Take A Safety Officer Course: The Manufacturing Industry

While one can be trained in workplace safety in both medical and administrative university-level courses, a safety officer course provides a thorough education on the dangers the manufacturing industry poses to employees, and how to mitigate them. The Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHS) creates provisions for a safe and healthy work environment. Here are the directives of the Act:

"To provide for the health and safety of persons at work and for the health and safety of persons in connection with the use of plant and machinery; the protection of persons other than persons at work against hazards to health and safety arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work." Keep reading to learn more about how safety officer training can be implemented in the manufacturing industry.

What Exactly Does A Safety Officer Do?

A safety officer is an internal employee that is responsible for workplace accident prevention. They are also responsible for crafting emergency responses within the workplace and evaluating their effectiveness. A safety officer also identifies safety hazards and minimises these hazards before they can cause harm to any coworkers.

Typically, the safety officer or officers report to the company's chief operations officer. The safety officer also ensures that all safety plans meet national requirements. Safety officers are especially important in industries where heavy machinery is operated. The manufacturing industry, after the mining and construction industries, reports the highest number of non-fatal workplace accidents.

Manufacturing is a wide industry, but according to the US Bureau Of Labor Statistics, these are the most dangerous manufacturing sectors to work in:

• Fabricated metal products
• Food
• Transportation equipment
• Machinery
• Plastics and rubber
• Wood products
• Primary metals
• Non-metallic minerals
• Chemical production
• Furniture

The Role Of A Safety Officer In The Manufacturing Industry

The role of a safety officer can vary from company to company, but they all have one thing in common — ensuring the safety of everyone in the workplace. They verify that everyone on the site is following safe work practices and doing their jobs safely.

In general, safety officers have three main roles:

Planning

Safety officers must create a safe environment by making sure they have all the necessary equipment for their team. They also have to ensure that they have all the required things for their team.

An example of this would be ensuring they have shoring equipment at hand that they can use to shore up an unstable wall. Making sure that the employees have all the necessary tools to finish their work safely is also a part of the responsibility.

Organising

Safety officers are also responsible for organising their workload so that no harm will come to them or anyone else during their work activities. They have to make sure that employees can complete the tasks without causing any damage to the workplace or anyone else.

Supervising

Finally, safety officers are responsible for supervising everyone who works under them to ensure that they are doing their work safely. When supervising, they need to make sure that each person knows their role in the process and where they fit in.

Safety officers handle a broad range of tasks, including various first-aid procedures and safety checks on equipment. They also help set up and operate emergency equipment correctly. In some companies, they may be the only person on-site with first-aid training. In some other companies, they will oversee a group of first-aid trainers or safety managers who do not have their own training as first-aid responders.

All safety officers need to be accredited and formally trained during a safety officer course. This is not a job you can learn once you have already been appointed; instead, you need to be formally educated in various strategies to prevent workplace accidents.

How Does One Find Safety Officer Training?

It is not difficult to find a safety officer course; all you have to do is type the magic words into an online search engine and you will receive a number of recommendations. The key is finding a safety officer course that is accredited by the relevant governing bodies and provides you with comprehensive, thorough training and theoretical know-how.

EMCARE, an organisation with a number of branches across the country, boasts an extensive safety officer course that ensures you know more than just the basics. We provide a thorough education on everything you need to be a good, reliable safety officer - from how to work out a company safety plan to deal with accidents in the workplace.

Our safety officer course is a combination of first aid levels 1, 2 and 3, basic firefighting, legal liability, RISK assessment, accident/incident investigation, and emergency evacuation knowledge, among others.

You can complete any of these safety office course modules on whatever days work for you in our training calendar. Access to an online safety officer course evaluation including case studies, and a final test is provided once all course modules have been finished.

At the end, you will receive both an occupational safety hazard (OHS) supervisor certificate, as well as a safety officer certificate.

The course is two weeks long, and the certificates received upon completion are valid for two years before they expire.

What Causes The Most Injuries In The Manufacturing Industry?

There are a number of dangers to be found within a manufacturing plant. Completing a safety officer course such as the one EMCARE offers will equip you with the insight to identify these risks. The safety officer course will also give you the tools and knowledge in strategy to mitigate these risks and dangers.

These are the causes of most injuries within the manufacturing industry:

• Electrical faults
• Improperly installed machine guards
• A lack of lockout/tag out protocols on heavy machinery
• Falling
• A lack of maintenance to machinery and infrastructure
• Improper use of chemicals
• A lack of thorough training in new employees

These causes, however, can be nipped in the bud by a diligent and pragmatic safety officer who has completed a safety officer course.