The reason we ask this question may seem obvious, but there are important follow-up questions that should be asked.
Many organizations appoint an individual to lead their safety, compliance, and risk management efforts. In many cases, safety is NOT the primary function of the person’s responsibility for the safety program, and safety has been added to their other, full-time duties. In other situations, long-time employees may be assigned the full-time responsibility for safety because of their familiarity with the organization.
The safety profession has advanced in the last 50 years to one in which many colleges offer undergraduate and graduate programs in occupational safety and professional boards offer a variety of certifications and credentials. With all due respect to non-safety personnel assigned the responsibility for safety by their employers, these individuals often lack the expertise, depth of knowledge, and experience to manage the safety and risk management programs successfully.
This isn’t meant to suggest every employer must hire a seasoned, degreed, Certified Safety Professional (CSP). However, employers should recognize the limitations of assigning the responsibility for safety to existing personnel who also have additional job responsibilities.
What can you do?
One option available to employers is to hire a qualified safety consulting firm capable of providing needed services on a “part-time” basis. This assures qualified services are provided at a fraction of the cost of employing a full-time safety professional.
