I am Jitendra Kumar Anand, the esteemed Founder and Director of ASK-EHS Engineering & Consultants Pvt. Ltd. (now www.coreehs.com ), stand as a trailblazer in the Environment, Health, and Safety (EH&S) domain. My distinguished career reflects a steadfast dedication to societal well-being through innovative safety management consulting. Under my visionary leadership, ASK-EHS has gained international acclaim by offering a broad spectrum of IT-enabled tools that transform safety training and risk management. With a team of over 1,200 professionals, the company caters to 600 clients across 30 countries, exemplifying my global vision.

My pioneering approach goes beyond conventional methods by leveraging advanced technology to raise industry standards. Moreover, I am a champion of social responsibility, contributing significantly to the "Skill India Movement" by providing training and career opportunities in EH&S for marginalized communities. ASK-EHS’s influence is recognized through numerous accolades and its substantial impact on the global safety landscape.

As the Managing Editor of "B-Proactive," I extend my influence by providing the EH&S professional community with crucial knowledge and insights. My visionary strategy aims to integrate EH&S principles across all professional sectors, highlighting my commitment to a safer and more sustainable future.

In 2023, we successfully deployed over 400 of the 40,000 Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) professionals to date, spanning diverse industries such as Construction & Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Manufacturing Plants, Mining & Metals, and more. These professionals are highly skilled in Safety, Health, Environment, Scaffold, Rigging, and Engineering. We rigorously managed over 380 worksites, ensuring strict adherence to compliance and best practices, and our team efficiently executed over 50 shutdown projects.

Currently, we are leading safety culture transformation initiatives across prominent organizations like ONGC Pan India, JSW, NTPC Talchar, SAIL BSL, ISP, and several other multinational companies. Committed to enhancing OHSE capability and competency, we conducted numerous OSHE, Scaffolding, Rigging, BIP, CSM, PSM, and Hazop training and upskilling programs, impacting over 1.6 million participants over the past 17 years.

We have been pioneers in innovative learning media through 3D animations, AR/VR, and simulation-based learning, including e-learning modules. Additionally, we developed various software applications for OSHE to support EHS activities. Software tools like AART, BIP, CSM, IRIS, and PTW have empowered industries to mitigate risks and incidents in the workplace. Our innovative approach includes the development of 66+ animated incident videos for sites, contributing to approximately 90% reduction in incident recurrence.

Moreover, we embraced advanced technology by developing Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) and simulator-based customized training modules, offering a tech-driven learning experience that significantly enhances worker engagement and safety protocol retention.

As an EHS consulting firm, we offer a range of services aimed at strengthening OHSE practices and helping multiple organizations reduce workplace incidents. In 2023, our organization fully embraced advanced AR/VR and simulation technologies to revolutionize our Workplace Safety and Health initiatives. These technologies addressed the limitations of traditional training methods by providing risk-free environments for learning, significantly reducing the potential for hazardous and costly errors.

By shifting away from resource-intensive traditional methods, we minimized costs associated with equipment, venues, and training materials. Our AR/VR and simulation programs excelled in safely and interactively recreating hazardous or rare real-world scenarios, increasing trainee engagement and retention. The flexibility of these digital solutions allowed for quick and easy updates to meet industry-specific needs, providing trainees with instant feedback that improved their learning experience.

Accessibility was greatly enhanced, as these programs could be accessed from anywhere, providing unparalleled scheduling flexibility and allowing us to scale training initiatives without incurring significant additional costs. This transition not only ensured consistent, high-quality training experiences but also significantly reduced our environmental footprint, marking a pivotal step forward in our commitment to fostering a safer and more efficient workplace.

As a leader in safety, I strive to influence over 100 industries simultaneously in my role as an OHSE consultant. My efforts to drive initiatives at ASK-EHS are built on a deep understanding of the critical need for robust safety and health practices across industries. By leveraging this insight, I foster a safety culture that prioritises reporting and addressing near misses and unsafe observations through corrective and preventive actions. My strategy emphasises behavioural intervention programs and involves not only our team but also the senior management of our clients, ensuring a cohesive approach to safety excellence.

Under my leadership, we implement cutting-edge solutions, such as automated EHS management software and engaging animated movies, e-learning, AR/VR, simulators for training purposes. These innovations significantly reduce accidents and incidents, thus elevating safety standards while also improving operational efficiency and compliance across multiple sectors. The successful implementation of these initiatives highlights my ability to blend visionary thinking with practical execution and to drive change through strategic collaborations, ultimately fostering a transformative safety culture.

As a safety leader, my initiatives have profoundly influenced the Safety and Health management and performance of the workplace, community, and industry, elevating them beyond conventional standards. By emphasizing the importance of robust safety and health practices, I've led transformative change that extends far beyond compliance.

My strategy has centered on nurturing a proactive safety culture that prioritizes reporting At-Risk Behavior, near misses, and hazard observations, enabling swift corrective and preventive actions. Implementing behavioral intervention programs, designing contractor safety management systems, and developing various reskilling and upskilling programs for contractor workmen, I've ensured effective collaboration between our team and the senior management of our client organizations to uphold the highest safety standards. We have encouraged and successfully implemented a 7 Man-days/person/year training program on average. These efforts have enabled industries like ISP (SAIL), BSL (SAIL), NTPC, and ONGC to significantly reduce their LTFIR.

Through innovative solutions such as automated EHS management software and animated training videos, we've made safety training more engaging and accessible. These tools have significantly reduced accidents and incidents, thereby elevating safety standards and enhancing operational efficiency. They have enabled us to embed a culture of safety that thrives on engagement and proactive management.

Our initiatives have set a new benchmark in the industry, helping clients not only comply with regulations but also exceed them by fostering a culture where safety is embedded in every operation. This proactive approach has resulted in improved safety performance across multiple sectors, demonstrating that strategic initiatives, when executed effectively, can truly elevate safety and health management.

In my opinion, the attributes of a safety influencer include a deep commitment to enhancing safety culture, the ability to engage and educate, and a relentless pursuit of innovative solutions. These qualities have defined my approach as a safety leader. I am committed to fostering a proactive Occupational Health and Safety Culture that emphasizes the importance of reporting at-risk behaviors and various levels of hazards, allowing for timely corrective and preventive actions. My efforts have focused on engaging not only team members but also senior management to ensure that safety is a shared responsibility. By implementing innovative training programs and utilizing advanced IT-enabled tools like automated EHS management software and animated training videos, I have made safety practices more accessible and engaging, significantly reducing workplace incidents and enhancing operational efficiency. These initiatives have set new industry benchmarks, helping organizations not only meet but exceed regulatory standards. My work has profoundly impacted safety performance across multiple sectors, earning me recognition as a transformative leader in safety. Ultimately, the strength of a safety influencer lies in their ability to drive a safety cultural transformation, integrating safety into the fabric of organizational operations and continuously striving for excellence.