In an organization, many things happen at once, and for each of these actions to be completed, a secure and safe work environment is necessary. Therefore, it is essential that the organization has someone who can assess potential hazards, act when anything goes wrong, and accept responsibility. At this point, a safety officer's job becomes very important.
Who Is A Safety Officer?
A Safety Officer is an expert tasked with ensuring the health and safety of an organization's employees. They are capable of managing emergency situations by spotting potential threats, carrying out in-depth investigations, and averting them before any damage is done. They acquire this responsibility by taking safety course and training.
Their duties vary depending on the business they operate in and they serve in a variety of fields including healthcare, industrial, petroleum, gas, and construction. If a safety Officer doesn’t take full responsibility for his job, employees can get hurt.
Responsibilities Of Safety Officer
Here’s a list of 30 responsibilities of a safety officer you must know to excel in your field:
- Layout a vision for employees’ safety.
- Support OHS policies, developments, programs, and regulations.
- Identify and monitor hazardous situations, often including risk assessment and categorization.
- Conduct assessments of processes and operations to identify potential hazards and act of control measures to reduce these risks.
- Make sure that all employees and executives receive proper OHS training about potential hazards in their workplace and understand how to protect themselves from them.
- Communicate and collaborate with organizations’ employees about health and safety (noise levels, basic first aid training, proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), etc.)
- Inspect premises to ensure personnel are safe while working. If there is any issue, develop measures to protect workers from injuries.
- Supervise the safe maintenance, handling, storage & disposal of hazardous materials followed by proper procedure and all necessary paperwork
- Investigation of incidents that occur within their assigned area by interviewing witnesses, reviewing security footage, and gathering other evidence.
- Take immediate action in an emergency to stop and prevent hazards that seem dangerous and unhealthy.
- Make sure all employees of an organization are aware of all potential hazards of a place and know the safety procedures in place.
- Ensure that all organization’s employees meet OHS requirements.
- Coordination with all site safety and health activities, including site inspections, accident investigations, safety training, and hazard abatement to ensure implementation of site safety and health plan.
- Inspection of the premises for potential hazards such as electrical wiring, and trip hazards to ensure a hazard-free environment in the workplace.
- Conduct toolbox meetings to ensure that all employees know the latest safety procedures and protocols.
- Review and approve subcontractors' safety plans to make sure they fully understand potential hazards on the job site, and precautions are taken to protect workers.
- Develop and implement safety policies and procedures, conduct safety training, and investigate accidents on the site. He also closely works with the project manager to ensure safety in all aspects of projects.
- Safety officers are also responsible for the selection of qualified suppliers and contractors for different activities within the site who meet the company's contractors' policy.
- Use emergency lines of authority to correct unsafe acts or conditions, including, issuing warnings, conducting investigations, and taking disciplinary actions.
- Safety officers are responsible for receiving reports from and responding to orders from the Department of Labor within the site.
- Identify weaknesses of a safe workplace and report them immediately. These might be assessed by health and safety risk assessment or observation.
- Conduct safety audits to ensure the implementation of safety procedures for employees' safety and to improve operational efficiency.
- Oversee substances’ installation, maintenance, and disposal to ensure safety protocols are followed and safety equipment is in working order.
- Verifies that injury logs and reports are completed and submitted to relevant government agencies. Also responsible for ensuring the agency has accurate information about the number and types of injuries that have occurred in the workplace.
- Serves as a link between state, local agencies, and contractors to arrange OHS testing & evaluation for the workplace.
- Conduct a job hazard analysis to identify potential dangers in a workplace. This analysis is used to determine how dangerous a task was before taking precautionary actions.
- Reporting employees' health problems to the Departmental Manager. This ensures that problems can be investigated and if necessary precautionary measures can be taken to improve the health of affected employees.
- Maintaining safety signs and notice boards to prevent injuries in their assigned areas. This ensures staff and visitors are well aware of the possible dangers and hazards ahead in certain situations or environments.
- Safety officers develop and train employees according to the emergency response plan.
- Ensure that health, safety, and environmental laws and policies are followed by the organization.
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Which Safety Course Is Needed To Become A Safety Officer?
Individuals who want to work as safety officers usually take certain steps to increase their chances of getting hired. They earn a bachelor's degree in occupational safety or a closely related field. Furthermore, many safety officers have received certification from reputable organizations such as the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH). The following are some examples of safety courses:
- SAFETY OFFICER COURSE
- NEBOSH IGC Course (KNOWN AS NEBOSH SAFETY COURSE)
- NEBOSH CERTIFICATE IN FIRE SAFETY
- IOSH MS (IOSH MANAGING SAFElY COURSE)
- OSHA 30 HOURS (CONSTRUCTION SAFETY COURSE)
- SAMTRAC (SAFETY MANAGEMENT TRAINING COURSE)
Experience in safety-related fields, strong communication, and interpersonal skills enhance your chances of hiring.