Occupational safety is the system of decisions a company uses to prevent accidents and occupational diseases. It starts with the way work is organized and only at the very end reaches helmets and gloves. At its core are three questions: what can hurt a person, how likely it is to happen, and which measure will most reliably eliminate or reduce the hazard.
Below we explain how hazards are spotted in everyday work, how risk is assessed, why some measures work better than others and how you can tell whether protection is working. The text is general information, not legal advice. Each company's specific obligations depend on its activity, its risk assessment and the occupational health service it works with.
What Occupational Safety Actually Includes
The Bulgarian Health and Safety at Work Act defines safe conditions as those that do not lead to occupational diseases and accidents at work and create the conditions for complete physical, mental and social well-being (§ 1(1) of the supplementary provisions). In practice this covers five areas that influence each other: people and their training, work processes, equipment, the environment (noise, dust, temperature, lighting) and management, i.e. who makes the decisions and who monitors their implementation.
Safety briefings and personal protective equipment are only part of the picture. A well-trained worker with a sound helmet is still at risk if the rack above them is overloaded, the aisle is blocked with pallets or the schedule makes them rush. Safety is built where work is planned, not only where equipment is handed out.
Responsibility is shared. Under Art. 16 of the Act, the employer must assess risks and apply preventive measures, and all occupational safety costs are borne by the employer. The employer also provides occupational health services (Art. 25) and appoints officials or a service responsible for safety (Art. 24). When several companies work on one site, they agree in writing how they will cooperate and coordinate measures (Art. 18).
Every worker, for their part, must take care of their own health and safety and that of other people affected by their work (Art. 33). They must use protective equipment correctly and report immediately any situation that may be an immediate danger and any defect in collective protection (Art. 34).
How Hazards Are Recognized Before an Incident Happens
A hazard is anything that can cause harm: a moving forklift, a wet floor, a solvent in an open container, a cable across the aisle. Most of them can be spotted in advance if someone looks for them deliberately, rather than only after an incident.
Observing the task
It is most useful to observe the work as it actually is, not as it is described in the instructions. Example: in a warehouse, the instructions say boxes over 25 kg are lifted by two people. Observation shows the evening shift is one person short and one person moves the heavy boxes alone. The hazard is not in the box but in the gap between the instructions and the real schedule.
Observation should cover the whole task: preparation, the work itself, cleaning up and unusual situations such as repairs, a machine jam or an urgent order. It is in these that people most often bypass the rules.
Data from incidents and near misses
Accidents rarely come without warning. Before a fall from a ladder there are usually several cases where someone slipped and managed to catch hold. Such events should be recorded and discussed just as seriously as accidents. Ordinance No. 5 on risk assessment explicitly names the results of investigating “incidents without accidents” as grounds for reviewing the assessment (Art. 11).
A work accident must be established, investigated and registered (Art. 23 of the Act). The insurer declares it to the territorial division of the National Social Security Institute within 5 working days (Art. 57 of the Social Insurance Code). The older ordinance on work accidents still states a 3-working-day deadline, but the law takes precedence. The investigation is not about finding someone to blame. Its aim is to understand which measure failed and why.
Signals from employees
The people who do the work every day are the first to notice a loose railing, a damaged plug or a new material with a sharp smell. They will only report if they know whom to tell, if reporting is easy (a note, a message, a short conversation) and if they see that something changes afterwards. If a report is met with reproach or ignored, there simply will not be a next one.
How Risk Is Assessed and Prioritized
Risk is a combination of the probability of harm occurring and the severity of that harm. The same hazard can be low-risk in one workshop and high-risk in another, because conditions, people and measures differ.
Risk assessment is the employer's obligation. The occupational health service and those responsible for safety take part, and external specialists where needed (Art. 4 of Ordinance No. 5). The ordinance describes the stages: classifying activities, identifying hazards, determining who is exposed, determining the elements of risk (severity and probability), assessing the risk and documenting it (Art. 14). It does not impose a specific matrix or scoring system. Each company can use its own method, as long as it is consistent and leads to clear measures.
Probability and severity
Probability depends on how often the task is carried out, how many people are exposed and what measures are already in place. Severity is the most serious realistic consequence: a scratch, a fracture, permanent injury or death. A hazard with low probability but a possibly fatal consequence (for example, falling from a roof) cannot be ranked below a frequent but minor hazard just because the first “has not happened so far”.
Who is exposed
Not everyone is exposed equally. Separate consideration is given to new and temporary workers who do not yet know the site, staff from external companies, pregnant and breastfeeding workers, workers under 18 and people with reduced working capacity. An external fitter who comes for one day often does not know where the forklift drives or which exit is the emergency exit.
Existing measures and residual risk
Once what has already been done is taken into account, what remains is the risk the measures do not cover. It is this that determines what to do next. Measures are ranked by priority, and the employer monitors both whether they have been implemented and whether they are effective (Art. 5 of Ordinance No. 5). A responsible person and deadline are set for each measure and recorded in the documentation (Art. 20). The assessment and measures are discussed in the working conditions committee or group.
How often the assessment is reviewed is decided by the employer according to the identified risk. It must also be reviewed when processes, equipment and materials change, when regulations change, when measures are ineffective, when an investigation of an accident or incident shows a need, and when ordered by the inspection authorities (Art. 11 of Ordinance No. 5).
Which Measures Are Most Effective
The Act lists the basic principles of prevention (Art. 4(3)): risks are first avoided; those that cannot be avoided are assessed and reduced at the source; what is dangerous is replaced with what is safe or less dangerous; and collective protective measures take priority over personal protective equipment. In practice these principles are arranged into the so-called hierarchy of controls: elimination, substitution, technical solutions, organization and training, and finally personal protective equipment. The higher a measure is in this order, the less it depends on the attention of the individual.
