Function and fit within the preventive system
Article 18 of Law 31/1995 obliges employers to inform each worker about the risks of their job, the applicable protection and prevention measures, and emergency procedures. Article 19 requires employers to guarantee sufficient and appropriate theoretical and practical training at the time of hiring and whenever there are changes in job duties, equipment, or technologies. Safety talks do not replace this training, which must have its own content, duration, and accreditation, but they are an ideal tool for providing regular updates, updating information in response to changes in tasks or conditions (new equipment, ongoing construction, weather conditions, collaboration with contractors), and maintaining a heightened awareness of the risks.
From a management perspective, safety talks are an activity within the occupational health and safety management system: they must be planned with a schedule and topics linked to risk assessments, incidents and accidents that have occurred, and planned tasks; they must be recorded with the date, topic, speaker, and attendees; and they must be evaluated in terms of their coverage and effectiveness. INSST Standard NTP 559 describes the procedure for controlling information and preventive training within a management system, in which safety talks are integrated as an informational activity.
The talks are also a channel for participation: they allow workers to raise doubts, communicate detected risk situations and propose improvements, and they reinforce the visible leadership of managers, who are the ones who deliver them most effectively when they have the support of the prevention service.
Characteristics of an effective talk
- One topic only. Focused on a specific aspect relevant to the immediate task, not on generalities.
- Brief. Between five and fifteen minutes, at the start of the day or before a critical task.
- In the workplace. Delivered alongside the equipment, facility or area to which it refers, with practical demonstration where possible.
- Delivered by the supervisor. The person in charge, the team leader, or the prevention officer, using material prepared by the prevention service.
- Participatory. With questions, real-life examples, recent incidents, and space for input from attendees.
- Adapted. Clear language, visual support and attention to language barriers and newcomers.
- Recorded. Attendance sheet with date, topic, speaker and signatures, and kept in the preventive documentation.
- Connected to action. Closure with a concrete commitment and follow-up on reported risk situations.
Common topics and sources
- Risks of the day’s task. Working at heights, confined spaces , handling loads, use of equipment, electrical hazards, hot work .
- Procedures and permits. Machine assignment, work permits, coordination with contractors.
- Personal protective equipment. Use, adjustment, inspection and replacement.
- Lessons learned. Analysis of accidents and incidents specific to our sector or industry.
- Emergencies. Evacuation routes, first aid, meeting points.
- Health. Heat stress, hydration, fatigue, postures and breaks, substance use.
- Order, cleanliness, and signage. Maintenance of workplace conditions.
- Sources. Materials from the INSST, mutual insurance companies, sectoral bodies and international organizations such as the Health and Safety Executive, adapted to the specific risk assessment.
Organizational application: how to implement a safety talk program
- Define the program: objectives, frequency (daily, weekly or before critical tasks), those responsible for delivering them and recording model.
- Develop a calendar of topics based on risk assessment, task planning, incidents and accidents, and company campaigns.
- Prepare brief and visual materials for each topic, with support from the prevention service, and train managers on how to deliver them.
- Conduct the talks in the workplace, with participation, practical demonstration and collection of risk situations and proposals.
- Record each talk (date, topic, speaker, attendees) and address the situations reported in the preventive planning.
- Verify coverage (people and equipment reached, including contractors and new hires) and evaluate effectiveness with observations and indicators.
- Review the program periodically and coordinate it with formal preventive training.
Preventive management software allows you to plan the schedule of talks, distribute materials, record attendance, link topics with risk assessment and incidents, and track coverage and resulting actions with traceability.
Limits and common mistakes
- Using talks as a substitute for the preventive training required by Article 19 of Law 31/1995 or for mandatory sectoral training.
- Turning them into a formality: reading a generic text unrelated to the task of the day or to the real risks.
- Delivering them without attendance records makes it impossible to verify the information and detect who has not been reached.
- Failing to respond to the risk situations and proposals communicated by the attendees discredits the program.
- Exclude contractors, temporary staff or newly hired employees, who are usually the most exposed.
- Not training managers on how to deliver them or evaluating the effectiveness of the program.
The information and training criteria are detailed in Law 31/1995, in Royal Decree 39/1997 and in the INSST documentation; this sheet is for informational purposes.
Practical example
Situation: A construction company with several simultaneous projects detects that incidents due to falling objects and incorrect use of lifting platforms are concentrated in the first weeks after each new employee joins and in work with subcontractors.
- Program. The prevention service designs a program of ten-minute daily talks at the start of the workday, given by the person in charge of each work area, with a schedule of topics linked to the weekly work planning and the incidents recorded.
- Materials and training. One-page visual sheets are prepared for each topic, and those in charge are trained on how to give the talk, ask questions, and record risk situations; the contractors participate in the talks at the work site where they are involved.
- Registration and follow-up. Each talk is recorded with attendees in a mobile application; the situations reported are turned into actions with a responsible party and deadline, and their closure is reported in the next talk.
- Results. After six months, the coverage of the talks exceeds 90 percent of the staff and contractors, incidents due to falling objects and the use of platforms are reduced, and the program is integrated into the coordination of business activities.
Regulatory and reference framework
- Law 31/1995, of November 8. Law on the Prevention of Occupational Risks; information (article 18) and training (article 19) of workers.
- Royal Decree 39/1997, of January 17. Regulation of Prevention Services; integration of prevention and planning of preventive activity.
- Law 32/2006, of October 18. Law regulating subcontracting in the construction sector; training in prevention for the workforce.
- NTP 559. Preventive management system: procedure for information control and preventive training . Procedure for information management and training in the preventive system.
- Health and Safety Executive. Toolbox talks . Definition and materials for construction safety talks.
- INSST. Regulations on OSH training . Compilation of the regulations applicable to preventive training.
Sectoral collective agreements, particularly those for construction and metal, regulate mandatory preventive training, which talks complement but do not replace.
