What is a safety observation report?
A safety observation report is a document that inspects workplaces to find potential dangers that might compromise a worker’s right to safety and health. In this report, a safety officer can determine which tasks or environments pose a liability to the company. Documenting these findings reveals hazardous working conditions and evaluates your safety measures.
According to the Health and Safety Act of 1970, all workers are entitled to a safe workplace where they are not subject to harm. Failing to abide by these laws will have serious legal ramifications which could be heavy fines, lawsuits, or even permanent business closure.
When they use a safety observation report to track risk factors, employers don’t have to worry about injured workers, lawsuits, or heavy fines for failing to safeguard theiremployees.
Safety observation report examples are useful in all businesses, but especially in high-risk industries such as construction, engineering, manufacturing, or mining. These documents make it easy to identify unsafe conditions and actions by reporting every detail of an on-site accident.
Table of contents
1. How can you prepare a safety observation report example?
2. Who is responsible for daily safety observation reports?
3. The benefits of digital tool for writing a safety observation report
How can you prepare a safety observation report example?
When writing a safety observation report, it’s important to follow a specific sequence of steps. First, make sure to describe the project and its risks in detail. The factors you’re looking for include:
- Unsafe workplace behavior and negligence
- Unsafe working conditions
- Safe observations of procedures
Examples of safety observations include:
- Encouraging your workers to wear specific protective equipment
- General safety protocol observations, such as ensuring that there are no obstructions to workplace equipment or high-trafficked areas
- Ensuring that workers follow proper storage procedures
- Making sure that workers are using equipment and workstations for their designated purpose.
- Noting down any slippery floors, clutter, unsanitary working conditions, etc.
- Noting disorganized workspaces, ergonomic hazards, insufficient lighting, etc.
- Identifying unsecured entrances and exits
- Documenting which safety procedures are correctly performed and making sure all observations are described in detail.
These are just some of the safety observations you might make in your workplace. Keep in mind that there is a wide variety of dangerous scenarios, objects, and tasks that could lead to workplace mishaps. The specific safety observation reports you create depend on your industry, what safety measures you’re already observing, and how often you perform safety audits. It’s a good idea to review and update your safety report at least every six months.
Who Is responsible for daily safety observation reports?
In industries like construction, unsafe working conditions can have dramatic consequences. That’s why said businesses typically appoint one or more employees to oversee proper safety reporting. The on-site team is responsible for ensuring that specified safety conditions are met.
Daily safety observation reports are prepared by your organization’s safety officer. There’s no legal requirement to complete these forms, but safety officers should ensure that all employees have access to the safety reports and can collectively update them.
Preparing safety report examples as a tool for complying with safety regulations and reducing the number of workplace incidents is the best use of your resources. Establishing a stable company-wide safety structure also improves the overall safety situation.
Why use a digital solution for safety observation reports?
When you digitize your safety observation reports, you save yourself time and don’t have to worry about filing completed reports later. Safety observations that you complete with Lumiform are automatically saved to the cloud, so you can access the data at any time. And with the mobile Lumiform app, you can complete inspections from anywhere, either on or offline.
Thanks to a library of over 12,000 templates, you can download and prepare safety observation report examples across industries, from construction to mining to facility management. All these templates can be edited in minutes using Lumiform’s checklist builder, or you can create your own custom reports.
The benefits of digital safety observation reports include:
- Saving time: Businesses who digitize their inspections can save up to 4x the time on completing and organizing their reports
- Easy organization: Since all completed checklists are saved to the cloud, there’s no more need for filing systems or cluttered cabinets
- Simple reporting: Completed checklists are automatically compiled into weekly and/or monthly reports, which make it easy for you to visualize safety data and track changes over time
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