Safety Jobs-A complete guide on how to get a health and safety job in Nigeria; Starting and growing a career in HSE.

The most senior and knowledgeable health and safety personnel should be given the role of accident investigation. There should be an incident and accident investigation form to allow for uniform and organized reporting. The health and safety personnel should make reports as soon as possible on any incident on-site and make sure there is an incident learning after the detailed investigation.

• Site safety committee meeting.

This is a meeting specifically for members of the safety committee. Personnel such as a head of department or sections, health and safety officers and workers’ representative. 

It could be done once every month. Things discussed include worker’s health, welfare and safety, Incident or accident scenarios if there are any, Safety statistics and so on.

FEW HEALTH AND SAFETY BLOGS YOU SHOULD FOLLOW.

You’ve to stay current on the safety and health information happening around the world. Being current will help you to remain updated and help you to position yourself very well.

Below is the list of blogs you need to follow.

1.   https://www.validworth.com

2. Ehsdb.com

3. Hsewatch.com

4. Sefon.com

5. Easysafe.com/blog

6. Peoplesafe.co.uk

7. Lifesignsblog.com

8. Ehstoday.com/safety

9. Rospaworkplacesafety.com

10. Onsafety.cpsc.gov

11. Safetyatworkblog.com

12. Safetyrisk.net

14. Reddit.com/r/workplace safety

13. Essentialsafetywear.co.uk

15. Superiorglove.com/pages/blog

16. Ask-ehs.com/blog

17. Shields.org/blog

18. Blacklinesafety.com/blog

INDUSTRIES WHERE A HEALTH AND SAFETY OFFICER CAN BE EMPLOYED. 

• Construction industry.
• Hospitality industry e.g hotels.
• Catering and restaurants.
• Hospitals and healthcare
• Banks
• Mining industry.
• Food and beverages
• Liquor
• Oil and gas
• Manufacturing 
• Transportation and Logistics
• Schools 
• Telecommunication
• Power and Electricity Company
• Fabrication industry
• Mining industry
• Agriculture

SOME LAWS, REGULATIONS AND STANDARD AFFECTING WORKERS and HEALTH AND SAFETY IN NIGERIA.

The few ones we have in Nigeria are 

• Labour Act Cap L 1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004.
• Factories Act, Cap 126, LFN, 1990.
• Factories Act, Cap F1, LFN,2004.
• National Fire Safety Code. 
• Factories (Registration, Etc Fees) Regulations S.I.5 1991
• Declaration of Industrial Diseases Notice LN 114 1956
• Docks (Safety of Labour) Regulations LN 42 of 1958
• Factories Act Exemption Order LN 82 of 1967
• First Aid Boxes (Prescribed Standards) Order LN 188 of 1958
• Factories (Notification of Dangerous Occurrences) Regulations
• LN 105 of 1961
• Factories (Wood Working Machinery) Regulations LN 189 1958

There are so many regulations, laws and standards guiding health and safety depending on the country. The list is enormous. Click on this link  http://www.ilo.org/dyn/legosh/en  to see the various list.

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.

Most workplaces that are safety compliant do not allow workers to enter the plant without wearing the basic PPE such as safety boots and vests. And then when they’ve entered the plant to do their jobs, they can now put on their helmet, hand glove, goggle, facemask or respirators and any other type of PPE depending on the nature of the work they want to carry out.

Always know that it is the responsibility of the employer to provide PPE for the employees and the worker’s responsibility to make use of them and to keep them safe after work.

You’ve to ask how your company does the PPE issuance to their staff. Some companies allow their store or inventory officer to handle such responsibility and, in some companies, the health and safety officer does that role.

Some companies have a laid down procedure for PPE Issuance, ensure you ask properly and know what to do.

When a PPE is issued to a worker, the worker registers his name and signs his signature to show the acceptance of the PPE.

PPE is the last line of defence when other control measures in the hierarchy have been considered.

HIERARCHY OF CONTROL.

These are simply the controls being used to reduce the effect of hazards in the workplace. In the control of hazards, it’s always advisable to follow it in the other of the hierarchy by starting with elimination first.

• Elimination– For example, manual handling presents so many risks to health and safety, and such can be eliminated by introducing lifting equipment such as hoists and lifts.

