Job-Site Safety Institute Announces New Grant to Develop AI-Supported Safety Investment Decision Kit for Small Construction Firms
Mick McDonald
RALEIGH, N.C. (August 19, 2026) – The Job-Site Safety Institute (JSI), a nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to improving safety and protecting lives, has announced a new grant to East Carolina University to develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-supported safety investment decision kit for small construction firms.
A common problem for small contractors is knowing that data that could improve their safety efforts exists, but they do not have the ability to translate it into clear guidance on where the next safety dollar should go. This project will lead to the development of Safety ROI Copilot, a lightweight AI-supported Decision Kit that helps small contractors convert existing safety records into structured, explainable, and actionable guidance.
“Small contractors often collect valuable safety information through incident and first-aid logs, near-miss reports, inspections, toolbox talks, corrective actions, and supervisor observations, but they may not have the time or analytical resources to turn those records into clear investment priorities,” said Tianjiao Zhao, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at East Carolina University’s Department of Construction Management. “Through this project, we hope to learn how a lightweight, explainable AI-supported workflow can help firms identify recurring risks, compare potential interventions, and make more defensible decisions about where limited safety resources should go. Ultimately, we aim to deliver a practical decision kit that small contractors can use without expensive enterprise software or dedicated analytics staff.”
“JSI is committed to finding new and inventive ways to help smaller companies stay safe on the job-site, and we know AI has the potential to help these companies make better decisions,” said Rob Matuga, JSI Executive Director. “This project will explore the value of how harnessing AI technology can help make safety data easier to understand and use, enabling construction companies to focus their limited resources on improvements that can have the greatest impact on job-site safety.”
To help small contractors adopt and use the technology:
- The workflow will accept imperfect but commonly available records to ease setup process
- The output format will be concise and manager-facing, providing prioritized hazard themes, likely contributing patterns, and clear action-oriented recommendations
- The guidance will show why a priority ranks high, helping supervisors trust and explain results
- The final kit will include practical implementation aids to ease setup so small companies can easily implement without dedicated IT support
The project is expected to be completed in 2027.
Learn more about the Job-Site Safety Institute at www.jssafety.org.
About JSI: Founded by Builders Mutual, JSI is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. This research and educational organization is dedicated to eliminating all job-site related injuries and deaths in the construction industry. Research by JSI will play a critical role in improving on-the-job safety and saving lives.
About East Carolina University and ECU Foundation: East Carolina University is an R1 public research university and a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System. Located in Greenville, North Carolina, ECU advances student success, public service, and research that addresses real-world challenges, guided by its motto, Servire—To Serve. East Carolina University Foundation Inc. is an independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt public charity incorporated in North Carolina whose purpose is to support academics at ECU.