What is Vision Zero?
Vision Zero is a prevention strategy, not a statistical target. Its official formulation describes it as a transformative approach to prevention that integrates the three dimensions of safety, health, and well-being at all levels of work, based on the conviction that all work-related accidents, injuries, and illnesses are preventable.
It is promoted by the International Social Security Association , the organization that brings together social security institutions from around the world and that, through its international prevention sections, unites the workers’ compensation insurance entities of numerous countries.
The strategy was jointly adopted by the association’s prevention sections and was publicly launched as a global campaign in September 2017, at the World Congress on Safety and Health at Work. It was presented as the first global campaign aimed at simultaneously improving safety, health, and well-being at work.
The three dimensions
The novelty of Vision Zero compared to previous zero-accident approaches lies in its scope.
- Safety. Prevention of workplace accidents and injuries, the classic area of prevention.
- Health. Prevention of occupational disease and slow-onset health damage, from exposure to chemical agents to psychosocial factors .
- Well-being. Working conditions that allow people to perform their activity in a sustainable way, an area closely related to workplace well-being and health promotion .
This scope distinguishes Vision Zero from approaches focused solely on the accident rate: the strategy is formulated on all three dimensions at once and not on a single statistical goal.
The Seven Golden Rules
The strategy is implemented through seven practical rules, published by the association in a guide translated into numerous languages and accompanied by checklists. These are listed here with their titles from the official Spanish translation.
- Take the lead, demonstrate commitment.
- Identify the hazards, assess the risks.
- Define goals, develop programs.
- To ensure a safe and healthy system, to be well organized.
- To ensure safety and health in machinery, equipment and workplaces.
- Improve qualifications, develop skills.
- Invest in people, motivate through participation.
Each rule is broken down into self-assessment questions and concrete actions. The prevention culture section of this encyclopedia outlines the conceptual framework within which they fit, and each of the seven rules has its own entry within this same section.
How an organization joins
Joining Vision Zero is voluntary and free. A company, institution, or professional organization registers on the campaign platform and formally expresses its commitment to the strategy, granting it access to community materials. Much of the official documentation, including the general guide, sector-specific guides, and checklists, can be freely viewed and downloaded from the campaign portal without registration.
It’s important to understand what this registration does not entail. There is no prior audit, no verification by an independent third party, and no certificate of conformity is issued. Presenting adherence as a safety certification would be inaccurate: it is a declaration of commitment, not an evaluated outcome.
To demonstrate the conformity of a management system there are other ways, such as certification according to ISO 45001 or, in Spain, the legal audit of the prevention system when it is mandatory.
Resources and sectoral development
The campaign has accumulated a wealth of practical materials. In addition to the general guide, the association’s prevention sections have published sector-specific guides tailored to particular activities, including mining, agriculture, the electricity sector, construction, and logistics and freight trade. Beyond the association, other organizations have developed their own models based on this strategy, such as Cultura5Z , promoted by the ORP International Foundation.
Proactive indicators have also been developed, designed to measure preventive activity and not just accident rates, and accredited training programs in collaboration with professional organizations in the sector, including the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.
These proactive indicators connect with the broader debate on safety and health indicators , where the distinction between reactive indicators, which measure the damage already done, and proactive indicators, which measure what is being done to prevent it, is central.
Practical application
For an organization that already has a health and safety management system , the seven rules work well as a self-assessment guideline: each one can be turned into a short questionnaire for management and middle managers, with associated evidence.
For a start-up organization, they offer a reasonable sequence, from leadership to participation, which avoids the common mistake of starting with documentation and leaving management commitment and employee involvement until the end.
In any case, the strategy does not replace the legal obligations of the country where operations are conducted, whether it be Law 31/1995 in Spain, Law 16.744 in Chile, or Decree 1072 of 2015 in Colombia. It is a framework for improvement that builds upon compliance, not a substitute for it.