• Substitution– This is introduced when elimination can’t be fully utilized, and to achieve this, substituting one hazard with another that creates less risk is introduced. For example, the use of a handling aid to carry materials doesn’t eliminate manual handling risk but it does reduce the risk of injury.

• Engineering method– This involves the use of an engineering method to control the hazard completely. For example, the use of interlocking guards on machinery offers protection to the person operating the machine. And such interlocking guards allow the machine to stop when the guard is open and vice versa.

• Administrative method– This involves the control used by the management by introducing and enforcing policies and safe work procedures at the workplace. 

• Use of PPE– This is equipment or clothing worn by a worker that protects the worker from one or more risks to health and safety. Although, it’s the last line of defence and it doesn’t eliminate the hazard but reduces the impact of the hazard and offers protection against the hazard.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

• You’ve to know the type of fire extinguishers that are in your workplace.
• You have to know how to make a request for servicing of an extinguisher and know whose job is to make such a request for the servicing of the fire extinguisher when it is due.
• Inspections should be done daily and monthly to make sure that they are in order.
• Don’t wait for the extinguisher to expire before you plan for the servicing.
• Servicing extinguisher every 6 months and when used, should be refilled immediately.
• Also know the various types of extinguishers readily available in the market for you and those you’ve in your workplace and make sure you use them rightly- we have mostly the DCP and CO2, and their sizes are 1kg, 3kg, 6kg, 9kg, and 50kg. Etc.
• Get knowledge on the various parts of the fire extinguishers such as the strap, nozzle, hose, pin, tie
• Study the fire action plan and Emergency response plan of your company.
• Know how to operate a fire extinguisher when you have one to use;

P- Pull the pin

A-Aim at the base of the fire.

S- Squeeze the lever.

S- Sweep or swipe from side to side.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM.

• There should be members of the emergency team in your organization
• Mostly in all companies, the health and safety manager is the head of the team or the safety director depending on the structure.
• You can have the security manager, the medical personnel in the clinic as members, and the ambulance driver.
• The presence of an album for the team with their contacts on the notice boards is visible to all in the company.

FIRST AID.

• You’ve to know the locations of the first aid boxes in your workplace

• You’ve to be knowledgeable about first aid and know how to administer it under different conditions of injuries, even when you don’t have that role as a health and safety officer.

• Ensure you carry out your inspection of the first aid box accordingly with a checklist.

• Remove any expired items from the box and make sure you replace them with new ones.

• Some companies do have designated first aiders apart from health and safety officers. Ensure to know the type of arrangement existing in your workplace.

• Ensure you know the sizes of first aid boxes in your workplace and know how many they are.

• Master the contents of the fire extinguisher and how to perform simple first aid on people.

• Likely contents you should have in your first aid box include Cotton wool, plasters, pins, methylated spirits, hydrogen peroxide, a kidney dish, a latex disposable hand glove,

• First aid equipment should be available for example, eyewash stations, stretchers, emergency showers, blankets, and wheelchairs. This will vary depending on the size of the workplace.

SECURITY AND ACCESS CONTROL IN THE WORKPLACE.

There should be a site security and access control procedure to cater for this section. Majorly this affects the security department in the company the most.

The content of such a procedure should be in this manner.

• Security personnel to always close the entrance gate
• The main gate serves as access for anyone coming into the company.
• Workers to access the site with means of identification
• Sign in on arrival and sign out to be for all persons entering the site or the company.
• Visitors logbook for visitors at the security gate.
• Declaring all personal items accessing the site and registering them at the gate.
• The checking of vehicles at the gate before gaining entrance.
• Declaring of all materials and tools at the entrance gate 

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING.

This is more like an everyday word in the industry. You need to be familiar with it.

We usually encounter good and bad housekeeping in the workplace.

Housekeeping simply means a place for everything and everything in its proper place.

It also means having general cleanliness and an orderly arrangement of materials and equipment.

Housekeeping has a lot of benefits if it is properly maintained in an organization.

• Good housekeeping eliminates accidents 
• It increases production
• It eliminates fire sources and encourages a good working environment.

You also need to encourage other workers to report things that are not in order in the workplace and you take action to address them. 

REFERENCE:

Nebosh RRC material.

CQI-IRCA material.

Monster.com

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