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A health and safety officer (also known as Hso) monitors how the organization complies with health and safety law and provides advice to both business and employers a safe work environment conditions. A Hso will usually work for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), local governments, or similar entities, specially trained to monitor the rules of health and safety. Health and safety officers are also within organizations, usually larger, and in the public sector, such as hospitals and schools, etc.
Health and safety officers are employed in various industries such as construction, manufacturing, catering, waste, IT and aerospace and many more. The goal is simple it is to keep people safe when in the working environment.
A Hso has a number of responsibilities. Whenever visiting organization, health and safety officer shall record all details. They perform regularly monitor the course of time, which will include collating data and take some samples, when necessary. They should investigate all the complaints that have been made about the work environment and provide advice on technical and legal issues. They should gather evidence and build a case files, which includes maintaining a database of inspections. If necessary, Hso may need to present information to a court or other official inquiry regarding injury and / or death in the workplace. More than anything, that Hso will ensure that the organization is complying with the law, and not to take the health and safety of their employees for granted. If this were the case, the officer would suggest ways to improve working conditions, and monitor changes made by. So, health and safety officer has plenty of responsibilities – but it is important, which helps to make the work environment a lot safer for many companies, and can be a good career path to follow.
Qualifications
You usually higher National Diploma (HND) or degree, usually in occupational health and safety. There are also qualifications at a higher level for those who are clear what their career path is. To practice as a health and safety officer, you can complete either a BSc or MSc in environmental health, they are recognized by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; in Scotland, they are submitted by the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (Rehim).
Just get on these courses, however, you have other qualifications. You either have NVQs or A-levels. Ideally, these skills will be one of science-based subjects (chemistry, biology and physics) or math, but it is not a big problem if this is not the case. However, you would need at least five AC grades at GCSE level, with at least a B in math.
There are other courses available that can provide you with work. There are also sandwich courses, which means you will still get work experience in your chosen field, but while the majority of learning will be at one university, the rest of your time will be spent at another university.
do not worry if you do not have a degree. Many Careers paths see people develop in different roles and health and safety officer is one of them. Probably the most sought-after qualifications required for this role is the National Examination Board for Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) certificate and diploma. NEBOSH and IOSH other qualifications in health care safety appear on most job descriptions. NEBOSH courses of study at a university, and you can take both full and part time and ask students to take the test at the end. However, it is increasingly common now NEBOSH courses can be studied intensively over 10-14 days which can really help those looking to fast track their career.
What employers
Health and safety are important areas that all organizations must always be taken into account. Therefore, as Hso, you will be required to ensure the environment you come into contact with are safe and healthy, or if not, suggest ways they can be improved. Therefore, there are a number of key skills that employers are looking for in a health and safety officer.
Communication skills are very important; you will often suggest potential disadvantages, so being able to explain the problem, the possible consequences if they are not fixed, and how to remedy them in a well-spoken, considerate and calm manner is important. If not, it could have the opposite effect, and suggested changes will not be made out of spite, which could then lead to danger.
You will also be calm. It will be a moment extreme pressure and high stress. For example, you should report the incident in due to failure to comply with rules on health and safety, employee has been injured or even killed, you may need to advise and prepare the case for prosecution, which could involve collecting photographs evidence and talk to those most closely connected with the incident. Although you are not at fault, it will still be stressful and hard to deal with, so to be able to stay cool under such pressure is of great importance to you, the organization and the people involved.
There are other signs that the employer will want to see. You must be self motivated and well organized, as you will usually have to build and maintain your own inspection records. You will be able to think on your feet; if you see a potential risk, knowing how to quickly deal with the issue means that it will be dealt with more quickly. And you should always be open to the advice of others; can you suggest a course of action that may be wrong, or maybe there is a better way to address the problem. Being able to listen to others will help you improve and make you better health and safety officer.
How much money will I make as Health & Safety Officer in
Greater London, UK?
For those just starting out in health and safety, as well as graduates, starting salary is likely to be £ 25,000 around. Depending on the size of the company and its location, although the number could be higher, possibly as high as £ 40,000 for a large company in a crowded part of the country. When a management role, starting salaries for health and safety officer will be even greater, with some earning up of £ 60,000.
In addition, there may be opportunities to work to private companies, who advise on health and safety and labor consultancy basis earning £ 250 1000 £ per day. Salary will be approximately the same as for “normal” health and safety officer, but those who reach the highest positions advice generally received more than £ 100,000. So one can understand why, if the option to work as a consultant for the health and safety will be available, most people would take it.
Pros and Cons of Becoming a Health & Safety Officer in the UK
There are advantages and disadvantages to a health and safety officer. However, being able to identify and prevent hazards may seem logical, there are potential problems that can make the job stressful one to have.
The list below shows the main advantages and disadvantages of a health and safety officer.
Advantages
• The high annual salary even education are worked
• Much of the learning is based on the logic of
• Helping others will make their working environment more comfortable
• You will spot potential dangers faster than others and prevent them easily
CONS
• A lot of pressure to make sure you do your job well and help to prevent the risk
• can be stressful when dealing with cases involving injury and / or death
• If poor conditions in factories, roof space or outdoor
Useful Contact information
for more information on qualifications accredited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health provides:
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
Chadwick Court
15 Hatfield
London
SE1 8DJ
http://www.cieh.org/
For more information on qualifications accredited by the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland, contact:
the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland
19 Torphichen Street
Edinburgh
Scotland
EH 3 8HX
Telephone 0131 229 2968
http://www.rehis.org/
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Source by Mark L Armstrong