Health and Safety Specialist

About the Role

This position is responsible for assisting in the implementation of safety initiatives to prevent injuries, incidents, and protect employee safety, health, and Company assets by providing training, coaching, auditing, and technical support to assigned facilities.

Responsibilities

• Support the implementation of incident prevention and OSHA compliance programs.
• Audit facilities for conformance to all Federal, State, Corporate, and Plant safety policies.
• Assist sites in implementing the Accident Prevention Plan and associated health and safety policies and procedures.
• Conduct hazard assessments, make recommendations, assist in development of solutions, and follow up through closure.
• Take on projects from start to finish as assigned to achieve department and business unit goals.
• Support plants in development of corrective actions from root cause analysis of incidents.
• Consult with plant management on a routine basis to facilitate and support individual plant needs to achieve goals and develop the safety culture.
• Review with Engineering and conduct appropriate reviews of proposed changes in processes or equipment to ensure compliance with safety and health standards, including ergonomics.
• Follow up and ensure that all incidents and near misses are thoroughly investigated.
• Initiate activities that stimulate and maintain employee interest in the plant's Health and Safety programs.
• Manage workers compensation claims to assure injured employees are properly cared for and claims are effectively managed.
• Work with plants to assure employee safety orientation and training is completed and effective.
• Liaison with plant and governmental officials during inspections and resolution of potential issues.
• Train hourly, salary, and management personnel at plant sites to elevate the safety culture and knowledge of conformance to policies, procedures, and compliance with regulations, including new hire safety orientation as part of the onboarding process.
• Analyze incident data and provide feedback and direction to sites to help them focus on key areas for improvement and the development of site Safety Performance Improvement Plans.
• Maintain effective communication up and down through the organization.
• Maintain a safe working environment for all employees and ensure adherence to established safety rules to achieve the goal of zero injuries.
• Assist with incident investigations involving injuries, incidents, and near misses.
• Maintain a level of quality consistent with established standards.
• Comply with established safety rules and company policies and procedures.
• Maintain constructive working relationships with co-workers, leads, supervisors, and managers.
• Maintain regular attendance in accordance with company policy.
• Perform other duties as assigned to the satisfaction of supervisor and/or lead.

Requirements

• BS Degree in Business, Environmental or Safety Management, or related field with 1-5 years of experience.
• Knowledgeable in Federal, State, fire safety, ANSI standards, and general Workers’ Compensation laws.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to develop and deliver training on safety-related subjects.
• Excellent computer skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Ability to apply commonsense understanding to carry out instructions in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Regularly required to stand and walk.
• Frequently required to stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, talk, or hear, and smell.
• Occasionally required to sit, use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls, and reach with hands and arms.
• Must be able to work in plant environments where noise, dust, material handling equipment, and machinery are present.
• Must be able to climb ladders and wear appropriate personal protective equipment for assigned tasks.
• Must occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• May be required to travel less than 5% of the time.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Occasionally works in outside weather conditions.
• Frequently exposed to wet and/or humid conditions.
• Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts.
• Occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles.
• The noise level in the work environment is consistent with plant operations.