Cosh Topic

ROLE OF CONSTRUCTION
SAFETY OFFICERS
Contents
I. Organizational Structuring of Safety
II. Team Up for Safety
III. Safety Officer and/or Professional
 Position Concept
 Duties and Responsibilities
 Relationships Inside the Company
 Accountability
 The Need for Safety Professionals
IV. Duties of the Safety Man per Rule 1047

I. Organizational Structuring of Safety
 Centralized
Active management and control of a company safety program may be
vested in the chief executive, the general manager, or an experienced
and qualified foreman who has both authority and status.
 Decentralized
Organizations with scattered operations requiring relatively few
employees, such as scattered construction sites, face special
problems of organization.
 Staff Versus Line Positions

The safety program is usually assigned to persons holding line
positions in a small plant, and staff positions in a large plant.
 Authority Versus Responsibility

Sometimes the safety professional is given authority that is
usually limited to line officials.
II. Team Up for Safety
 Influencing People
The human relations movement, a post-World War II
phenomenon, has as its primary focus: the handling
(treatment) of employees as human beings.
 Supervision
The responsibilities of the first-line supervisor are many. Direction of the
work force includes the following supervisory functions:
1. Setting goals.
2. Improving present work methods.
3. Delegating work.
4. Allocating manpower
5. Meeting deadlines.
6. Controlling expenditures.
7. Following progress of work,
8. Evaluating employee performance.
9. Forecasting manpower requirements.
10. Supervising on-the-job training,
11. Reviewing employee performance,
12. Handling employee complaints,
13. Enforcing rules.
14. Conducting meetings, and last, but not least-
15. Increasing safety awareness
III. Safety Officer / Professional
 Position Concept
The site safety officer is responsible to the site
manager, the employee relations manager, or the
personnel manager for:
1. Developing and executing an effective program of

safety engineering and industrial hygiene within the
plant/project, with the appropriate procedures.
2. Developing and directing safety engineering and safety

inspection personnel associated with the plant/project.
3. Developing and directing safety training programs and

procedures within the plant/project.
Duties and Responsibilities
Within the limits of authorized objectives, policies, and procedures,
the plant safety officer is responsible for and has the authority for:
 Discharging the company's statement of policy as outlined in its

organizational manual.
 Implementing and administrating the company’s statement of policy
for a safe plant/project. This encompasses safety policies and
practices, safety standards, and industrial hygiene.
 Where possible, propagating and promulgating safety and industrial
hygiene instructions, procedures, and standards, and following up
on these when necessary so that employees and visitors will not
injure themselves or others.
 Personally maintaining a constant audit of all existing, planned, and
proposed installations, processes, and procedures for unsafe
conditions or acts before they result in injury or damage.
 Developing and presenting training programs for all
supervisors so that they will have the knowledge and
tools to prevent accidents.
 Conducting monthly meetings of the executive safety

committee and attending monthly departmental
supervisory safety meetings for the purpose of
eliminating unsafe acts or conditions by calling them to
the attention of the person or persons responsible.
 Maintaining statistical records and reporting these to

management. Such reports would cover (a) accidents
and near-accidents; (b) frequency and severity of major
and minor injuries; (c) costs of accidents-general and
specific, actual and potential.
 Compiling, editing, publishing, and distributing monthly
or bi-weekly safety publications to all employees in an
effort to prevent injuries on and off the job.
 Obtaining and presenting audiovisual aids to all

employees to prevent injuries on and off the job.
 Testing new safety devices on the job.
 Operating and maintaining a dispensary for safety

shoes, to reduce costly foot injuries and to improve
efficiency.
Relationships Inside the Company
 The Safety Officer will establish and maintain the
following relationships within the company.
 With the site manager. The safety officer is accountable

to this executive for the proper interpretation and
fulfillment of the duties and responsibilities of this
position and related authority, in concurrence with the
dictates of the corporate manager of safety and hygiene
(if such a position exists within the corporation).
 With department heads and supervisors. The safety

