Profession health and safety officer

Health and safety officers execute plans for the improvement of work environments and cultures. They assess risks and interview employees to ensure the work environment is compliant with health and safety rules, as well as ensuring the interaction within the workplace occurs in a positive and productive manner. If employed in a healthcare facility the health and safety officer has to investigate infections spreading across a facility and advice all employees how to combat and prevent infections. Furthermore health physics is applied at facilities where people are exposed to ionizing radiation such as nuclear power plants and research institutions.

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Personality Type

Knowledge

  • Assessment of risks and threats

    The security documentation and any security-related communications and information.

  • Personal protective equipment

    Types of protective materials and equipment foreseen for various types of tasks such as general or specialised cleaning activities.

  • Technical drawings

    Drawing software and the various symbols, perspectives, units of measurement, notation systems, visual styles and page layouts used in technical drawings.

  • Health, safety and hygiene legislation

    The set of health, safety and hygiene standards and items of legislation applicable in a specific sector.

  • Environmental legislation

    The environmental policies and legislation applicable in a certain domain.

  • Quality standards

    The national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.

Skills

  • Advise on risk management

    Provide advice on risk management policies and prevention strategies and their implementation, being aware of different kinds of risks to a specific organisation.

  • Communicate health and safety measures

    Inform about applicable rules, guidelines and measures to avoid accidents and hazards in the workplace.

  • Monitor legislation developments

    Monitor changes in rules, policies and legislation, and identify how they may influence the organisation, existing operations, or a specific case or situation.

  • Present reports

    Display results, statistics and conclusions to an audience in a transparent and straightforward way.

  • Follow safety standards in industrial contexts

    Abide by safety procedures and standards for industrial contexts, mostly where machinery is involved.

  • Advise on conflict management

    Advise private or public organisations on monitoring possible conflict risk and development, and on conflict resolution methods specific to the identified conflicts.

  • Draw up risk assessment

    Assess risks, propose improvements and describe measures to be taken at the organisational level.

  • Ensure compliance with environmental legislation

    Monitor activities and perform tasks ensuring compliance with standards involving environmental protection and sustainability, and amend activities in the case of changes in environmental legislation. Ensure that the processes are compliant with environment regulations and best practices.

  • Educate employees on occupational hazards

    Provide information and advice to employees related to the possible occupational hazards, such as industrial solvents, radiation, noise and vibration.

Optional knowledge and skills

conduct workplace audits provide improvement strategies liaise with managers perform risk analysis conduct research interview use different communication channels make health, safety and environment assessments advise on environmental risk management systems perform project management educate on emergency management pollution prevention test safety strategies employment law audit techniques project management implement strategic planning identify policy breach observe confidentiality perform health assessment apply conflict management issue licences think analytically

Source: Sisyphus ODB