A safety specialist is a competent person who gives health and safety advice to an organisation. They may work as a manager within an organisation, or they may be brought in as a contractor from outside. A safety specialist may be called a safety practitioner who is responsible for giving correct safety advice to the organisation so that they can meet their obligations.
A safety specialist has so many roles and responsibilities, but their responsibility is mainly a functional one. Below are the 7 responsibilities of a safety specialist.
7 responsibilities of a safety specialist.
1.Promoting a positive health and safety culture.
A positive health and safety culture is important in a workplace. Having a positive health and safety culture will ensure that the accident is minimised and workers know what to do in order to protect themselves against him. The management is mainly the driver of the positive health and safety culture. The health and safety specialist will promote that part together with the management.
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2.Developing and implementing policy.
Safety policies are very important in the workplace. It shows the intention of the management regarding health and safety. A safety specialist may help to craft a copy of the safety policy, but the overall person in the management, the chief executive officer or the managing director, has to sign the safety policy.
3.Identifying training needs.
Knowledge is very important in a workplace; without adequate knowledge, accidents cannot be prevented. This knowledge cannot be passed to workers if they don’t train them in certain safety programs and courses. A safety specialist will help to know the training needs of the workers in a workplace and will advise the management on how to go about them.
4.Overseeing accident reports and investigations.
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A safety specialist can assist in accident reporting and investigation. Investigating an accident needs the support of an accident team. A safety specialist can be the head of the team and ensure that the accident investigation is conducted and reports are produced at the end of the day.
5.Providing guidance on health and safety standards.
There are so many health and safety standards that an organisation can follow. With the aid of a safety specialist, they can be guided on the basic things that they need to do in order to comply with the health and safety standards available.
6.Monitoring health and safety performance.
A safety specialist helps to monitor health and safety performance.They do this by making use of many metrics such as leading and lagging indicators measurements or key performance indicators.
7.Advising on Accident Prevention.
A safety specialist can advise management on how they can best prevent an accident from happening in their workplace. They can do this with the help of many safety tools such as inspection, safety audit, monitoring and supervision, etc
Onyeka Emma is a QHSE Professional with more than 10 years of experience in occupational health and safety, which spans many industries such as construction, beverage, oil and gas, etc. He has many health and safety certifications, including NEBOSH IGC, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 Lead auditor certificate. A member of IOSH, ISPON, and Nigeria Red Cross Society. He is interested in business, entrepreneurship, Speaking, and motivating people to do better for themselves. He enjoys leisure with a good motivational book.
