INDUSTRIAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ENGINEER

Job Definition:

Job Description:

• Plan, implement, and coordinate safety programs, requiring application of engineering principles and technology, to prevent or correct unsafe environmental working conditions.

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Investigate industrial accidents, injuries, or occupational diseases to determine causes and preventive measures.
• 2) Report or review findings from accident investigations, facilities inspections, or environmental testing.
• 3) Maintain and apply knowledge of current policies, regulations, and industrial processes.
• 4) Inspect facilities, machinery, and safety equipment in order to identify and correct potential hazards, and to ensure safety regulation compliance.
• 5) Conduct or coordinate worker training in areas such as safety laws and regulations, hazardous condition monitoring, and use of safety equipment.
• 6) Review employee safety programs to determine their adequacy.
• 7) Interview employers and employees to obtain information about work environments and workplace incidents.
• 8) Review plans and specifications for construction of new machinery or equipment in order to determine if all safety requirements have been met.
• 9) Compile, analyze, and interpret statistical data related to occupational illnesses and accidents.
• 10) Interpret safety regulations for others interested in industrial safety, such as safety engineers, labor representatives, and safety inspectors.
• 11) Recommend process and product safety features that will reduce employees’ exposure to chemical, physical, and biological work hazards.
• 12) Conduct or direct testing of air quality, noise, temperature, and/or radiation levels to verify compliance with health and safety regulations.
• 13) Provide technical advice and guidance to organizations on how to handle health-related problems and make needed changes.
• 14) Confer with medical professionals to assess health risks and to develop ways to manage health issues and concerns.
• 15) Install safety devices on machinery, or direct device installation.
• 16) Maintain liaisons with outside organizations, such as fire departments, mutual aid societies, and rescue teams, so that emergency responses can be facilitated.
• 17) Evaluate adequacy of actions taken to correct health inspection violations.
• 18) Write and revise safety regulations and codes.
• 19) Check floors of plants to ensure that they are strong enough to support heavy machinery.
• 20) Plan and conduct industrial hygiene research.
• 21) Design and build safety equipment.

Activities:

• 1) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• 2) Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• 3) Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• 4) Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• 5) Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• 6) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• 7) Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
• 8) Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• 9) Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
• 10) Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
• 11) Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• 12) Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• 13) Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• 14) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• 15) Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• 16) Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• 17) Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• 18) Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
• 19) Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
• 20) Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• 21) Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
• 22) Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• 23) Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
• 24) Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• 25) Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• 26) Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• 27) Monitoring and Controlling Resources — Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
• 28) Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• 29) Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
• 30) Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
• 31) Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.

Abilities:

• 1) Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand
• 2) Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 3) Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 4) Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• 5) Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• 6) Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• 7) Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• 8) Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• 9) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 10) Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 11) Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• 12) Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 13) Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
• 14) Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• 15) Far Vision — The ability to see details at a distance.
• 16) Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• 17) Mathematical Reasoning — The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
• 18) Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

Knowledge

• 1) Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• 2) Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• 3) Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• 4) Personnel and Human Resources — Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• 5) English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 6) Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• 7) Engineering and Technology — Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• 8) Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 9) Chemistry — Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• 10) Public Safety and Security — Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• 11) Physics — Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
• 12) Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 13) Production and Processing — Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• 14) Biology — Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 15) Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• 16) Building and Construction — Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• 17) Design — Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• 18) Communications and Media — Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.