Vision Zero’s 7 Golden Rules: applying them to everyday OSH management
A risk assessment can identify a problem, and a meeting can agree on a solution. Prevention advances when that decision reaches the workplace and someone checks that it works. This sequence of identifying, deciding, implementing and reviewing is the practical approach we propose for working with the seven Golden Rules.
Vision Zero is a strategy promoted by the International Social Security Association (ISSA) that integrates safety, health and wellbeing. Its seven rules help translate that commitment into organisational practice. The official guide includes checklists for identifying areas to improve. Explore the official Vision Zero guides and resources.
The seven rules translated into everyday decisions
The following summary reflects the meaning of the rules. The proposed actions and evidence are examples of how a company could apply them.
1. Make leadership visible
Management demonstrates commitment through decisions, resources and participation in prevention. One practical application is to review outstanding measures that require investment and record what is approved, who will implement it and how the result will be checked.
2. Recognise hazards and act on risks
Assessment needs to reflect real working conditions. For example, a warehouse modification may require a review of traffic routes. Keep the connection between the identified hazard, exposed people, agreed measure and its verification.
3. Turn objectives into working programmes
Each objective needs actions that can achieve it. To improve control of critical tasks, a programme can define owners, resources, dates and checks. Periodic review then shows what has been implemented and what still requires a decision.
4. Organise prevention through clear responsibilities
The system needs to connect management, supervisors, technical teams and workers. Each action should have a clear implementation owner, a person who validates closure and a process for addressing obstacles. This clarity supports coordination between departments.
These four areas draw on ISSA’s published methodology. Consult the ISSA guide to the seven Golden Rules for the official wording and checklists.
5. Look after equipment and workplace conditions
Machines, tools and working areas require attention throughout use and maintenance. One application is to connect a defect found during inspection with the necessary intervention and a subsequent check that the equipment can be used under appropriate conditions.
6. Develop the competence needed for each task
Training should reflect the work performed and changes to it. A job-based matrix can identify required knowledge, completed training and practical checks of learning, particularly when new equipment or procedures are introduced.
7. Sustain people’s participation
The people performing tasks provide valuable information about working conditions. A reporting channel becomes more useful when someone can find out what happened to their suggestion: who reviewed it, what action was agreed and when the improvement was checked.
For the conceptual background, see the seven Golden Rules in Sabentis Explora.
An example: from a warehouse report to follow-up
Imagine a warehouse where someone reports that pedestrians and forklifts meet in an area with limited visibility. The team reviews the situation, listens to the people working there and defines the necessary measures. Management provides resources and assigns owners to carry them out.
The affected people then receive information and training, the new arrangement is checked and any further issues are reviewed. This illustrative example connects all seven rules within one process. Its record can preserve the initial report, assessment, decisions, tasks and evidence of the final check.
How this connects with Cultura 5Z
Cultura 5Z, promoted by Fundación Internacional ORP, organises its approach around five dimensions: Zero Accidents, Zero Diseases, Zero Waste, Zero Inequality and Zero Lack of Knowledge. These cover safety, health, sustainability, equality and knowledge. See the official Cultura 5Z model.
We propose connecting the initiatives through management practice: using Vision Zero’s rules to work on leadership, organisation and participation, and extending planning to relevant Cultura 5Z areas. For example, a training programme can contribute to competence and shared knowledge. An accessible participation channel can help include voices from different groups.
This practical connection requires objectives and indicators for each area. Waste monitoring, for example, needs specific environmental information. The relationships described here are examples of working together, rather than an official correspondence between the seven rules and the five dimensions.
The role of OSH software
Applying these ideas requires connections between risks, objectives, owners and verification. Sabentis’s published module descriptions cover organisational management and planning and communication, training and compliance, including areas such as responsibilities, objectives, training, inspections and audits.
A practical starting point is to choose one outstanding improvement and follow its complete management journey: identify its origin, assign owners, implement the measure and record how it was verified. Organisations operating in Spain and Colombia can share a follow-up structure while adapting procedures to each operation.
The value of digitalisation lies in continuity: being able to see what was decided, what remains outstanding and what evidence supports closing an action. Every review then becomes an opportunity to decide the next step. Explore Sabentis OSH software to discuss your management processes.
Continue the series
Continue the series by developing a Cultura 5Z action plan and defining preventive indicators that support decisions.
A practical checklist for your first review of the seven rules
Use this checklist when preparing the first follow-up meeting. The outcome should be a specific decision and a next checkpoint, rather than a score without an explanation.
- Collect an observation from actual work and discuss it with people on different shifts before selecting the improvement.
- Check whether the action owner has the authority, time and resources required to complete the work.
- Define evidence that could challenge closure of the action, alongside the evidence that could support it.
- Identify an outstanding management decision and the person who must resolve it so that work can continue.
- Plan feedback to the team: explain what changed through their participation and what still needs attention.
Frequently asked questions about Vision Zero’s seven rules
Must all seven rules be implemented at once?
Review all seven to identify gaps, but prioritise implementation according to risks and available capacity. Starting with a specific improvement helps the team practise the approach. That priority must not postpone urgent measures or preventive duties that already apply to the organisation.
Does a small business need a complex programme?
It can start with a simple record connecting the problem, decision and verification. Clear responsibilities and actual follow-up matter most. The selected tool should support this work without requiring more data entry than the information contributes to decisions and practical improvements.
Does Vision Zero replace PRL legislation or the SG-SST?
No. It is a voluntary improvement initiative that can guide safety, health and wellbeing management. Legal obligations in Spain or Colombia retain their own scope. Joining the initiative does not automatically demonstrate that a company meets those obligations in its operations.
How can commitment be checked beyond a declaration?
Examine observable decisions: approved resources, resolved obstacles and follow-up of outstanding actions. Also ask the people doing the work whether they received a response. A declaration can initiate commitment, but continuity becomes visible in how decisions are made and put into practice.
Sources and methodology
- ISSA: Vision Zero resources: international reference for the seven rules and their implementation resources.
- Fundación Internacional ORP: Cultura 5Z: source for the five-dimension model; its connection with the rules is proposed here as a management approach, not an official equivalence.
Sources consulted on 6 October 2026. Checklists and examples are practical implementation proposals.