officer is responsible for providing advice and guidance
about safety and industrial hygiene appropriate to their
processes, installations, and procedures of the plant.
 With employees. The safety engineer is
responsible for providing advice and guidance
about any employee's specific job or work area
in the interest of preventing accidents and
controlling property damage.
 With unions. The safety engineer is responsible

for fulfilling his contractual obligations regarding
matters of safety and health.
 Outside the Company. Here, the safety engineer

must establish appropriate relationships with
professional and organizational groups.
Accountability
The safety officer is accountable to the plant manager for his or
her actions and their consequences. Performance will be judged
on the following criteria:
 Reduction of the frequency and severity of accidents. The same

criteria for measurement must be consistently used throughout the
company.
 Reduction of costs stemming from accidents. "Weightings" must be

used to correct for dissimilarities between operations in different
areas of the company.
 The efficiency and smoothness of a department's operations within

operations of the plant as a whole.
Need for Safety Professionals
It should be noted that the number of people employed in a plant
should not be the only factor determining whether the safety program
should be in the hands of full-time safety professional. The nature of
the operation should indicate what the need should be. The trend is to
employ full-time safety professionals for any or all of the following
reasons:
Compliance to Rule 1047 of the OSHS.
The high degree of union involvement now developing in safety and

environmental health.
Challenges in machine design and plant layout; product safety and

the great need for fire prevention and security; and the way people
think about the profit motives of a company.
IV RULE 1047: DUTIES OF THE SAFETY MAN
The principal function of the Safety Man is to act as the

employers' principal assistant and consultant in the application of
programs to remove the hazards from the workplace and to
correct unsafe work practices. For this purpose, the Safety Man
has the following duties:
1. Serves as Secretary to the Health and Safety Committee. As

such, he shall:
a. Prepare minutes meeting;

b. Report status of recommendations made;
c. Notify members of the meetings; and
d. Submit to the employer a report of the activities of the
committee, including recommendations made.
2. Acts in an advisory capacity on all matters
pertaining to health and safety for the guidance
of the employer and the workers.
3. Conducts investigation of accidents as

member of the Health and Safety Committee
and submits his separate report and analysis
of accidents to the employer.
4. Coordinates all health and safety training

programs for the employees and employer.
5. Conducts health and safety inspection as member of
the committee.
6. Maintains or helps in the maintenance if an efficient

accident record system and coordinates actions taken
by supervisors to eliminate accident causes.
7. Provides assistance to government agencies in the

conduct of safety and health inspection, accident
investigation or any other related programs.
8. For purposes of effectiveness in a workplace where

full-time safety man is required, he shall report directly
to the employer.

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ROLE OF CONSTRUCTION

 Duties and Responsibilities

 Relationships Inside the Company

 The Need for Safety Professionals

IV. Duties of the Safety Man per Rule 1047

 Staff Versus Line Positions

 Authority Versus Responsibility

1. Developing and executing an effective program of

2. Developing and directing safety engineering and safety

3. Developing and directing safety training programs and

 Discharging the company's statement of policy as outlined in its

 Conducting monthly meetings of the executive safety

 Maintaining statistical records and reporting these to

 Obtaining and presenting audiovisual aids to all

 Testing new safety devices on the job.

 Operating and maintaining a dispensary for safety

 With the site manager. The safety officer is accountable

 With department heads and supervisors. The safety

 With unions. The safety engineer is responsible

 Outside the Company. Here, the safety engineer

 Reduction of the frequency and severity of accidents. The same

 Reduction of costs stemming from accidents. "Weightings" must be

 The efficiency and smoothness of a department's operations within

Compliance to Rule 1047 of the OSHS.

The high degree of union involvement now developing in safety and

Challenges in machine design and plant layout; product safety and

The principal function of the Safety Man is to act as the

1. Serves as Secretary to the Health and Safety Committee. As

a. Prepare minutes meeting;

3. Conducts investigation of accidents as

4. Coordinates all health and safety training

6. Maintains or helps in the maintenance if an efficient

7. Provides assistance to government agencies in the

8. For purposes of effectiveness in a workplace where

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