A health and safety engineer is usually in charge of ensuring workplace safety. Implementing safety programs, inspecting and maintaining equipment, identifying potential hazards, and devising ways to avoid them are all examples of this. Working on the designs of new products to ensure that they are not harmful is one of the other responsibilities.
These engineers can also help improve workplace safety by designing buildings, fire protection systems, and equipment and machinery. When possible, these professionals use their specialized knowledge to prevent injuries, accidents, and property damage.
To do this job well, a health and safety engineer must be knowledgeable about many aspects of the workplace. It is beneficial to have a working knowledge of systems engineering, industrial health and safety laws, industrial processes, psychology, chemistry, and mechanics. Manufacturing plants, construction sites, utility plants, and research facilities are all possible places for this engineer to work. Engineers in health and safety can also work for the government at various levels, such as the US Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Long hours, as well as travel to various work sites, seminars, conferences, and other meetings, may be required at times.
Keeping workers safe is an important part of the job. They are frequently in charge of developing and implementing safety programs by researching aspects of the workplace such as machinery, other equipment, buildings, procedures, chemical use or handling, and any previous issues or accidents.
They can spot potentially dangerous situations and devise strategies to eliminate or reduce the risk to workers. This can be accomplished by replacing unsafe worker practices with safer ones, or by improving the facility’s design or layout to eliminate hazardous conditions. Workers and management are frequently taught safe work practices by health and safety engineers, who also implement maintenance programs to keep machinery and equipment as safe as possible to use.
Designing fire protection equipment for maximum effectiveness and appropriate ventilation systems in areas where chemicals are used are some of the other responsibilities of a health and safety engineer. They can inspect building designs for potential safety issues and then advise architects and builders on the safest building designs, suggesting ways to eliminate as many hazards as possible. They may collaborate with non-engineering specialists in various capacities as part of a team to identify and eliminate hazards, and they may also be part of response teams in the event of an emergency, such as an industrial accident.