What is preventive safety observation?
Risk assessment describes how tasks should be performed and what safety measures should be in place; preventive observation verifies on-site whether these measures are being followed. Unlike safety inspections , which focus on physical conditions (facilities, equipment, orderliness, signage), observation focuses primarily on work methods: use of protective equipment and PPE, application of procedures, posture, tool handling, pace, communication, and attention. Both techniques complement each other and are often integrated into a single program.
Royal Decree 39/1997 (Article 6) requires a review of the assessment when periodic checks of working conditions and workers’ activities reveal that preventive measures are inadequate or insufficient, and Law 31/1995 grants worker safety representatives the authority to visit workplaces to carry out monitoring and control (Article 36.2.e). Preventive observation gives systematic form to this control and extends it to the management level, which is best positioned to understand the actual work.
Its origin lies in behavior-based safety programs and visible leadership practices in the process industry, but its current use is broader: it serves to detect deviations between procedure and practice, to discover unassessed risks, to reinforce the preventive culture by recognizing safe behaviors, and to generate leading indicators that anticipate accidents.
How it is done
- Planning. Observation program by zones, tasks and shifts, with defined frequency and assigned observers, prioritizing the highest risk tasks and recent changes.
- Preparation. Review of the risk assessment and task procedure, and checklist with aspects to observe (PPE, protections, procedures, postures, tools, order, communication).
- Observation. Brief period (ten to twenty minutes) without interfering with the task, noting safe and unsafe behaviors and conditions with concrete facts, not judgments.
- Dialogue. Conversation with the observed people: recognition of what is correct, joint analysis of the causes of what can be improved (lack of resources, inadequate procedure, time pressure, habit) and agreement on actions.
- Recording and monitoring. Recording of observations, actions, and those responsible, with verified closure and periodic analysis of results.
- Feedback. Communication of the aggregated results to the staff and the health and safety committee, and adjustment of the program.
Principles of effective observation
- Non-punitive nature. The goal is to learn and improve; if it is used to punish, unsafe behaviors are hidden and information disappears.
- Focus on the causes. Unsafe acts are often rooted in organizational conditions (resources, time, training, design) that need to be corrected.
- Positive reinforcement. Recognizing safe behaviors is as important as correcting unsafe ones.
- Observer training. Observation techniques, communication, and knowledge of task risks.
- Participation. Observers from different levels, including worker safety representatives and the workers themselves.
- Closure of actions. Observations without implemented actions erode the credibility of the program.
Organizational application: how to implement an observation program
- Define the program’s objectives (detection of deviations, reinforcement of behaviors, unassessed risks) and its non-punitive nature, communicated by management.
- Select and train observers in observation techniques, communication and task risks, including managers and worker safety representatives.
- Develop checklists by task type based on risk assessment and procedures.
- Plan the observations by zones, tasks, shifts and frequency, with a minimum per observer and period.
- Make the observations through dialogue and agreement on actions, and record them in the management system with the responsible party and deadline.
- Analyze the aggregate results (percentage of safe behaviors, types of deviation, critical areas) and relate them to incidents and accidents.
- Communicate results, close actions, and review the program periodically with the health and safety committee.
Preventive management software with a mobile application allows field observations to be made with checklists, photographs and signature, automatically generate actions and offer proactive indicators by zone, task and observer.
Limits and common mistakes
- Using observation as a disciplinary tool destroys trust and information.
- Focusing on individual behavior without analyzing the organizational conditions that cause it.
- Untrained observers who confuse opinions with facts or who do not know how to engage in dialogue.
- Programs with numerical objectives of observations that degenerate into formal records without content.
- Do not close derivative actions or communicate the results to the staff.
- Replace risk assessment, technical inspections or health surveillance with observations.
Preventive observation does not replace technical and organizational measures: it complements the hierarchy of control of article 15 of Law 31/1995.
Practical example
Situation: A metallurgical company with 220 people implements a preventive observation program after several incidents due to incorrect use of lifting equipment.
- Design. Non-punitive program approved by management and consulted with the health and safety committee; twelve trained observers including managers, technicians and worker safety representatives; specific checklist for slinging and handling of overhead cranes.
- Implementation. Two weekly observations per observer in the highest risk areas, with dialogue and recording in the mobile application of the management system.
- Findings. 30 percent of the observations detected unchecked slings and unguided loads; the common cause is a lack of suitable slings at the point of use and time pressure during shift changes.
- Actions and results. Provision of slings in each area, review of the procedure and shift change times, positive reinforcement of correct practices; in six months the percentage of safe behaviors increases and incidents with suspended loads decrease.
Regulatory and reference framework
- Law 31/1995, articles 15, 16.2 and 36. Preventive principles, periodic control of working conditions and powers of worker safety representatives.
- Royal Decree 39/1997, Article 6. Review of the assessment based on periodic checks of working conditions and the activity of workers.
- ISO 45001. Employee participation, performance monitoring and measurement, and continual improvement.
- INSST technical guide for the integration of prevention . Preventive functions of managers, including the control of working conditions.
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) . Leadership and worker participation in safety and health.
Behavior-based safety programs and behavioral audits in the process industry are international benchmarks; in Colombia, Decree 1072 of 2015 requires planned inspections and worker participation in the SG-SST.
