Production Line Safety Checklist for KSA Factories

As Saudi Arabia prepares for its most ambitious transformation yet under Saudi Vision 2030, one of the Kingdom’s most critical phases is about to reshape how industries operate. From September 1, 2025, a new set of Executive Regulations for Labor Inspection comes into effect — modernizing workplace oversight, standardizing production line safety, and integrating digital solutions into compliance frameworks.

At the heart of this change is the safest route businesses can take: adopting AI-powered safety systems that are designed to meet these new demands, not just meet minimum requirements.

The latest labor oversight reform comes with a clear message: the future of compliance is digital, transparent, and verifiable. These new regulations, announced by the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD), significantly expand government inspection powers, standardize compliance indicators, and lower paper-based processes.

For companies, this means:

• All factories and production lines must digitize safety documentation and make it audit-ready.

• Inspectors will evaluate real-time data, not just periodic reports.

• Non-compliance will no longer be measured solely on manual logs — live safety performance matters.

The regulatory tone has already shifted in practice. In September 2025, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) ordered production lines of five factories shut after detecting E. coli and Salmonella contamination — a clear indictment of lax safety monitoring and poor operational practices. Penalties for such violations include fines of up to SAR 10 million or imprisonment for up to a decade.

But how to ensure industrial safety compliance under such strict regulations?

For decades, safety audits in manufacturing settings were lagging indicators — a checklist filled out after work was completed. But the new inspection requirements invert that model. The government now expects manufacturers to continuously monitor hazards, correct unsafe behavior automatically, and generate instant compliance reports.

AI enables this shift through a combination of computer vision, video analytics, sensors, and IoT wearables. Video analytics detect unsafe worker actions or PPE non-compliance, while environmental sensors monitor temperature, humidity, and machine performance. AI ensures faster decision-making, triggering hard stops, alerts, or automated corrective action management (CAM) without human intervention.

This approach not only satisfies the Executive Regulations but also aligns with Vision 2030 objectives — utilising digital transformation to enhance operational safety, protect worker welfare, and optimize production efficiency.

Ensuring production line safety requires understanding the different elements involved — from the people operating machines to the machinery itself, workstations, and the surrounding environment.

AI provides targeted interventions at each level, integrating monitoring, predictive insights, and automated controls to prevent incidents and maintain compliance. Here’s how:

Human operators are the heart of any production line, but they are also exposed to the greatest risks. AI-powered computer vision and smart wearables like smart watches and helmets continuously monitor worker actions, posture, and PPE compliance.

Vision AI in food & beverage industry can overcome repetitive breaches like a worker entering a high-temperature zone without gloves or standing in close proximity to conveyor belts. The system triggers an immediate alert and notifies supervisors and EHS teams while pausing nearby equipment via PLC integration.

Machines are critical but can also pose serious hazards when malfunctioning. AI-enabled predictive maintenance integrates the readings from sensors to monitor vibrations, temperature, and other operational parameters to detect early signs of wear or anomalies.

If in an automotive assembly line, an unusual vibration occurs in a robotic arm when workers are nearby. AI immediately triggers a pre-emptive maintenance alert and creates a danger zone, keeping workers at a safe distance until the machine is repaired.

Benefit: Reduces unexpected downtime, prevents lost time injuries (LTIs), and aligns with regulatory expectations for continuous monitoring.

AI CCTVs continuously monitor workstations and production zones for unsafe behavior, PPE non-compliance, unauthorised intrusions, or environmental hazards such as chemical spills or excessive heat.

For example, in the high-risk zones of a factory floor, AI-powered safety systems perform real-time task risk assessments, validate permits, and continuously monitor the area during critical operations such as lockout/tagout procedures, confined space entry, hot work, and maintenance on live equipment.

If a hazard is detected, the system immediately generates an alert and logs the event for future audit requirements.

Benefit: Ensures proactive hazard mitigation, enforces zoning rules, and provides audit-ready records for inspections.

Temperature, humidity, air quality, and other environmental factors can influence safety risks. AI collects and analyzes real-time sensor data, predicting hazards before they escalate.

