Health and Safety Engineers

Key Responsibilities

• Review employee safety programs to determine their adequacy.
• Interview employers and employees to obtain information about work environments and workplace incidents.
• Install safety devices on machinery or direct device installation.
• Participate in preparation of product usage and precautionary label instructions.
• Confer with medical professionals to assess health risks and to develop ways to manage health issues and concerns.
• Conduct research to evaluate safety levels for products.
• Write and revise safety regulations and codes.
• Interpret safety regulations for others interested in industrial safety, such as safety engineers, labor representatives, and safety inspectors.
• Maintain and apply knowledge of current policies, regulations, and industrial processes.
• Compile, analyze, and interpret statistical data related to occupational illnesses and accidents.
• Conduct or coordinate worker training in areas such as safety laws and regulations, hazardous condition monitoring, and use of safety equipment.
• Provide technical advice and guidance to organizations on how to handle health-related problems and make needed changes.
• Report or review findings from accident investigations, facilities inspections, or environmental testing.
• Provide expert testimony in litigation cases.
• Investigate industrial accidents, injuries, or occupational diseases to determine causes and preventive measures.
• Maintain liaisons with outside organizations, such as fire departments, mutual aid societies, and rescue teams, so that emergency responses can be facilitated.
• Check floors of plants to ensure that they are strong enough to support heavy machinery.
• Plan and conduct industrial hygiene research.
• Evaluate potential health hazards or damage that could occur from product misuse.
• Evaluate adequacy of actions taken to correct health inspection violations.
• Evaluate product designs for safety.
• Inspect facilities, machinery, or safety equipment to identify and correct potential hazards, and to ensure safety regulation compliance.
• Review plans and specifications for construction of new machinery or equipment to determine whether all safety requirements have been met.
• Develop industry standards of product safety.
• Design and build safety equipment.
• Conduct or direct testing of air quality, noise, temperature, or radiation levels to verify compliance with health and safety regulations.
• Recommend procedures for detection, prevention, and elimination of physical, chemical, or other product hazards.