A safety observation report (sometimes known as a “safety card”) collects information about the safety of working conditions observed by workers on site. Because everyone working on a job site can help ensure safety, especially in high-risk industries like construction, engineering and manufacturing, the safety observation report template is a quick and easy way to empower workers to identify and report unsafe conditions or potential hazards. It also allows workers to highlight the work of other team members who are correctly following safety procedures.
Following a brief description of the project and the job site, a safety observation report prompts the respondent to pick one of three types of observations to report, including: unsafe actions performed by a team member (e.g. failure to wear hard-hat); unsafe conditions (e.g. slippery floor); or safe observations of procedures (e.g. identifying team member who is properly following safety protocols).
Respondents will then be asked to describe the observation in detail, including its urgency and what action, if any, was taken to remediate the hazard. Finally, the form flags who the observation should be reported to and whether further action is required, which helps remediate potential hazards.
In risk-heavy industries like construction and manufacturing, unsafe workplace actions or conditions can become dangerous if ignored and unreported. The safety observation report is designed for workers on site who, in the course of their everyday work, are best positioned to observe how and if safety conditions are followed, or not.
Engaging workers to use the safety observation report form improves hazard reporting, which helps ensure safety compliance and reduce workplace incidents and injuries. And by nurturing a company-wide culture of safety, you can strengthen your overall safety posture.
Safety managers are not required to fill out a safety observation report; rather, they should ensure that all workers have access to such a report and will likely be its primary recipient.
Traditionally, paper safety cards are used to report observations, but they’re not without serious drawbacks. They’re never close to your workers when they really need them, and with limited space, you’ll never get the full picture of hazardous conditions.
Using a mobile app, workers can simply fill the safety observation report on their smartphone without having to stop what they’re doing and track down a safety card. And with unlimited data, automatic data geotagging, and the ability to add pictures directly to the report, observations are more accurate and thorough. Cloud-based, the template can be modified at any time and shared directly with safety managers so the hazard can be dealt with immediately, before someone gets hurt.
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