Who is a safety supervisor?
According to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA), a supervisor is anyone who has either charge of a workplace or authority over a worker. Supervisors have a legal duty to take every reasonable precaution to protect workers. Now, a safety supervisor is someone saddled with a lot of safety responsibilities in day-to-day activities in the workplace. A safety supervisor does not only assign tasks but ensures that all places in the work site are safe for all workers, contractors, suppliers and even visitors in the workplace.
Safety supervisors have enormous duties and responsibilities which are listed below.
- Safety supervisors are responsible for the safety performance of their team at all times.
- They are to enforce all safe systems of work. They ensure the workers follow them to the letter in their work.
- Safety supervisors conduct safety meetings at least once every month and report that to the management.
- The safety supervisor audits unsafe acts and reports the outcome to the management head.
- Make reports on any job yet to be in the safe systems of work. The supervisor updates them immediately into the Safe system of work.
- Health and safety supervisors conduct safety Training and other necessary training as fit by the management.
- Conducts accident investigation and reporting with other team members.
- Make reports on all health problems of an employee to the management.
- Conducts daily, weekly and monthly safety inspections and documents them for reference.
- Makes provision for on-the-job training for the workers relating to job instructions and work procedures
Health and safety supervisor duties and responsibilities
- Safety supervisors monitor the workers and ensure they are always working safely.
- Responsible for assigning safety meetings and making provisions for all attendees.
- When work changes happen, the safety supervisors update the risk assessment and communicate the changes to the workers.
- Conducts Job hazard analysis with others and provides the document for everywhere to read.
- Writes the risk assessment for jobs with others and submits the document for work use.
- Makes daily spot checks and inspections of work tools, equipment and site and takes the necessary actions towards correcting any seen hazards.
- Ensure that all workers under them are supervised regularly on health and safety matters.
- Ensures that all workers comply with the health and safety requirements of the organisation.
- The safety supervisor should ensure that all workers are provided with the needed personal protective equipment for their work and replaced when damaged.
- Cooperate with the safety committees in place to ensure the running of the safety programs in place.
- Investigate unsafe actions and near-misses and perform corrective actions or corrections.
- Consult with workers and management on the best approach to deliver a safe working environment for all workers.
- Ensures that all employees abide by the health and safety rules existing in the workplace.
- Train all workers in the emergency action plans in place
- Ensures that they conduct emergency drills at the workplace at specific times.
- Sets up safety signs and signages at the designated place and ensures they are visible enough for all workers to see.
- Ensures that all injured personnel receive immediate treatment and attention and documents the report to the management.
- The safety supervisor instructs all employees to inspect their tools daily and report the damaged ones to the appropriate channels for repairs.
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