Safety informatics as a new, promising and sustainable area of safety science in the information age

Abstract

Abstract Safety is a central dimension in contemporary debates on human health, loss prevention, environmental protection, sustainability, and cleaner production. In the information age, especially in the era of big data, safety information is an essential strategy for safety, and safety informatics has become a major research interest and a popular issue in the field of safety science. In recent years, safety informatics—a new area of safety science—has received increasing attention, developing greatly with successful research on the subject. The three key purposes of this paper are: (i) to analyze the historical development of safety informatics, (ii) to review the research progress of safety informatics, and (iii) to review limitations and propose future directions in the field of safety informatics. First, the development process of safety informatics is divided into four typical stages: (i) the embryonic stage (1940–1980), (ii) the initial stage (1980–1990), (iii) the formation stage (1990–2010), and (iv) the deepening stage (2010–present). Then, a review of safety informatics research is provided from seven aspects, including: (i) the discipline construction of safety informatics, (ii) theoretical safety information model, (iii) accident causation model from a safety information perspective, (iv) safety management based on safety information, (v) safety big data, (vi) safety intelligence, and (vii) safety information technology. Finally, limitations and future research directions in the safety informatics area are briefly discussed.