What are the 7 Golden Rules?
The 7 Golden Rules are the method for implementing the Vision Zero strategy. While that strategy states the principle that all work-related accidents and injuries are preventable, the rules describe what an organization must do to move closer to achieving it.
These guidelines are published by the International Social Security Association in a guide translated into numerous languages. The titles are reproduced in this fact sheet according to the official Spanish version, and the guide includes checklists designed to help management and supervisors evaluate their situation rule by rule. The guide has also been developed in sector-specific versions for activities such as mining, agriculture, the electricity sector, and logistics.
It is important to distinguish between three frequently confused entities: the International Social Security Association is the promoting organization, Vision Zero is the strategy, and the 7 Golden Rules are the methodology used to implement that strategy. None of these three are legal regulations or certification schemes.
Rule 1: Take the lead, demonstrate commitment
The first rule places responsibility on management. According to the guide, the behavior of those in charge is crucial to the preventative outcome: what management does visibly carries more weight than what it states in a document.
In practical terms, this means that management establishes and communicates a preventative policy, acts consistently with it, and personally addresses safety in investment, work organization, and hiring decisions. This is the realm of safety leadership .
Rule 2: Identify the hazards, assess the risks
The second rule encompasses the technical core of prevention: recognizing the hazards present in each activity and assessing and controlling the risks they generate.
The guide proposes that the evaluation be systematic and periodic, encompassing non-routine situations, and analyzing accidents, incidents, and events that did not result in harm. It relates to hazard identification and accident investigation as understood in standard preventative practices.
Rule 3: Define goals, develop programs
The third rule calls for turning intention into a plan: concrete safety and health objectives, with responsible parties, deadlines and resources, integrated into medium-term programs and reviewed periodically.
Without this translation, the commitment remains merely a statement. Within the Spanish framework, this line of work is related to the occupational risk prevention plan and the planning of preventive activities derived from the assessment.
Rule 4: Ensure a safe and healthy system, be well organized
The fourth rule relates to organization. It proposes structuring safety and health systematically, with defined responsibilities, clear procedures, and mechanisms for review and continuous improvement.
It is the field of the occupational health and safety management system and connects with the principle of integrating prevention into all the company’s decisions and activities.
Rule 5: Ensure safety and health in machinery, equipment and workplaces
The fifth rule addresses the technical and material dimension: machines, equipment, facilities and workplaces must be safe and healthy throughout their life cycle, including conservation and maintenance.
The guide emphasizes the priority of technical and collective solutions over behavioral measures and individual protection, a criterion that relates to the hierarchy of preventive and control measures and to machine safety rules .
Rule 6: Improve qualifications, develop skills
The sixth rule deals with the competence of people: each position needs the right knowledge and skills, and that competence must be kept up-to-date when equipment, processes, or work organization change.
It includes training for both workers and managers, who typically make decisions that affect risk exposure. It is related to occupational safety and health (OSH) training and providing information to workers .
Rule 7: Invest in people, motivate through participation
The seventh rule completes the cycle with participation. It proposes consulting workers in risk assessments and in defining instructions, taking their suggestions into account, and recognizing safe behavior.
In the Spanish context, this participation is related to formal channels such as the worker safety representative and the health and safety committee , which the rule complements with daily practices of direct consultation.
Practical application and limitations
One practical use of the rules is as a self-assessment questionnaire. Each rule is translated into a few questions with associated evidence: what recent decision demonstrates management’s commitment, when was the risk assessment last reviewed, what preventative objectives are set for this year and who is responsible for them.
The seven rules are not legal requirements, and compliance with them does not certify conformity with any standard. They do not replace the obligations of the country where the organization operates, nor the certification of a management system. Their value lies in structuring the preventive dialogue within the organization and making it understandable to non-technical individuals. Some private initiatives use them as a foundation and expand them to other areas, such as Cultura5Z , promoted by the ORP International Foundation.
Nor should they be interpreted as a rigid sequence. Many organizations work with several rules simultaneously, and the guide itself presents them as a mutually reinforcing set: leadership without technical competence is insufficient, and the best risk assessment cannot be implemented without participation.
