Occupational risk prevention technician

What is an occupational risk prevention technician?

Law 31/1995 requires that preventive activities be carried out by individuals with the appropriate qualifications for the functions they perform. Royal Decree 39/1997 translates this requirement into a classification of functions and qualification levels (Articles 34 to 37), which applies both to designated workers and members of in-house prevention services, as well as to personnel of external prevention services. The prevention technician is, therefore, a figure defined by their functions and training, not by a specific job title.

At the basic level, training is accredited through 30- or 50-hour courses, depending on the company’s activity, or through equivalent qualifications. The intermediate level corresponds to the title of Senior Technician in Occupational Risk Prevention, a higher-level vocational training cycle established by Royal Decree 1161/2001. The advanced level, since the amendment of Article 37 by Royal Decree 337/2010, requires an official university degree and a minimum level of training accredited by a university; in practice, this means a university master’s degree in occupational risk prevention with the relevant specializations. Occupational medicine requires the corresponding medical specialty.

Technicians always act under the responsibility of the employer, who is responsible for ensuring safety and health; their role is to advise, evaluate, plan, train and verify, not to assume that responsibility.

Functions by qualification level

• Basic level (Article 35). Promote safe behaviors and the correct use of equipment, foster worker interest and cooperation, conduct basic risk assessments and establish preventive measures compatible with their training, collaborate in the assessment and control of general and specific risks, act in emergencies and provide first aid, and cooperate with prevention services. This is the minimum training for the preventive resource.
• Intermediate level (article 36). Promote prevention, carry out risk assessments except those reserved to the higher level, propose control and reduction measures, provide training and information at the basic level, monitor compliance with the control program, participate in planning and collaborate with the higher level.
• Higher level (article 37). The functions of the intermediate level and, in addition, the performance of evaluations that require a measurement strategy or a non-mechanical interpretation of criteria, the training and information of a general nature at all levels, the planning of preventive action when it involves several specialties and the surveillance and control of health, reserved for health personnel.
• Higher-level specializations: Occupational safety, industrial hygiene, ergonomics and applied psychosociology, and occupational medicine; in-house prevention services must cover at least two and external services all four.

Where do these professionals work and whom do they work with?

• Designated worker. Company employee with the level of qualification required for the assigned duties.
• In-house or shared prevention service. Company organizational unit with senior technicians in the assumed specialties and support staff.
• External prevention service. Accredited entity that must have senior-level technicians in the four specialties and minimum staff ratios.
• Preventive resource. Required presence in certain situations; minimum basic level training and experience.
• Worker safety representatives and committee. They receive technical advice and participate in the consultation; the technicians provide them with the information and documentation recognized by law.
• Health and safety coordinator on construction sites. A specific role in the construction industry, distinct from a prevention technician, with its own requirements.

Organizational application: how to resource and organise the technical function

1. Identify the necessary preventive functions according to the risks and the size of the company and assign them to people with the required level of qualification.
2. Document the qualifications of each technician (degrees, specializations, basic training) and their appointment as a designated worker or member of the prevention service.
3. Define the means and time commitment, which the law requires to be sufficient and adequate.
4. Define in writing which activities are carried out by in-house staff and which by external prevention services, avoiding overlaps and gaps.
5. Integrate technicians into change processes (new machines, processes, contracts) from the design phase.
6. Facilitate access to the necessary information: accident rates, health surveillance in terms of fitness, measurements, worker consultations.
7. Plan the ongoing training of technicians in response to regulatory and technological changes.

Preventive management software is the technician’s usual work tool: assessments, planning, training, coordination, accident investigation and traceable indicators.

Limits and common mistakes

1. Assigning higher-level functions to people with basic or intermediate training, particularly assessments that require a measurement strategy.
2. Confusing the role of the technician with that of the preventive resource or with the worker safety representative .
3. Consider that the technician assumes the responsibility of the employer; the responsibility for the duty of protection is not transferred.
4. Appointing designated workers without time or resources, which empties the function of content.
5. Reserve all activities to the external prevention service and leave prevention without internal integration.
6. Failure to keep the accreditation of the training of technical staff up to date.

The access conditions and functions of each level must be verified in the consolidated text of Royal Decree 39/1997 and in current university and vocational training regulations.

Regulatory framework in Spain

• Royal Decree 39/1997, Chapter VI (Articles 34 to 37) and Annexes III to VI . Functions and qualification levels, specializations and training content.
• Royal Decree 337/2010, of March 19. Amendment of article 37 on higher level training.
• Royal Decree 1161/2001, of October 26. Title of Senior Technician in Occupational Risk Prevention, corresponding to the intermediate level.
• Law 31/1995, articles 30 to 32. Protection and prevention of risks by own or third-party means and capacity of the designated persons.

Directive 89/391/EEC, Article 7, requires that designated workers and external services have the necessary skills and qualifications. In Colombia, the person responsible for the Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) must hold a license in occupational health and safety and have completed the training course required by Decree 1072 of 2015 and Resolution 0312 of 2019.