A safety manager works to prevent accidents on construction sites and in businesses. Because the workplace or job site must be assessed for health and safety risks before preventive or corrective measures can be implemented, he or she is also known as a risk manager. Every corrective or preventive action taken a safety manager must be legal.
Because safety managers must attend health and safety seminars, such as those hosted government agencies, they may be required to travel as part of their job. They may also travel between a corporation’s main office and various work sites. A safety manager assesses the risk of working in a particular environment and then implements policies and procedures to protect workers. For example, if there is an issue with airborne dust at a construction site, the safety or risk manager may decide that the workers will be adequately protected wearing face masks. Safety managers don’t make such decisions lightly or without due diligence; however, they must act quickly to avoid putting employees’ health at risk.
A safety manager’s job entails a significant amount of report writing. Every evaluation and measure implemented on the job site must be meticulously documented. Risk managers must explain why they made a particular protective decision in their reports, such as to comply with a specific law or to address a known safety issue. Safety managers are expected to have reasonable technical skills and to prepare their reports on a computer.
When an accident or injury occurs at work, the safety manager is responsible for investigating the incident and filing a report. He or she will also have to collaborate with insurance investigators and other experts. Workers must also be provided with and follow post-injury follow-up procedures, which must be provided and implemented safety management.
Workplace programs and company policies are created safety or risk managers. A safety manager, for example, is likely to make steel-toed work boots or other protective gear mandatory for company employees. Employees might be required to attend safety meetings. Typically, the risk manager will have literature related to safe work practices printed and distributed to meeting attendees.
Administrative tasks are frequently delegated a risk manager to a safety coordinator who reports to him or her. While the safety manager makes the major policy decisions, the coordinator is in charge of putting them into action and communicating them to the rest of the company. Safety managers frequently meet with department heads to discuss important policy changes that have an impact on how employees must conduct their work activities. A risk manager also collaborates with department heads to ensure that new safety requirements are met through proper employee training.