Fortescue's (ASX:FMG) safety measures to help reduce mining fatalities is bolstered by low employee turnover compared to peers, regular visits by board members on risky sites, and use of artificial intelligence to enhance safety, according to a Wednesday Jarden note.

The research firm shared its discussions with industry experts who noted that Fortescue's introduction of a "Leading Safety Index and Critical Incident Frequency Rate" reflects its broader shift away from relying only on traditional "lagging" indicators such as TRIFR, or total recordable injury frequency rate.

Maureen Hassall, a professor and director at the University of Queensland, said that he sees potential in using AI to analyze large volumes of credible critical control verification data at scale, and in frontline "guardian angel" hazard detection tools.

Fortescue uses AI for its continuous assurance framework that focuses on automatically assuring credible critical controls for material risks and major hazards, the note added.

As of April 24, Jarden's rating for Fortescue was underweight with a price target of AU$16.

Fortescue's shares fell past 2% in recent Thursday trade.