Samson Ajobiewe
Work is essential for life, development and personal fulfillment. Unfortunately, indispensable activities such as food production, extraction of raw materials, manufacturing of goods, energy production, construction and services involve processes, operations and materials which can, to a greater or lesser extent, create hazards to the health of workers, host communities of operational bases, as well as to the general environment.
However, the generation, release and impact of harmful agents in the work environment can be prevented, through adequate hazard control interventions with the use of checklists, risk assessment and safe system of operation, which not only protect workers’ health but also limit the damage to the environment, ecosystem in general and the impact on sustainable development.
A typical work environment is a location where a task is completed. When pertaining to a place of employment, the work environment involves the physical geographical location as well as the immediate surroundings of the workplace, such as a construction site or office building. Typically involves other factors relating to the place of employment, such as the quality of the air, noise level, illumination, vibrations, etc.
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The profession that aims chiefly at the identification, prevention and control of hazards arising from work processes is occupational hygiene… THE SAFETY OFICER. The goals of a safety officer include the protection and promotion of workers’ health, the protection of the environment and contribution to a safe and sustainable development.
The need for safety officer in every operational base in the protection of workers’ health cannot be overemphasized. Even when feasible, the diagnosis and the cure of an occupational disease will not prevent further occurrences, if exposure to the etiological agent does not cease. So long as the unhealthy work environment remains unchanged, so long as operations and tasks are not access and reassessed, it’s potential to impair health of workers and environment remains.
WHAT A SAFETY OFFICER DOES
- Inspects the site to ensure it is a hazard-free environment.
- Conducts toolbox meetings
- Is part of the project safety council and leads all efforts to enhance safety
- The safety officer reviews and approves all subcontractors safety plans
- Verifies that injury logs and reports are completed and submitted to related government agencies
- Verifies that all tools and equipment are adequate and safe for use.
- Promotes safe practices at the job site.
- Enforces safety guidelines.
- Trains and carries out drills and exercises on how to manage emergency situations.
- Conducts investigations of all accidents and near-misses.
- Reports to concerned authorities as requested or mandated by regulations.
- Conducts job hazard analyses.
- Establishes safety standards and policies as needed.
- Performs emergency response drills.
- Watches out for the safety of all workers and works to protect them from entering hazardous situations.
- Responds to employees’ safety concerns.
- Coordinates registration and removal of hazardous waste.
- Serves as the link between state and local agencies and contractors.
- Receives reports from and responds to orders issued by Department of Labor inspectors.
- Arranges for OSHA mandated testing and/or evaluations of the workplace by external agencies/consultants/auditors.
A safe and healthy workplace not only protects workers from injury and illness, it can also lower injury/illness costs, reduce absenteeism and turnover, increase productivity and quality, provide a healthy environment to communities, give room for psychological and psychosocial balance both at work and home and raise employee morale. In other words, safety is good for business. protecting workers is the right thing to do. The cost of injury prevention is far less than the cost of an injury, if we think safety is expensive, let’s try accidents and review the costs (both direct and indirect costs). A safe and healthy workplace attracts and retains quality employees. It’s an asset to a community, operates more efficiently and enjoys a healthy bottom line. The business and the workers thrive in a safe, healthy, respectful and caring environment…but all these are unachievable without having a well-defined Safety policy, safety plans and safety officers to enforce the policies
YOU NEED A SAFETY OFFICER