At Enablon Engage EMEA 2026, customers shared how stronger user adoption, connected data and AI can help organizations bring EHS and operational risk management closer to the work being performed
Successful digital transformation in operational risk management and environment, health and safety (EHS) depends as much on people and processes as it does on technology.
At Enablon Engage EMEA 2026 in Paris on September 28 and 29, customers across industries shared how they are involving users, connecting previously separate data and processes, and continually adapting technology to the realities of frontline work.
Their experiences reflected a broader shift taking place across the industry. Organizations are looking beyond the digitization of individual activities toward a more connected approach, bringing together people, processes, risk information, and technology to support better-informed decisions.
Four lessons emerged from the customer presentations:
- Put users at the center of technology change
- Connect risk data and operational processes rather than digitizing them in isolation
- Treat implementation as the beginning of continuous improvement
- Use AI to support better decisions
Put users at the center of transformation
UK gas distribution network Cadent highlighted the role of user engagement in digital transformation. The company has brought together users from across its networks to share knowledge and perspectives on how Enablon supports their work, while involving IT and implementation partner Magellan in the program.
The team also shared lessons learned from overcoming implementation and adoption challenges, demonstrating the importance of listening to users and adapting the program over time.
Cadent also created a Teams community for key users to exchange knowledge and solutions. Rowena Hill, Head of Safety Management at Cadent Gas, emphasized the importance of listening to users and maintaining open communication as technology and ways of working evolve.
Connect risk information with business processes
At global multi-energy company TotalEnergies, digital transformation has included expanding digital control of work, connecting information from different EHS systems, and examining how technology can better support frontline workers.
Christophe Legros, Safe and Connected Worker Operation Stream Lead at TotalEnergies, emphasized that successful technology adoption requires involving the people who will use the system and supporting them after implementation.
TotalEnergies is also exploring how AI could reduce time spent on lower-value tasks while leaving people responsible for operational decisions. As part of early validation of Enablon's Permit Advisor, the company provided feedback on how its recommendations could better incorporate risk assessments and company procedures.
For global technology company Hitachi Energy, the transformation has involved rethinking how HSE supports a rapidly growing organization. In conversation with Peter Franke, Partner, Digital Solutions at ERM, Pedro Carrillo Cepeda, Global Head of HSE Performance at Hitachi Energy, described how the company is using its Enablon implementation to challenge existing ways of working, embed HSE into business processes, and connect risk and barrier management.
A central lesson has been avoiding unnecessary complexity. Hitachi Energy has sought to distinguish between what users might want and what the business needs, while still listening closely to frontline employees about how work is performed.
Together, these examples point to an important transition: EHS information becomes more valuable when it connects with the processes through which work is planned, approved, and performed.
Move from implementation to continuous improvement
Other customers shared how they are sustaining adoption and expanding their use of Enablon.
Canadian energy company Hydro-Québec described how responding quickly to user feedback helped sustain engagement after implementation and how its use of Enablon has expanded beyond EHS.
Azerbaijani energy company SOCAR discussed moving from paper and spreadsheets toward shared, standardized EHS information, allowing people to place greater emphasis on analyzing data, and identifying trends.
Global logistics company Kuehne+Nagel highlighted the importance of involving end users early in the transformation.
Although these organizations are at different stages, a common direction emerged: a move from isolated digitization toward more connected management of people, processes, and operational risk information.
Use AI to support better decisions
The discussion also explored how AI could support human expertise and operational decision-making.
David Metcalfe, CEO and co-founder of Verdantix, an independent research and advisory firm, offered an outside perspective on what he described as “safety intelligence,” combining better data and analysis with new AI capabilities to help organizations prevent incidents or mitigate their consequences. He also cautioned against treating AI as a solution on its own.
“It’s not, of course, a silver bullet,” Metcalfe said. “Using more artificial intelligence in your systems, getting access to better data is not going to solve all of the problems that we can see.”
Richard Pulliam, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Wolters Kluwer Enablon, similarly emphasized that technology should strengthen human expertise rather than displace it. He said the objective is to give people relevant risk information when they need to act and make better-informed decisions.
Vice President of Product Management at Wolters Kluwer Enablon, Raj Jayaraman, explained how this principle is influencing Enablon’s product direction. He outlined a vision for a purpose-built operational risk intelligence platform that connects risk information across systems and brings intelligence closer to where work is planned, approved, and performed.
He highlighted AI capabilities currently available, including:
- EHS Companion, designed to help users navigate Enablon using natural-language questions.
- Permit Advisor, designed to help users find relevant historical permits, assess work descriptions, and identify potential hazards and controls while keeping people responsible for decisions.
The practical test will be whether data, processes, and technology help people understand risk more clearly and make better-informed operational decisions.