In 2020, the International Labor Organization reported a staggering global statistic: over 2.78 million workers lose their lives each year due to occupational accidents or diseases, and an additional 374 million non-fatal work-related injuries occur. These numbers represent the harsh reality of why proactive safety measures are crucial for protecting the lives and well-being of employees worldwide. Yet, despite these efforts, many organizations still struggle to implement effective safety programs due to disjointed systems and outdated processes.
This is where safety observations come into play, acting as a cornerstone of preventative health and safety measures. They go beyond routine checklists, allowing organizations to identify potential hazards, unsafe behaviors and risky equipment before they escalate into catastrophic incidents. However, not all safety observation tools are created equal. While some platforms offer basic capabilities, Sodales for Enterprise Health, Safety and Employee Relations takes it further with a comprehensive, fully integrated solution that revolutionizes how organizations approach workplace safety. By automating workflows, linking observations to corrective actions and providing industry-specific content, Sodales is not just another tool, it’s the key to transforming safety from a reactive process into a proactive culture. And when it comes to protecting the safety of your workforce, being proactive isn’t just an advantage, it’s a necessity. Let’s explore how Sodales is setting a new standard for safety observations and making workplaces safer, smarter and more resilient.
What are Safety Observations?
Safety observations are a proactive and systematic approach to health and safety, forming an essential part of Sodales’ preventative safety measure tools. Rather than waiting for accidents to happen, safety observations enable organizations to actively monitor employee behaviors, workplace conditions and equipment safety to identify any potential hazards before they escalate. The goal is to create a safety-first environment where risks are addressed swiftly and efficiently, reducing the likelihood of injuries and costly incidents.
Understanding the Role of Safety Observations
The primary purpose of safety observations is to provide a structured way to identify, record and manage unsafe actions, conditions and equipment. Through a series of guided activities and tools, safety observations offer a snapshot of the current state of safety at any given time, serving as a benchmark for continuous improvement. Some of the safety observations include:
- Crew Talks: These are short, focused safety discussions held with team members to review potential risks or recent incidents. Crew talks are designed to create open dialogue around safety topics and reinforce a collective responsibility for maintaining a safe workplace. They are particularly useful for addressing specific workplace conditions, project changes or seasonal hazards.
- Safety Walks: Safety walks are routine inspections carried out by supervisors or safety personnel to identify hazards in real-time. During these walks, areas such as workstations, equipment storage and high-risk zones are reviewed for potential issues. Observers document unsafe conditions or behaviors, enabling immediate action to mitigate risks.
- Crew Committee Meetings: These meetings bring together cross-functional safety committees, such as health and safety representatives, union members and leadership teams, to discuss safety standards and evaluate the effectiveness of current safety strategies. By promoting collaboration, crew committee meetings ensure that everyone has a voice in safety matters and that decisions are informed by those who are closest to the day-to-day operations.
- Equipment Checks: Regular inspections of safety-critical equipment like voltage testers, insulated gloves, machinery and personal protective equipment (PPE) are crucial for ensuring compliance and operational safety. Equipment checks verify that tools are functioning correctly, meet regulatory standards and do not pose a risk to employees. This proactive maintenance approach helps prevent malfunctions that could lead to serious injuries.
A Holistic Approach to Preventative Safety
The focus of safety observations is to prevent incidents before they occur by actively monitoring and addressing unsafe behaviors and conditions. This proactive approach shifts safety from being reactive—responding to incidents after they happen—to being preventative. By conducting routine safety observations, employees can spot trends in non-compliance or risky behaviors and act early, whether it involves retraining workers on safe lifting techniques or replacing worn-out equipment.
Sodales enhances this preventative approach by providing employees with automated tools that streamline the observation process. Using Sodales, employees can efficiently complete observations, populate checklists, assign corrective actions for any at-risk items and attach photos or documents for detailed reporting. This structured system not only improves compliance but also creates greater employee engagement in safety practices, creating a shared sense of responsibility across the organization.
How Sodales’ Platform Delivers Value
Using Sodales, employees have access to a dynamic platform that brings together all necessary features for preventative safety in a single, cohesive solution. This integration allows for a smoother, more efficient process for capturing and managing safety data. Here are some of the key features that make Sodales distinct:
- Industry-Specific Pre-Built Content: Sodales includes pre-built best industry content tailored for specific sectors. This means that organizations don’t have to start from scratch. Whether it’s construction, energy or healthcare, Sodales has safety observation templates designed for the unique risks of each industry, making it easier to adopt and implement.
