Accidents do not send off any signal or alert before taking place. They happen when they are destined to happen and may bring grave repercussions with them. Among the primary reasons behind accidents in case of offices, commercial spaces and other work places include equipment insufficiencies, employee errors, and bad practices. As per experts, it is important to employ health and safety personnel in such places to reduce the overall number of avoidable accidents, sometimes to the tune of 50 percent.
In most workplaces, all visitors, employees and employers are bound by acts that impose general health and safety responsibilities for those concerned, including landlords, designers and manufacturers. Given these conditions, it become the primary responsibility of all employers to recruit competent people for working as their officers. This would ensure that they are taking positive steps for meeting the requirements as laid down by specific authorities for the purpose of health and safety management. These actions also allow the higher management to remain focused on other targets such as those related to profits, productivity, and costs.
Roles performed by health and safety officers
These officers are required to prevent accidents, injuries and work-related illnesses. There are three areas of expertise that define the primary roles of these officers. It is also required that these professionals decipher, create, manage and maintain the regulations and policies as recommended by authorities as per the latest legislation. In addition, they have to ensure that the laid down policies are implemented to the hilt by the management and employees equally. Some of the major roles taken up by health and safety officers include,
- Performance of risk assessment and regular inspections: They have to ensure that all the hazards and defects in the workplace are dealt with on a regular and immediate basis. An accident book can be kept for recording and comprehensively investigating all kinds of accidents. Most importantly, the officers are expected to recommend improvements in terms of better safety standards as and when necessary.
- Providing training for staff for safety issues: The officers provide training and further advice to the staff under them, for instance, with regards to protective equipment and clothing. They serve as key points of contact for all members of staff having concerns about the health and safety of any workplace.
The other roles defined for such professionals include control of hazardous elements, safeguarding of machinery, display screen equipment safety and working, occupational health, environment health, fire safety and manual handling. For further details visit this website hosted by Principal People to help health and safety officer get the jobs of their dreams, and employers to get the right personnel.
