What it is and what it’s for
An external occupational health and safety service, known as an external prevention service (SPA), is a specialized entity accredited to act as an external preventive resource for companies. Through an agreement, it undertakes specific activities and provides the necessary technical and professional resources to carry them out. Its services can cover all the agreed-upon disciplines or complement resources that the company maintains internally.
The external prevention service (SPA) advises and supports the organization within the scope of its contracted services. This does not make it a substitute for management or supervisors. The company must provide information, allow access to workplaces, and implement the appropriate measures. In turn, the SPA is responsible for its own professional actions in accordance with applicable regulations.
When is this method used?
The Regulations for Prevention Services allow for the use of one or more specialized entities when the designation of workers is insufficient and there is no obligation to establish an in-house service, as well as in other expressly regulated cases. They also allow for supplementing activities not undertaken by the employer or their own prevention service.
The choice should be based on the actual characteristics of the work. A small company with hazardous operations may require intensive technical support, while geographical dispersion may demand resources located near several sites. Workforce size alone does not define the complexity of prevention. Before contracting, the sites, processes, groups, equipment, and risks requiring coverage must be identified.
Accreditation and effective capacity
The organization must have the corresponding accreditation from the labor authority, with involvement from the health authority for health-related aspects. The regulations require adequate organization, personnel, facilities, resources, and safeguards. It must have departments specializing in occupational safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics and applied psychosocial factors, and occupational medicine, with the corresponding professional qualifications.
Checking accreditation is necessary, but not sufficient, to choose the right service. It’s also important to know which team will be handling the company’s risks, their experience with those risks, how they will organize visits, and what methods they will use for specific measurements or assessments. A generic offer may leave important needs unmet if the scope of service isn’t clearly defined before the agreement is finalized.
What should the service agreement include?
The agreement must be formalized in writing and identify the parties, the centers covered, the specialties, and the functions or activities undertaken. It must include the conditions stipulated in Article 20 of the regulations, including its duration, financial terms, and any expressly excluded activities. The existence of exclusions requires verification of how the necessary preventive measures that are not covered will be addressed.
The document should answer operational questions: who evaluates a new task, how is a measurement requested, what happens when a center opens, and who verifies the proposed measures. A broad term like “preventive coverage” is insufficient if no one knows its specific benefits. The annual plan must be aligned with the contract and the company’s priorities.
How to work with the company
The company must inform the external prevention service (SPA) of any relevant changes, health hazards, new facilities, contracted activities, and other factors that affect prevention. The SPA needs to understand the actual work being done, not just an administrative description of job positions. Visits and contact with employees help identify discrepancies between procedures and their daily application.
Internal coordination requires stakeholders with the capacity to drive decisions. The head of production, maintenance, or purchasing must receive the relevant findings and act upon them. Document control allows for accessible and up-to-date evaluations and records, but simply storing reports is not the same as implementing their recommendations. Follow-up must verify the results under actual working conditions.
Practical example
A maintenance company contracts occupational risk prevention disciplines with an external prevention service (SPA) and identifies its workshops, travel, and work at client facilities. Before introducing a cleaning activity with a new product, the company communicates the change and provides information about the process. The SPA analyzes the conditions, determines the necessary actions, and proposes measures that the company incorporates into its planning.
Next, the company assigns responsibilities for the improvements, adapts the training, and reviews the necessary equipment. The external prevention service (SPA) carries out the follow-up corresponding to its agreed-upon activities. If a task arises that is not included in the scope, both parties define its coverage before considering it completed. The expected result is a controlled operation, not simply a new file in the document platform.
Consultation, scheduling and evaluation
Before agreeing to the activity, the employer must consult with the workers’ representatives in accordance with regulations. The selection criteria and technical specifications of the agreement are discussed in the health and safety committee when appropriate. This participation helps to verify whether the proposal addresses known problems in the workplaces and the needs of the centers.
The annual report and planning allow for a review of actions, resources, and results. It is advisable to check whether changes have been evaluated, whether recommendations are applicable, whether measures are being followed, and whether there are any unresolved delays. Service quality is not measured solely by the number of documents issued, but also by the relevance and timeliness of the support provided.
Limits and common mistakes
Hiring an external occupational health and safety service (SPA) does not release a company from its duty of care, nor does it eliminate the service provider’s professional liability for its actions. It also does not automatically transform a consultancy or software provider into an accredited occupational health and safety service. Digital tools can facilitate the work, but they do not replace the organizational, capacity, and accreditation requirements established for this type of service.
Common mistakes include excluding centers without notifying them, failing to communicate changes, and assuming that health surveillance alone covers all prevention. When internal and external resources coexist, their coordination must be defined. Reviewing the agreement is especially important when the company grows, introduces new processes, or modifies activities previously carried out using a different preventive approach.