For instance, in a logistics warehouse, it is important to keep an eye on the heat levels and air circulation. But under manual inspections, such details might be based on assumptions and experience. With AI, when temperatures near machinery rise beyond safe limits, all alerts are triggered and cooling protocols are activated automatically.

Benefit: Prevents heat stress, toxic exposure, and other environment-driven incidents, supporting worker welfare and regulatory compliance.

AI platforms unify data from people, machines, workstations, and environmental sensors into a centralized dashboard. This allows EHS teams to track safety metrics in real time, perform root cause analysis, and respond proactively to emerging risks.

In multi-line food processing plants, smart monitoring with AI aggregates video, sensor, and operational data to forecast potential hazard zones, optimize task allocation, and trigger automated shutdowns when thresholds are exceeded.

Benefit: Provides holistic visibility, enables predictive safety management, and ensures full compliance with Saudi labor inspection regulations.

To ensure full compliance with Saudi Arabia’s new Executive Regulations and to maximize worker safety, companies can adopt a structured, AI-driven approach across their production lines.

Implementing AI doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a simple, practical roadmap to get started:

Start by mapping all the elements on your production line — people, machines, workstations, and environmental risks. Identify high-risk zones like moving conveyors, welding stations, chemical handling areas, or confined spaces. This gives AI a clear picture of where to focus monitoring.

Begin with AI-powered cameras and sensors in the most critical areas. Track unsafe behaviors, PPE compliance, fatigue, or proximity to hazards. It ensures alerts are instant, so problems can be addressed in real time without waiting for manual checks.

Equip key machines with AI to monitor vibration, temperature, and energy patterns. AI can detect early signs of wear or malfunction, allowing preventive maintenance before equipment failure creates a serious risk.

Use AI dashboards to collect and display safety data in one place. This provides clear, audit-ready reports, safety trends, total recordable incident rates (TRIR), and patterns that teams can review instantly, helping you stay aligned with Saudi Arabia’s new labor regulations.

Even with a small deployment, AI collects valuable data. Use it to understand recurring hazards, optimize workflows, and refine SOPs. This ensures your safety strategy improves continuously.

Once you see results in critical zones, gradually extend AI monitoring to more areas. Add wearables, digital permits, and automated alerts for hard stops or dynamic safety interventions. Start simple, then scale.

The Executive Regulations for Labor Inspection are a clear signal that the Kingdom of  Saudi Arabia is moving toward digitally enabled, proactive industrial safety. For factory automation, AI provides the tools to meet these standards, ensuring that production lines are monitored, hazards are mitigated in real time, and compliance documentation is always audit-ready.

Factories that integrate AI into their operations not only avoid shutdowns and fines but also establish a culture of continuous safety and operational excellence through the diverse applications of AI in manufacturing. By embracing these technologies, Saudi manufacturers can safeguard workers, enhance productivity, and position themselves as leaders in the Kingdom’s evolving industrial landscape.

Most platforms like viAct can deploy AI for the safety of production lines without any major disruptions. It follows the following procedure-

1. Map high-risk zones first.

2. Deploy AI monitoring gradually on critical machines and workstations.

3. Train EHS staff to interpret alerts.

4. Expand to other zones once processes stabilize.

Both. By predicting machine failures, detecting unsafe acts, and optimizing workflows, AI prevents accidents and reduces unexpected downtime, boosting operational efficiency.

AI platforms like viAct ensure data ownership remains with the client, and sensitive information is anonymized (e.g., full-body blur or object detection instead of person identification). They comply with GDPR and Saudi labor privacy guidelines.

No. AI complements human expertise rather than replacing it. Safety officers focus on decision-making, interventions, and continuous improvement, while AI handles 24/7 monitoring, automated alerts, and predictive insights.

You can explore viAct, a leading provider of AI-powered production line safety solutions operating in KSA and other global markets. Their platform integrates computer vision, IoT, and predictive analytics to ensure real-time safety and compliance across industrial sites.  Beyond Saudi Arabia, viAct reach extends to several other countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Oman, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Europe, America, and Africa.

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