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How Nu-Iron Achieved an Award-Winning 44% Reduction in Incidents
Using AI-driven Insights to Drive a National Standard for Site Safety
The Impact in Numbers
year-over-year reduction in overall site incidents
decrease in mobile phone usage in high-risk zones
reduction in detected safety events within first 2 weeks of implementation
The Challenge: Pursuing Perfection in a High-Stakes Environment
Nu-Iron Unlimited is a subsidiary of Nucor Steel, the leading steelmaker and recycler in the United States. A specialized facility based in Trinidad and Tobago, they were already established as a local safety leader. “Contractors tell me this is one of the safest sites they’ve ever been to. When they come here, the first thing they think about is safety,” says IT Administrator Amitav Takoorcharan.
Even with their stellar safety culture, the team recognized that manual observations had limits. The Nu-Iron team wanted a way to identify opportunities for improvement before they led to an incident.
The Solution: Visibility That Sparks Action
Nu-Iron used Protex AI to turn their existing CCTV cameras into a proactive insight engine. By providing objective videos, the platform empowers the safety team, frontline workers, and contractors to move from reactive analysis to prevention; part of a safety program that led to a 44% reduction in overall site incidents from the previous year.
“If people see anything unsafe, they stop the job immediately to have a conversation. Our standards were already up there, but Protex AI just helps us improve those safety protections even more."
Video insights that power proactive coaching
Nu-Iron used Protex AI to identify risks like mobile phone usage, ergonomic issues, and vehicle proximity, and gave them data to intervene in real-time.The team reviews video footage with workers to help them visualize their own habits from a new perspective, taking a collaborative approach to safety.
"When our employees see how they actually perform their work, they would say: 'Did I really do this?'” said Safety Director Terrence Timothy. “Those behaviors get normalized. People are trying to get their job done and not paying attention to what they are really doing. The videos help them have that ‘aha’ moment." By using real videos of workers leaning over a railing or ignoring a handrail, Protex AI fuels learning that training simply couldn’t otherwise, says the Nu-Iron team.
“Protex AI has transformed our contractor management. We share footage directly with their safety teams, facilitating immediate education with supervisors to fix issues on the spot. That transparency is actually shifting the culture; you now hear contractors reminding each other to stay off their phones in high-risk areas. It’s all about getting the right data to the right people so everyone stays safe.”
Leaders in Distraction Management
One specific "aha moment” was mobile phone usage in high-traffic areas near heavy equipment. Seeing the frequency of this behavior allowed the team to take decisive action.
Nu-Iron didn’t just want to monitor the problem; they wanted to solve it. Intentional communication campaigns and toolbox talks resulted in a staggering 90% decrease in phone-related risks. "We used that data to have a conversation. Intentional communication, observation, and audits helped drive that reduction,” said Terrence Timothy.
Rapid Insights Scale Safety’s Impact
To ensure the insights reach the front lines quickly, the Nu-Iron has automated their reporting process. Shift-specific safety summaries of Protex AI data are sent to production leads every morning. The speed of these reports means that teams can easily target the most impactful feedback and actions, which led to a 69% reduction in high-risk behaviors in the first two weeks alone.
“I created reports for each shift and have the email sent out automatically every day,” said Amitav Takoorcharan. "If you're seeing the incidents high or increasing, it's our time to have a conversation with your shift. That’s how we stop incidents before they happen."
“With Protex Intelligence, we’ve traded manual data entry and 'after-the-fact' analysis for instant, actionable insights. Instead of spending hours auditing or doing physical observations, we can now instantly drill down by shift or risk type to generate heat maps. This automation allows us to identify and correct risky behaviors before they escalate, moving us from a reactive stance to a truly proactive safety culture."
Looking Forward
Nu-Iron won a national award for innovation in health and safety for their 2025 safety program, setting a new standard for what it means to lead with a "safety-first" mindset. “We had a 44% reduction in incidents between 2024 and 2025. A major contributor to that would have been the involvement of artificial intelligence”, said Terrence Timothy.
Nu-Iron isn’t stopping at behavior-based safety. Based on the success of their trial, the team is already looking at how to leverage computer vision in operational areas, such as monitoring conveyor belt congestion. Their goal is to create a fully integrated "smart site" where safety and operations work hand-in-hand.
"Before, we would get information after the fact—it was reactive. Protex gives us the opportunity to be proactive because we see the behavior as it happens."
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