ISO 45001 Safety Observation Card Template

Introduction

In striving to create safer places of work, a growing number of organizations are adopting Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management systems. ISO 45001, the new international standard for OHS, aims to help organizations improve their OHS performance, prevent work-related injury and ill health, and provide a safe and healthy workplace for all. A Safety Observation Card (SOC), a tool that can help organizations achieve this goal, is an important element of an OHS system based on ISO 45001. Safety observation cards (SOC) are an extremely useful tool in any organization that wishes to implement an effective ISO 45001 system. They play a vital role in empowering employees to report on unsafe acts, conditions, and behaviors as well as positive observations and suggestions for improvement. An ISO 45001 compliant organization can benefit greatly from using an ISO 45001 safety observation card template.

In this article, we’ll:

• Look closer at the importance of SOCs in an ISO 45001 system.
  
  

• Consider the benefits they provide.
  
  

• Examine the elements of an effective SOC template.
  
  

• Discuss the steps necessary for successfully implementing a system of safety observations at your organization.

Let’s get started!

The ISO 45001 Standard and Safety Observation Cards

The ISO 45001 standard promotes the idea of a proactive approach to occupational health and safety management. Safety Observation Cards contribute to the achievement of this goal in several important ways.

• Clause 6.1.2.1: Clause 6.1.2.1 of ISO 45001 requires that an organization must establish processes for identifying hazards.

  SOCs provide a convenient mechanism for workers, who are often in the best position to identify potential hazards and unsafe acts, to report these observations to the appropriate authority. They also allow hazardous conditions and unsafe acts to be addressed before they result in an incident.
  
  

• Clause 5.4: Clause 5.4 of ISO 45001 requires that an organization must encourage worker participation. Safety observation cards are an excellent tool for helping to meet this requirement. By giving workers a forum in which to share their observations and concerns, employers demonstrate that they value and act on employee input.
  
  

• Clause 10.3: Clause 10.3 of ISO 45001 requires that an organization must continually improve its OHS management system through actions that address root causes and promote prevention. Safety observation cards can help organizations to identify patterns and trends, thereby helping them to take appropriate corrective and preventive action. By analyzing the data from SOCs, an organization can determine where and under what conditions incidents are likely to occur and what controls are most needed.

Now that we’ve seen how safety observation cards play an important role in an ISO 45001 system, let’s look at some of the key benefits that a well-designed and properly implemented system can provide.

The Benefits of the ISO 45001 Safety Observation Card

Implementing a system of safety observation cards based on ISO 45001 requirements brings a number of important benefits to the table.

1. It cultivates and promotes a positive safety culture at the workplace.

   A strong safety culture means that employees care about and actively contribute to the safety of the workplace. This, in turn, leads to improved safety performance. By encouraging active and ongoing participation in safety improvement, an organization can develop a self-reinforcing safety culture in which employees feel that their input is valued and that management is truly interested in receiving and acting on it.
   
   

2. It helps an organization to demonstrate compliance with ISO 45001 requirements.

   As we saw earlier, safety observation cards tie in to several important elements of the ISO 45001 standard. When properly implemented, an organization can use the results of SOCs as objective evidence of conformity with these requirements during an ISO 45001 audit.
   
   

3. It provides valuable data and insight that can be used to drive safety improvement initiatives.

   By reviewing the findings, an organization can spot trends, identify root causes, and take corrective and preventive action to improve safety performance.

It is also important to note that an organization can segment the data by location, department, or type of observation. This can help to zero in on problem areas and target resources more effectively. Another advantage of using an ISO 45001 compliant SOC template is that it also contains information about positive observations and suggestions for improvement, which can be extremely helpful in driving improvement initiatives.

Now that we’ve examined the many benefits that an organization can reap by using an ISO 45001 safety observation card template, let’s look at the key elements of an effective SOC template.

Key Elements of the ISO 45001 Safety Observation Card Template

An effective and efficient SOC template will contain the key elements described below.

1. Observer and Contextual Details

• Observer information: Name (optional), employee ID, department.
  
  

• Date and time of observation.
  
  

• Location of observation.
  
  

• Weather/environmental conditions: If applicable.

2. Observation Details

• Type of observation: Unsafe act, unsafe condition, hazard, positive observation.
  
  

• Description of observation: What did you see? Please make sure to describe the observation clearly and concisely so that someone reading your report will understand exactly what occurred.
  
  

• Potential consequences: What could happen if this observation is not corrected?

3. Actions

• Immediate action taken: What did you do to correct or mitigate the issue? (Stop work, barricade the area, notify supervisor, etc.).
  
  

• Recommended corrective/preventive actions: What would you recommend we do to correct and prevent similar issues from occurring in the future? Please submit as many recommendations as you feel are appropriate.
  
  

• Risk level (optional): Based on your judgment, how high of a risk is this observation? (Low, medium, or high).

4. Follow-Up Details

• Responsible person/department for follow-up.
  
  

• Status of action item: Open, in progress, etc.
  
  

• Date of follow-up/closure.
  
  

• Management review/comments.

Best Practices for Implementing a Safety Observation Card System

Having looked at the benefits that a safety observation card system has to offer, let’s now take a look at the best practices for implementing such a system at your facility.

1. Training: It is vital that all personnel understand how and why to use the Safety Observation Card system. Your staff should be trained on the contents of the cards as well as how to identify and report different types of observations. Additionally, management should also be trained on how to act on the information provided in the SOCs.
   
   

2. Non-punitive culture: It is extremely important that employees know that they will not face any adverse consequences if they complete and submit a SOC, no matter what it contains. If employees feel that they may be punished for raising safety concerns, they are unlikely to do so.
   
   

3. Feedback and follow-up: Perhaps the single most important step in ensuring the success of a safety observation card program is to make sure that employees receive feedback. Letting employees know that their observations are being reviewed, acted upon, and that their safety is a priority will go a long way toward encouraging them to participate.

Paper-Based and Digital Safety Observation Cards

There are two main options when it comes to choosing between paper-based and digital safety observation cards.

• Paper-based SOCs: Easy to use, no need for technology, easy to distribute and share within the organization.
  
  

• Digital SOCs: Easily analyzed, easier to read, faster and more efficient communication and feedback, can be integrated with other software tools, allows for photo/video evidence.

Depending on the needs of your organization and the technologies available to you, you can choose between paper-based and digital safety observation cards. Many organizations find that starting with paper-based SOCs is often the most practical way to start out, and then move on to digital SOCs as the system becomes more established.

Conclusion

In conclusion, an ISO 45001 safety observation card template is an extremely useful tool for any organization that wishes to improve its OHS performance. An organization that effectively implements a system of safety observation cards will be well on its way to establishing an effective ISO 45001 system that fosters a proactive safety culture and empowers employees to play an active role in ensuring the safety and health of the workplace.