Here is what the levels look like in a specific example. On a construction site, concrete curbs are cut on site with an angle grinder. The hazards are loud noise, flying particles, cuts and fine mineral dust. Dust from cutting concrete contains respirable crystalline silica, and work with it is included in the list of carcinogenic processes in Ordinance No. 10 of 2003.
| Level | What is done in the example | Why it is a stronger or weaker measure |
|---|---|---|
| Elimination | The curbs are ordered cut to size from the manufacturer | The hazard disappears from the site entirely |
| Substitution | The curbs are split with a hydraulic machine instead of being cut with a disc | The method raises much less dust and noise |
| Technical solutions | Wet cutting, a machine with dust extraction, a fenced-off area | Works regardless of the worker's behavior |
| Organization and training | Cutting only in a designated place when no other people are nearby; training on the machine | Depends on discipline and supervision |
| Personal protective equipment | Safety glasses, earmuffs, respiratory protection and gloves selected according to the assessment | Protect only the person wearing them, and only if worn correctly |
Elimination and substitution
The most reliable measure is to eliminate the hazard. If the curbs arrive cut, there is no cutting dust left on site to control. When this is not possible, the next step is a less hazardous method or material: splitting instead of cutting, a water-based product instead of a solvent, a lighter pack instead of a heavy one.
Technical solutions
Technical measures limit the hazard at the source without relying on anyone remembering anything. Water binds the dust at the moment of cutting, and extraction removes it before it reaches the breathing zone. A disc guard, platform railing and local ventilation work as long as they are in good order. Maintaining them is part of the measure itself.
Organization and training
Organizational measures determine who does the work, when, where and how. This includes work instructions, permits for hazardous work, rotation during noisy work and restricting access to danger zones. Safety briefings also belong here. Ordinance No. RD-07-2 of 2009 provides for initial, workplace, periodic, daily and extraordinary briefings, and since 2024 they can be held in person or remotely (Art. 10). The periodic briefing is held at least once every three months for the high-risk activities the ordinance lists (including construction and work with hazardous chemical agents), and at least once a year for all others (Art. 14). For the same high-risk activities there is also a daily briefing (Art. 15).
An extraordinary briefing is held after a work accident or occupational disease, after a fire, industrial accident or natural disaster, after serious breaches of the rules, when the technology, machinery or organization changes and when ordered by an inspection authority. It is also mandatory when a person returns to work after an absence of more than 45 calendar days (Art. 16). The last point is often missed in practice. Briefings are entered in the briefing logs with the signatures of the person giving and the person receiving the briefing.
Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment is used where a risk cannot be eliminated by other means (Art. 10 of the Act). The employer provides it free of charge and cannot replace it with a monetary equivalent (Art. 284 of the Labour Code). It is the last barrier between the hazard and the person and protects only if it is chosen for the specific risk, fits and is worn throughout the exposure.
In the angle grinder example, the glasses must be suitable for flying particles, and the earmuffs must reduce noise enough, but not so much that the worker cannot hear signals on site. Respiratory protection must match the type and amount of dust. The risk assessment shows exactly what protection is needed, and the personal protective equipment section offers guidance for choosing. More about the different types of exposure is in our article on work environment factors.
How Safety Is Applied Every Day
Documents describe the system, but it shows in people's behavior during the shift. Here are the habits that have the greatest effect.
Checking before work
Before starting, the worker checks the tool, guards, cables and their own protective equipment. A glove with a worn palm, a helmet with a crack or glasses with scratched lenses are replaced immediately, not “at the end of the week”. Suitable workwear and work shoes are also part of this check: an unbuttoned sleeve next to a rotating machine or a shoe with a worn sole on a greasy floor are hazards in themselves.
A tidy workplace and equipment in good order
Many slips and trips come from things that are out of place: a cable across the aisle, spilled oil, a box in front of the stairs. Clear places for materials, waste and tools, marked traffic routes and free emergency exits reduce risk without costing much. Damaged equipment is marked and taken out of use rather than left “for a bit” until the next shift.
Communication when something changes or there is danger
Many accidents happen during change: a new colleague, a new machine, repairs, an urgent task or work in an unfamiliar area. The start of the shift is a good time for a short conversation about what is different today.
If a serious and immediate danger to life or health arises, the worker has the right to refuse to carry out the task or to stop work, and must immediately inform their direct supervisor (Art. 283 of the Labour Code). The employer or direct supervisor must immediately establish whether the refusal is justified and take measures to eliminate the danger, and the worker may not be disadvantaged because of the refusal (Art. 22 of the Act).
How Do We Know Whether the Measures Work
No accidents for a month does not yet mean the system works. It may just be luck. More reliable are the indicators that show before anyone gets hurt:
- how many of the planned measures were implemented on time and whether risk actually decreased afterwards;
- how many reports and near misses were reported and how many led to a decision;
- what workplace inspections and task observations show;
- whether protective equipment is worn correctly and replaced on time;
- whether briefings and medical checks were done on time;
- what employees themselves say about workload, schedule and obstacles at work.
In companies with more than 50 workers and employees a working conditions committee is set up, and with 5 to 50 workers a working conditions group (Arts. 27 and 28 of the Act). They discuss the state of safety every quarter (Art. 29). This is a convenient framework for looking at the indicators, noting what has improved and updating the risk assessment when something in the work has changed.