Health and safety engineers ensure workplace safety by implementing safety programs, inspecting equipment, identifying hazards, and designing ways to avoid them. They need knowledge of systems engineering, industrial health and safety laws, and mechanics. They work in various workplaces and may design fire protection equipment and consult with architects and builders on safe building designs.
A health and safety engineer is usually responsible for ensuring safety in the workplace. This may include functions such as implementing safety programs, inspecting and maintaining equipment, identifying potential hazards and designing ways to avoid them. Other duties may include working on the design of new products to ensure they are not harmful.
These engineers can also be employed to improve workplace safety through construction, fire protection, equipment, and machinery design. These professionals use specialized knowledge to prevent injuries, accidents and property damage whenever possible.
A health and safety engineer needs to know many aspects of the workplace to perform this job effectively. Knowledge of systems engineering, industrial health and safety laws, industrial processes, psychology, chemistry, and mechanics is helpful. This engineer can be employed in a variety of workplaces such as factories, construction sites, utility facilities and research facilities. Health and safety engineers can also work for the government at various levels, through agencies such as the United States Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). Sometimes long hours may be required, as well as traveling to various workplaces, seminars, conferences and other meetings.
A big part of the job is ensuring the safety of workers. They are usually responsible for developing and implementing safety programs, studying aspects of the workplace such as machinery, other equipment, buildings, procedures, chemical use or handling, as well as records of past problems or accidents.
They can identify potentially dangerous conditions and design ways to eliminate or minimize the risk to workers. This can be accomplished by eliminating unsafe worker practices and replacing them with safer methods, or by improving the design or layout of the facility to remove hazardous conditions. Health and safety engineers generally teach safe work practices to workers as well as management and implement maintenance programs to keep machines and equipment as safe as possible to use.
Other duties of a health and safety engineer may include designing fire protection equipment for maximum effectiveness and proper ventilation systems in areas where chemicals are used. They can inspect building designs to identify potential safety issues, then consult with architects and builders on the safest building designs, recommending ways to eliminate as many hazards as possible. They may work with non-engineering specialists in various capacities as part of a team to perform hazard identification and elimination, and they may be part of response teams if an emergency situation occurs, such as an industrial accident.
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