What Is A Construction Safety Officer?

A construction safety officer ensures that construction workers are following company policies and safety regulations. Sometimes a construction safety officer has different roles and responsibilities but will always be in the lookout for helping companies produce a safer construction site. Construction safety officers will work closely with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

Construction Safety Officer: Policies and Regulations

Safety officers will, develop, implement and enforce policies that will rude accidents.

The safety officer will determine what policies are needed and how to enforce them. The safety officer is responsible for keep policies up to ate according to latest standards and establish new ones from time to time as more and newer risks awe discovered.

Construction Safety Officer: Site Observance

The safety officer is in charge of inspecting site conditions to determine if hazards are present and thus establishing procedures and policies to overcome those hazardous situations. The safety officer will look for broken equipment, defective tools and other potential hazards, but focused mostly on the worker’s safety. He will determine what type of PPE is needed and will make sure that workers know how to operate and use tools and equipment.

Construction Safety Officer: Accident Investigation

The safety officer main responsibility is to try to diminish or eliminate work related accidents. However, when an accident occurs, he might conduct a safety investigation determining root causes, procedures that went wrong and gather the necessary evidence as to determine what caused the accident.

This investigation must draft conclusion and will produce recommendations that should be follow to prevent the same accident from happening once again.

Construction Safety Officer: Training

A construction safety officer needs to be proactive, meaning that he/she needs to be one step ahead of the group on safety and sometimes environmental hazards too. Part of his responsibilities is to proper train all employees and will identify special needs when needed. Safety officers need to have the necessary training and experience as mandated by OSHA, being able to transmit

Construction Safety Officer: Record Keeping

The safety officer will also be responsible of reviewing all record-keeping requirements as well as meeting all state and federal safety standards. Injury logs and other logs shall be completed and submitted to related government agencies as part of its requirements. The safety officer will also need to submit OSHA form 300, which is a summary of all injuries that resulted in lost work time, restricted duty or job transfer. They also ensure that the poster entitled "Job Safety and Health: It's the Law", as well as other requirements, is displayed in a conspicuous place in the workplace, as required by OSHA.

Construction Safety Officer: Responsibilities Summary

A construction safety officer will make sure that:

• All site has been inspected and has become a hazard-free environment
• Verify that all tools and equipment are adequate and safe for using
• Promote safe practices at the job site
• Enforce safety guidelines
• Train and carry out drills and exercises on how to manage emergency situations
• Conduct investigation of near-miss and/or accidents.
• Report to concerned authorities as requested or mandated per law
• Conduct job hazard analysis
• Establish, as necessary, safety standards and policies
• Perform emergency response drills
• Watch and be responsible for all workers safety and prevent them from entering into hazardous situations.
• Respond to employees’ safety concerns
• Coordinate registration and removal of hazardous waste
• Serve as the link between state and local agencies and contractor
• Receive reports from and respond to orders issued by Department of Labor inspectors
• To arrange for Occupational Health and Safety testing and/or evaluations of the workplace by external agencies/consultants as may be necessary.

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