Preparing for Your Safety Officer Course with EMCARE

Summary:

This article will help you prepare for the beginning of your educational experience with EMCARE. By considering the common issues that safety officers face, the common questions they must answer, and the difference between safety officers and safety representatives, students of the safety officer course can begin to equip themselves with the information necessary to succeed as occupational health and safety professionals. If you’re considering the safety officer course, then read this article for more detail about the roles, requirements and syllabus for EMCARE’s students.

EMCARE’s Course Provides Training for Aspiring OHS Staff

EMCARE provides a safety officer course that will leave students feeling confident in their ability to manage the workplace in a secure way. Throughout the 2 week course, safety officers in training will gain an Occupational Health and Safety Supervisor Certificate, a Safety Officer certificate, as well as training in Basic fire Fighting, First Aid Levels 1,2, and 3, and legal liability amongst other exciting educational modules. If you’d like to know more about this safety officer course, keep reading.

Common Issues that Safety Officers Deal With

During their training, students of EMCARE’s course will learn about some of the common challenges faced by occupational health and safety professionals. With so many employees to manage and large sites to survey, safety officers will often have to deal with a large workload, while remaining communicative with management and staff. Moreover, meeting compliance standards will require a rigorous understanding of safety legislation and industry regulations, as well as an established means of recordkeeping for risk identification and resolutions. Without the right systems in place, safety officers will have difficulty verifying compliance and renewing documents in time for site inspections.

Fortunately, with training from EMCARE’s safety officer course, students will learn how to deal with a large array of situations. This safety officer course will offer a combination of theoretical and practice-based work, so students will have ample opportunity to apply their knowledge and work on their skills. Some of the issues that the safety officer course will prepare students for everyday tasks and activities include the following:

Daily Challenges Facing Safety Officers

• Handling heavy machinery, tools and equipment.
• Exposure to noise and sounds.
• Manual handling of hazardous materials.
• Employee Incidents and accidents such as slips, trips and falls.
• Dealing with harmful substances on site, such as asbestos, carefully.
• Maintaining optimal temperature, light and ventilation.
• Providing education and training to staff members.
• Encouraging workstation health and safety protocols at workstations, specifically for those dealing with computers and display screen equipment.
• Violence between employees in the workplace.
• Responding to fire outbreaks.
• Scheduling inspections.
• Assigning scores during risk assessments.
• Communicating risk controls.

Common Questions that Students of a Safety Officer Course Have To Answer

Throughout the safety officer course, students will have the opportunity to learn from trained professionals and mentors. They will be taught how to respond proficiently to dangerous environments, and the focus will be on implementing prevention measures, although they will also learn how to administer basic care where necessary. Trainers at EMCARE will teach students how to respond to the following kinds of important questions.

• Are there hazardous substances in the surrounding environment?
• Could engineering solutions be implemented to manage and contain fumes?
• Are staff members wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment and clothing such as masks, gloves, goggles and hazmat suits?
• Are the health and safety procedures clearly marked and communicated through signage?
• What equipment and machinery can be used as a risk control measure?

The Difference Between Safety Officers and Safety Representatives

Health and safety officers actually work together with Health and Safety Representatives very often, so if you’re prone to getting the two confused, there’s a reason behind it. Many people use the terms interchangeably - however, these two positions are quite different in their roles and qualifications. While both collaborate to ensure that workplace regulations are complied with and that all employees and parties are cared for, the two positions have some apparent differences.

Health and Safety representatives are designated according to the Occupational Health and Safety Act. When there are more than 20 employees working on one site, it will be necessary for a Health and Safety Representative to act as the liaison between senior managers and their employees. Unlike health and safety officers, health and safety representatives are sometimes temporary staff members who are called in to assist the officers in maintaining a safe environment. Their roles and tasks include the following:

General Roles and Responsibilities of A Health and Safety Representative

• Providing support to the Health and Safety Officer in charge.
• Identifying and recording any hazardous risks in the workplace.
• Attending Health and Safety meetings.
• Following up and investigating employee complaints related to occupational health and safety.
• Providing support on ongoing investigations into workplace accidents.
• Liaising with senior management and the Health and Safety officer on occupational health and safety compliance issues.

Unlike health and safety representatives, who do not necessarily require full training or certified qualifications to take on the role, a Health and Safety Officer has to receive OHS qualifications from institutions such as EMCARE before they can practice in a professional capacity. Being a Health and Safety Officer is a full-time job that requires the employee to perform many duties. Safety officers can work in a wide range of industries, but a common area is usually the construction industry - when safety officers do take up roles in the construction industry, they are required to register with the South African Council for Projects and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP).

Roles and Responsibilities of A Health and Safety Officer

• Ensuring site compliance with Occupational Health and Safety Act and other relevant safety legislation.
• Identifying hazards and risks in the workplace by conducting safety inspections and risk assessments.
• Investigating workplace accidents with health and safety representatives.
• Recording all activities of occupational health and safety staff.
• Reporting non-compliance and accidents to senior management.
• Offering supervision to junior health and safety employees.
• Working with senior management and health and safety representatives to implement, plan, develop and improve health and safety programmes in the workplace.
• Conducting emergency evacuations
• Basic fire fighting and first aid provision

Start Your Safety Officer Course Today

Students can choose to do a safety officer course at any EMCARE branch, including Polokwane (Limpopo province), Port Elizabeth (eastern cape province), Durban (KwaZulu-Natal province), Cape Town (Western Cape Province), Hoedspruit, Lephalale and Rustenburg. The Safety Officer course certification is for eligible students who have previously completed the required modules. Once the course is complete, students will have a professional designation as safety officers in compliance with the standings of the South African Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (SAIOSH). SAIOSH is a professional body where Occupational Health and Safety Professionals in South Africa register, in terms of the NQF Act 67 of 2008.