- Checklists with Advanced Functionality: Unlike other platforms that rely on manual processes, Sodales offers automated and configurable checklists that can be populated with real-time data. Checklists for instance can guide employees through every step of the observation, ensuring that no detail is overlooked. Employees can also assign corrective actions, add attachments and track progress, making it easy to maintain compliance and proactively manage risk.
- Configurable Risk Indicators: Sodales allows for a range of visual risk indicators, such as symbols and radio buttons, enabling employees to quickly label and prioritize risks. This flexibility means that rather than entering numerical values to increase or decrease risk levels, employees can use intuitive symbols to streamline the process, saving time and reducing errors.
- Automated Observations and Workflow Integration: Other platforms do not provide a comprehensive solution for safety observations. They often rely on manual data entry and lack robust automation capabilities, which can lead to inefficiencies and inconsistencies. Sodales addresses this gap with a fully automated workflow that captures all aspects of safety observations—from identification to resolution.
- Linking Observations to Corrective Actions: If a hazard is identified during an observation, employees can immediately assign corrective actions within the platform, complete with due dates and escalation paths. Managers have visibility into these actions, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks. Also, Sodales’ reporting capabilities allow managers to track the effectiveness of their safety programs and analyze whether their preventative measures are truly reducing risks.
Cross-Functional Capabilities and Integrations
One of the major pain points for organizations using other platforms is the lack of integration between their observation tools and broader safety and compliance systems. Sodales eliminates these silos by providing integration features that allow safety observations to be linked to other systems, such as a Learning Management System (LMS). This integration enables managers to verify whether employees conducting observations have the proper training and certifications, ensuring compliance and accountability.
Also, Sodales connects its safety observation module with incident management, inspections and other modules and features, providing a unified approach to health and safety. If a hazard identified during a safety observation results in an injury, managers can seamlessly connect the incident to the original observation, creating a comprehensive view of what went wrong and how to prevent it in the future.
AI-Powered Capabilities
Sodales takes safety observations a step further with its AI-enabled platform, which can be used online or offline with the mobile app functionality. Using AI, employees can complete checklists, flag non-conforming items and assign corrective actions more efficiently. AI also plays a role in conducting real-time analysis of safety data, providing insights that help organizations stay ahead of potential risks.
For example, during audits or inspections, Sodales’ AI capabilities can identify patterns in observations, highlight areas of concern and suggest preventative measures. This is especially valuable for organizations dealing with high-risk environments where quick, data-driven decisions are crucial.
Analyzing the Current State to Drive Continuous Improvement
Understanding the effectiveness of safety programs is critical for making informed decisions that enhance workplace safety. Sodales stands out by providing managers with comprehensive reporting and analytics, allowing them to gain a clear picture of the current state of safety within their organization. For instance, if a hazard identified during a safety observation eventually results in an incident, managers can use the platform’s detailed reports to assess whether their preventative measures, such as inspections or observations, were sufficient or if adjustments are needed.
This ability to link observations with training records further strengthens the analysis process. Managers can verify that employees conducting these activities have the necessary qualifications and take corrective action if training gaps are identified. This data-driven, closed-loop approach ensures that safety programs are continuously refined, turning every observation into an opportunity for improvement.
Closing the Gaps: Why Sodales is a Better Solution
Safety observations are a critical part of any organization’s health and safety strategy, but they must be implemented in a way that is efficient, consistent and scalable. Sodales offers a unique approach that combines automation, industry-specific content and cross-functional integrations to provide a truly proactive safety observation tool.
With Sodales, organizations can ensure that their safety observation programs are not only effective but also integrated with other key safety processes. This unified approach makes Sodales the ideal choice for any organization looking to create a safer, more compliant workplace.
For more information, visit Sodales Solutions.
DISCLAIMER: Sodales Solutions Inc. uses artificial intelligence (“AI”) to optimize certain features of its platform and automate various tasks related to health, safety, employee, and labor relations management. These AI-powered features operate within defined parameters and are rigorously monitored to maintain accuracy and adherence to legal and ethical standards. We prioritize the protection of customer data by ensuring compliance with applicable privacy laws. Customer data is used solely for agreed-upon services, with no compromise to privacy.
Please note that this disclaimer is provided to customers for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a replacement for qualified legal advice.
