Koçtaş’s retail legacy: an overview

Koçtaş, a prominent leader in the retail industry, opened its first store in 1996, located in Izmir. The company has been consistently expanding its retail presence following a strategic partnership agreement with B&Q, a renowned leader in the European home improvement retail market, ranked 3rd worldwide.

With a widespread presence in 59 cities across Turkiye, Koçtaş leverages its robust local supply chain and international purchasing capabilities to offer a diverse range of products from both local and imported brands. Despite its commitment to providing a sustainable work environment and prioritizing environmental health and safety (EHS) for its employees across numerous facilities spread over a wide geographical area, Koçtaş was not entirely immune to common EHS risks in warehouses.

Particularly, high-severity risks such as pedestrian-vehicle interaction, climbing accidents, and slip, trip & fall risks were among the management’s major concerns especially across their vast network of facilities. This challenge highlighted the need for innovative technology to uncover risks that were not visible to the human eye. To address these challenges, Koçtaş turned to Intenseye and our AI-powered EHS management platform, to provide visual analyses and insights into the safety risks within its facilities. Intenseye's AI technology is seamlessly integrated with the facility's existing CCTV infrastructure, providing the discerning EHS teams with real-time, data-driven insights into the essence of risk causation.

89% decrease in safety hazards from missing hard hats

Warehouse workers commonly face hazards associated with heavy objects and falling from heights. A hard hat would protect the head from falling or flying objects, and that’s why it’s a compulsory piece of protective equipment that should be worn when operating in and around the warehouse.

‍One of the most common EHS risks at their warehouse was related to the use of hard hats, a prevalent practice in the retail industry. Koçtaş efficiently utilized the platform and employed the task management module to assign tasks, leading to the decision to conduct a toolbox talk regarding hard hat usage.

As a result, between May 2023 and July 2023, the impact became visibly apparent rapidly, and there was an 89% decrease in safety hazards from missing hard hats. Effectively leveraging the task management module, Koçtaş also successfully engaged the frontline team in the safety process, thereby spreading a behavior-based safety culture throughout the warehouse.

Detecting missing guardrails with AI: a proactive approach to safety

Koçtaş’s safety team, in collaboration with Intenseye, implemented AI to mitigate risks while working-at-heights. One such area was at a high altitude, frequently traversed by employees. The AI system quickly flagged a serious safety concern: the absence of guardrails in this elevated zone. Upon receiving the images from the Intenseye platform, the Koçtaş team immediately recognized the potential danger.

They swiftly took corrective action, installing guardrails to prevent falls and ensure the safety of their workers. This proactive approach, enabled by AI, proved to be one of the most effective strategies for mitigating risks and enhancing workplace safety.

Digital near-miss data

Near misses offer valuable insights into the factors leading to unsafe incidents and provide a framework for addressing them. Regularly tracking the number of near misses can help you determine whether your warehouse is becoming safer or regressing. By leveraging leading safety indicators provided by Intenseye's AI, Koçtaş has gained significant insights into near-miss data, using it as a benchmark for company-wide KPIs.

By implementing corrective actions based on leading indicators, Koçtaş's EHS team has effectively managed potential safety risks, fostering a strong safety ethos within their operational environment. As Koçtaş continues its journey towards achieving a flawless safety record, Intenseye remains dedicated to providing innovative safety solutions and steadfast assistance to aid in the attainment of this objective.