Each of the nine Rules highlights a key action to prevent fatal injuries during activities that research has shown to be high-risk. Aimed at individual workers, every Rule is geared to a specific task. The nine Rules are:

1. Bypassing Safety Controls
2. Confined Space
3. Driving
4. Energy Isolation
5. Hot Work
6. Line of Fire
7. Safe Mechanical Lifting
8. Work Authorization
9. Working at Height

A great benefit of them is standardisation or uniformity in application - having everybody with the same understanding of these simple and clear actions aimed at preventing fatal injuries during higher-risk activities. IMCA recommends that, as far as possible, its members adopt the IOGP Life-Saving Rules; they will be of benefit to members and to the wider industry to use a widely adopted standard for safety, leading to fewer injuries and fewer fatalities and a safer workplace for all.

Currently we are aligning IMCA Safety Flash incidents to the IOGP Life-Saving Rules. Members submitting safety incidents can attribute which of the Rules has been broken; it is possible that none of the Rules were broken. In each published safety flash incident or event, we will highlight which of the Rules were not followed in the lead up to the incident.