Frontline Hazard Reporting Remains Low in Industry

A Teamforce AI survey of industrial professionals finds most sites report very few frontline safety observations.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Remote Work

Bold flat-color vector editorial illustration of a steel industrial pipe with a blank pressure gauge on a steel plate against a concrete wall, evoking unrecorded workplace hazard data. — Teamforce AI's Frontline Risk Study 2026 found 63% of surveyed industrial professionals said fewer than 5% of frontline workers file monthly safety reports, or their sites do not measure reporting at all. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Teamforce AI released the Frontline Risk Study 2026, which finds that 63% of survey respondents said fewer than 5% of frontline workers file a safety observation, near-miss, or hazard report monthly, or that their sites do not measure reporting rates. The survey drew 60 industrial professionals who responded between July and September 2026.

Why it matters

Low frontline reporting limits the early warning sites receive about hazards, and the study suggests many facilities lack the data to know whether their reporting programs are working. The findings point to gaps in how safety tools are used and whether corrective actions are verified.

Of 60 industrial professionals surveyed, 23 reported participation below 5%, and 19 of those said reporting had not improved in the past year. Among 39 sites with digital reporting tools, 20 reported below 5% participation or did not track it at all.

The players

Teamforce AI

A company that released the Frontline Risk Study 2026 on industrial safety reporting.

Jim Lewis

Executive director of the University of Iowa's Vaughan Institute of Risk Management & Insurance, who partnered on the study.

The details

The study was developed with Jim Lewis, executive director of the University of Iowa's Vaughan Institute of Risk Management & Insurance, and was presented at the RISC Summit and Innovation Challenge hosted by the university. Outreach was conducted by students at the University of Iowa and the University of North Carolina, and participation was voluntary.

Survey responses were collected between July and September 2026.
The Frontline Risk Study 2026 was released by Teamforce AI in 2026.
Findings were presented at the RISC Summit and Innovation Challenge.

Industry Context

The study was developed with the University of Iowa's Vaughan Institute of Risk Management & Insurance and presented at the university's RISC Summit, linking the findings to academic risk-management research. It places frontline hazard reporting within the institute's broader focus on how insurers and industrial sites manage operational risk.

Workers and supervisors at industrial sites may see changes in how hazards are reported and whether fixes are verified. Sites without strong reporting habits may face higher risk of unaddressed hazards.

The takeaway

Sites that track frontline reporting rates and verify that corrective actions work are better positioned to catch hazards early. Measuring participation is a practical first step.