Workflow Template
Safety Observation Workflow
Captures workplace safety observations from observers. Safe behaviour is logged as positive recognition and closed. At-risk behaviour is classified by severity, assigned to an owner for corrective action, and confirmed by a reviewer before closure — with a rework loop if the action is inadequate. The observer is notified when their observation is closed.
Someone on the floor spots a colleague doing something risky, or does something right — and right now that observation probably ends up in a notebook, an email, or nowhere at all. This workflow captures every observation as it happens, automatically routing safe behaviour to positive recognition and at-risk behaviour into a severity check, owner assignment, corrective action, and reviewer sign-off before it's closed. The team gets a clear, auditable trail of every safety observation without anyone chasing updates or losing track of who's fixing what.
Business Outcomes
- Faster turnaround between spotting a hazard and getting it fixed
- Clearer visibility into open vs closed safety issues at any moment
- Reduced risk of at-risk behaviour being logged but never followed up
- Supports consistent severity classification and accountability for corrective action
- Helps build a documented safety record that supports audits and reviews
Workflow Steps
Steps
- 1Create Observation Recordcreate record
Registers the submitted safety observation as a record.
- 2Set Status to Openupdate record
Marks the observation as newly opened.
- 3Route on Behaviour Type
Routes safe observations to recognition and at-risk observations to classification.
behaviour_type: "Safe"→Log Positive Recognitionbehaviour_type: "At Risk"→Classify SeverityDefault→Classify Severity - 4Log Positive Recognitionupdate record
Marks the observation as positive recognition for safe behaviour.
- 5Close Safe Observationupdate record
Closes out the safe observation record.
- 6Notify Observer — Recognised & Closedsend email
Emails the observer thanking them and confirming closure.
- 7Classify Severitycreate task
Safety team member classifies the severity of the at-risk observation.
- 8Persist Severity & Update Statusupdate record
Saves the assigned severity and marks the observation under review.
- 9Assign Owner for Corrective Actionassign user
Assigns the at-risk observation to an owner responsible for corrective action.
- 10Mark Assigned for Corrective Actionupdate record
Updates status to reflect the observation has been assigned.
- 11Complete Corrective Actioncreate task
Owner performs and documents the corrective action for the at-risk observation.
- 12Mark Pending Reviewupdate record
Persists the corrective action details and updates status to pending review.
- 13Reviewer Confirms Corrective Actionrequest approval
A reviewer confirms whether the corrective action taken is adequate.
- 14Route Review Outcome
Routes to closure if approved, or back to the owner for rework if rejected.
approval_status: "approved"→Close At-Risk Observationapproval_status: "rejected"→Mark Returned for ReworkDefault→End - 15Mark Returned for Reworkupdate record
Updates status to indicate the action was inadequate and is returned to the owner.
- 16Return to Owner for Reworkrestart from step
Restarts the corrective action step so the owner can revise and resubmit their action.
- 17Close At-Risk Observationupdate record
Closes the observation once the reviewer confirms the corrective action is adequate.
- 18Notify Observer — At-Risk Observation Closedsend email
Emails the observer confirming the at-risk observation has been actioned and closed.
Fields
- Observer Name*
- Observer Email*
- Location*
- Activity Observed*
- Behaviour Observed*
- Immediate Intervention Taken
- +4 more fields
Forms
Safety Observation Report
6 fields
Data Views
All Safety Observations
location, activity, behaviour_type, severity +1 more
At-Risk Observations Requiring Action
location, severity, observation_status, corrective_action_notes
Dashboard Widgets
Recommended integrations
Setup the following integrations to extend workflow capability.
Send email in the workflow
AWS SES
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FAQs
Do I need to build this workflow from scratch?
No — this is a ready-to-use template you can publish in assess.one in minutes. Once it's live, your team can start logging observations straight away without any setup delay.
Can my team customise how severity is classified?
Yes, the severity classification step, categories, and routing logic can all be adjusted directly inside assess.one to match how your site or business defines risk levels. You don't need any technical skills or developer support to make these changes.
Is this suitable for a small business without a dedicated safety officer?
Yes, the workflow is designed to work whether you have a formal safety team or just a supervisor who reviews observations part-time. Roles like observer, owner, and reviewer can be assigned to whoever fits your current setup, and changed later as your team grows.
Who needs access to this workflow?
At minimum you'll want observers who can log observations, owners who complete corrective actions, and a reviewer who confirms closure. Access and permissions for each role are configured inside assess.one, so you control exactly who can see or act on what.
What happens if a corrective action isn't good enough?
The reviewer step includes a rework loop — if the corrective action is judged inadequate, the observation is routed back to the owner for further work instead of being closed prematurely. This helps prevent at-risk issues being marked resolved before they're actually fixed.
Does the observer get told what happened to their report?
Yes, the workflow sends a notification to the observer once their observation is closed, whether it was a positive recognition or an at-risk issue that went through corrective action. This helps keep observers engaged and confident their reports are being acted on.
How long does it take to get this running?
Publishing the workflow itself takes minutes — there's no lengthy implementation project. Once it's published, your team can start submitting and processing safety observations immediately.
Can we add extra approval steps for high-severity observations?
Yes, additional approval or notification steps can be added directly within assess.one to suit higher-severity cases, such as looping in a manager or safety lead. These changes can be made at any time as your process evolves.
Does this help with compliance or audit requirements?
The workflow creates a timestamped record of each observation, its classification, the corrective action taken, and reviewer confirmation, which supports internal audits and compliance reviews. It's designed to give you a clear paper trail rather than to guarantee compliance with any specific regulation, so you should confirm it meets your particular obligations.
What tools does this integrate with?
Notifications like email or Slack alerts to observers and owners are configured directly inside assess.one, without needing separate integration work. This keeps the whole process — logging, notifying, and closing — inside one platform.
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