The Safety Observations app is designed to help users easily complete and submit safety observations from their mobile devices. This guide provides detailed instructions on how to successfully sign in, complete observations, and submit them through the app. Keep in mind that your view of the app may differ based on administrative settings chosen by your organization. The following steps outline the typical process you’ll follow, but some features may not be visible depending on your organization's setup.

To start, log in to the Safety Observations app using the username (email) and password provided by your organization. If you are registering for the free version, simply enter your email and follow the prompts to set a password.

Once logged in, you can navigate through the app using the three-bar ‘hamburger’ menu located in the top-left corner. This menu gives you access to different modes in the app, including:

Once you’re logged in, you’ll be taken to the main screen of the app. To get started with a new observation, select the green ‘Start New Observation’ button at the bottom of the screen.

If your organization has pre-loaded job sites, physical locations, or projects, you can select from a drop-down menu labeled Location, Job Bank, or Company, as applicable. This ensures that the observation is linked to the correct location or project.

Note: If you see a ‘Group’ drop-down, selecting a group will filter the list of locations or projects to only those in that group.

If you don’t have pre-loaded locations or projects, or if you are using the free version, you will need to manually type in your location details in the Location field.

Next, choose the Date and Time for the observation from the provided drop-down menu. The date appears first, followed by the time. You can roll the numbers up or down if you need to backdate the observation. If the observation is being made at the current time, you can leave the default settings as they are.

You will then need to specify whether the observation is Positive or Negative by selecting the corresponding radio button. A Positive observation will show fewer options, while a Negative observation will allow for additional selections.

For any observation, you can add a photo to help illustrate what was observed. To do this, tap Add Photo and use either the Camera or Gallery button to take or select a photo.

Once in the photo editor, you can crop the image as needed by tapping and dragging the corners. You can also add shapes, arrows, or draw freehand on the image to further highlight important details. Modify the thickness, color, and opacity of any drawn shapes or lines using the tools in the photo editor.

In the ‘Describe What You Observed’ text field, record the details of the observation. You can use your device’s keyboard or enable talk-to-text if available.

For Negative observations, you will also need to select the Severity Rating from a scale ranging from N/A to High. Additionally, choose the Category that best describes the observation, or select Other/Misc. if none of the options apply.

For each observation, you will select any Contributing Factors that may have played a role in the issue. These factors don’t necessarily have to be the direct cause of the observation but may have contributed to the situation, such as damaged equipment or unsafe behavior.

You can also record any Action Taken. If no immediate action was taken, you can leave this field blank or indicate that the observation was simply reported.

If you wish, you can enable Geo-Tagging to record the location of the device (latitude and longitude) as part of the observation.

Before submitting, you can choose whether to submit the observation anonymously or as yourself by toggling the appropriate radio button. Once all details are entered, select the green ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the screen.

Note: If your organization has a required number of observations to be submitted per week or month, please note that observations submitted anonymously will not count toward this total, as the sender’s information is removed when submitting anonymously.

Once the observation is submitted, the result will not be shown within the app. Instead, emails may be sent to the designated individuals in your organization as determined by your account administrator. After submission, you will be returned to the home screen.

The Safety Observations app is an essential tool for reporting safety issues quickly and effectively. Whether you are a front-line worker or contributing to a workplace safety program, this app simplifies the process of documenting and submitting observations. Many items can be customized to meet the specific needs of your organization, ensuring that the app works best for you.

By following these steps, you can easily use the app to contribute to a safer work environment.

Download the Safety Observations User Guide here: