An Outline Of The Safety Officer Course

Before entering the health and safety industry, a safety officer course needs to be completed. At EMCARE, we offer this certification over a two-week period. In this article, we outline what the course is about and why it can benefit you to complete the course and get your certification.

We cover the following in the course: the basic principles of SHE REP, we walk through the South African legislation with regards to safety in the workplace, we introduce occupational health for the workplace, we look at how to administer risk assessments, we do contractor and technical safety, environmental management as well as management strategies, we explain how to do an accident incident investigation, we share tools on how to keep a safety filing system and finally we walk through the OHAS Act.

The safety officer course at EMCARE is a popular choice for those who want a future in the health and safety industry. Over two weeks you will be trained in a variety of practical skills needed for safety. In this article we aim to outline the various aspects of this specialised course below. If you would like to learn what the course entails, continue reading to find out more.

The Basic Principles Of SHE REP

A health and safety representative are also known as a SHE REP. They are responsible for identifying risks and hazards in the workplace and communicating them to their colleagues. Some of the basic principles that they are responsible for are:

• Controlling hazards in the workplace
• Conducting accident incident investigations
• Examining the causes of incidents
• Conducting health and safety audits and keeping up with good housekeeping standards.

Our course is designed to introduce and equip participants with these skills.

Legislation

South Africa has one of the most praiseworthy constitutions in the world. It is no surprise that the laws in place to protect workers and companies are well developed and important. It is for this reason that our course has an entire module dedicated to training students on the legislative system in South Africa. Employees have rights that safety officers need to be trained in, to ensure they are protected. We also look at the legislation about gas and electrical safety.

Risk Assessment

The safety officer course provides practical training in risk assessment. This is important for working environments where the conditions pose a safety risk to the employees. This could be in factories, construction sites, mining and anything that has an aspect of manual labour. It is important for safety officers to identify hazards in the working environment to communicate safety to workers. When working with risky materials it's important to know symptoms that can lead to health issues due to exposure to such materials.

Contractor Safety Management

Most companies rely on contractors to help them achieve their tasks. This means that external parties come onto the property to complete work. In many cases, this practice is more financially viable to hire contractors than to employ more permanent staff.

For this reason, you need to have contractor safety management in place to make sure that outsiders understand the risks and hazards of your facilities. Companies should have policies in place to help contractors complete their tasks safely. EMCARE's safety course implements a foundation for participants to manage contractor safety.

Technical Safety

In many working environments, there are various hazards that need to be handled with care. This includes ladders, scaffolding, heavy machinery, storage, power tools and hazardous biological agents. Safety officers need to be equipped with the knowledge of how to handle such environments. For example, a buddy system may be put in place in dangerous work areas. The safety officer is responsible for ensuring that workers are following technical safety protocols. Our safety officer course advises on various aspects of technical safety.

Environmental Management

Safety officers are not only responsible for the workers in the working environment, but they also need to understand the impact their companies have on the physical environment. This is why the safety officer course looks at the impact industries have on the environment.

During our course we discuss responsible waste management and pollution. Many companies are making efforts to become more sustainable and knowing about waste management and pollution can help reduce the carbon footprint of the company. In working environments with hazardous materials including biological, chemical or radioactive agents, that can pose a risk to employees, animals or the environment.

Safety officers need to know how these materials should be managed and disposed of in a cautious way. Additionally, they need to advise and monitor their colleagues on management.

Accident Incident Investigation

If any accidents should happen on-site, safety officers need to conduct investigations to understand why the accident took place. The safety course instructs how such investigations should take place. Unsafe conditions and insubordination of safety protocol may lead to accidents but in some cases, the protocol may not have been sufficient. An investigation can determine how to prevent these accidents from reoccurring.

Occupational Health

Safety officers undergo occupational health training where they will understand primary health care. The conditions of the workplace can lead to health complications, for example in noisy factories, the hearing of workers may be at risk. Safety officers are introduced to various aspects of occupational health and given advice on how to combat such risks. Additionally, we engage with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHAS Act) thoroughly.

Health And Safety File Implementation

The safety course is designed to have practical components, but we also outline how to implement these skills in the workplace. The health and safety file implementation aspect of the course is crucial to help safety officers relay what they have learnt to their industries. It is a way for the vital aspects of safety to be shared in their working environments.

The accredited safety officer course at EMCARE spans over two weeks, if you are interested in upskilling yourself, head over to our website to find out how you can enrol today.