risk faster than ever before,” says Arshad Matin, CEO at Avetta. “Our 2026 report confirms that health and safety performance doesn't improve by simply adding individual programs in a vacuum. The organizations seeing the most dramatic results—and building safer, more resilient operations—are those that shift from a siloed approach to a connected, strategic system. They aren’t just managing compliance—they’re cultivating a state of readiness.”
Key takeaways:
· Organizations that implement core health and safety risk management capabilities—such as pre-qualification, safety audits, insurance verification, worker management and worksite controls—see significantly lower global severe injury rate (GSIR) and fatality rates. In some cases, individual capabilities are associated with average lower GSIR of 18% (pre-qualification) and lower fatality rates of 69% (worksite controls), reinforcing that a strong health and safety foundation is essential to protecting workers and maintaining operational readiness.
· Broader supply chain risk visibility into sustainability, business and cyber risks relates to safety maturity because it surfaces exposures that often sit outside traditional health and safety functions. For example, organizations that implemented and continued to improve their sustainability risk visibility saw on average 25% less severe incidents and 54% less fatalities.
· The greatest impact does not come from adding these capabilities in isolation—it comes from how they work together intelligently. Organizations that take a strategic, systems-based approach—integrating capabilities over time—see the strongest results: a 39% average better GSIR and 97% average better fatality rates. Each capability builds on the last, increasing visibility, strengthening controls and reducing risk more effectively.
