Yes, this is a very OLD standard, but there is really nothing to replace it, as it still holds true today as much as it did in 2003. I have discussed this standard several times, and I ALWAYS share it with clients who are a tad lost on what the role of their safety professional(s) should be within the organization. We see some crazy situations in how companies are utilizing their safety professionals, and we try to help them unleash their skills and abilities. And it certainly does not hurt that we have ANSI/ASSE Z590.2-2003 as a platform to justify our suggestions. So what does ANSI/ASSE Z590.2-2003 Criteria for Establishing the Scope and Functions of the Professional Safety Position say a “safety professional” should be doing within an industrial environment?
The standard breaks down the role of a safety professional into four (4) basic roles and responsibilities, which any ABET-degreed, well-trained, and/or experienced safety professional can handle:
- Anticipate, identify, and evaluate hazardous conditions and practices.
- Develop hazard control designs, methods, procedures, and programs.
- Implement, administer, and advise others on hazard controls and hazard control programs.
- Measure, audit, and evaluate the effectiveness of hazard controls and hazard control programs.
A fair number of organizations I have crossed paths with over the past 20 years, consulting in many different industries, are NOT utilizing their safety professionals in this manner, which is why our profession has a “turnover” problem. We come in hearing all the right words, but it does not take us long to recognize the words do not match reality, and it usually STARTS with what management has the safety professional doing on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Many safety pros are ALL IN and want to spend their time making a difference in workers’ safety and health, but they are distracted by tasks/activities that add very little value to overall safety performance.
Scope and Functions of the Professional Safety Position: The scope and functions of the professional safety position shall be to:
- Anticipate, identify, and evaluate hazardous conditions and practices.
- Develop hazard control designs, methods, procedures, and programs.
- Implement, administer, and advise others on hazard controls and hazard control programs.
- Measure, audit, and evaluate the effectiveness of hazard controls and hazard control programs.
1) Anticipate, identify, and evaluate hazardous conditions and practices, as implemented in whole or in part, by the following methodologies
- Anticipating and predicting hazards from experience, historical data, and other information sources.
- Identifying and recognizing hazards in existing or future systems, equipment, products, software, facilities, processes, operations, and procedures during their expected life.
- Evaluating and assessing the probability and severity of loss events and accidents, which may result from actual or potential hazards.
- Applying these methods, conducting hazard analyses, and interpreting results.
- Reviewing, with the assistance of specialists where needed, entire systems, processes, and operational failure modes, causes, and effects of the entire system, subsystem, or component failures such as: human error; incomplete or faulty decision-making, judgment, or administrative actions; and/or weaknesses in proposed or existing policies, directives, objectives, or practices.
- Reviewing, compiling, analyzing, and interpreting data from accident and loss event reports and other sources regarding injuries, illnesses, property
- Providing advice and counsel about compliance with safety, health, and environmental laws, codes, regulations, and standards.
- Conducting research studies of existing or potential safety and health problems and issues.
2) Develop hazard control designs, methods, procedures and programs, as implemented in whole or in part by the following methodologies
Determining the need for surveys and appraisals that help identify conditions or practices affecting safety and health, including those that require the services of specialists, such as physicians, health physicists, industrial hygienists, fire protection engineers, design and process engineers, ergonomists, risk managers, environmental professionals, psychologists and others.
- Assessing environments, tasks and other elements to ensure that physiological and psychological capabilities, capacities and limits of humans are not exceeded.
- Formulating and prescribing engineering or administrative controls, preferably before exposures, accidents, and loss events occur, in order to:
- eliminate hazards and causes of exposures, accidents, and loss events;
- Reduce the probability and/or severity of injuries, illnesses, losses, or environmental damage from potential exposures, accidents, and loss events when hazards cannot be eliminated.
- Developing methods that integrate safety performance into the goals, operations, and productivity of organizations and their management and into systems, processes, operations, or their components.
- Developing safety, health, and environmental policies, procedures, codes, and standards for integration into operational policies of organizations, unit operations, purchasing, and contracting.
- Consulting with and advising individuals and participating on teams:
- engaged in planning, design, development, and installation or implementation of systems or programs involving hazard controls.
- engaged in planning, design, development, fabrication, testing, packaging and distribution of products or services regarding safety requirements and application of safety principles that maximize product safety.
- Advising and assisting human resource specialists when applying hazard analysis results or dealing with the capabilities and limitations of personnel.
- Staying current with technological developments, laws, regulations, standards, codes, products, methods, and practices related to hazard controls.
3) Implement, administer, and advise others on hazard control programs, as implemented in whole or in part by the following methodologies
- Preparing reports that communicate valid and comprehensive recommendations for hazard controls based on analysis and interpretation of accident, exposure, loss event, and other data.
- Using written and graphic materials, presentations, and other communication media to recommend hazard controls and hazard control policies, procedures, and programs to decision-making personnel.
- Directing or assisting in planning and developing educational and training materials or courses involving hazard recognition and control; and conducting or assisting with courses related to designs, policies, procedures and programs involving hazard recognition and control.
- Advising others about hazards, hazard controls, relative risk, and related safety matters when they are communicating with the media, community, and public.
- Managing and implementing hazard controls and hazard control programs that are within the duties of the individual’s professional safety position.
4) Measure, audit, and evaluate the effectiveness of hazard controls and hazard control programs as implemented in whole or part by the following methodologies
- Establishing and implementing techniques involving risk analysis, cost, cost-benefit analysis, work sampling, loss rate, and similar methodologies for periodic and systematic evaluation of hazard control and hazard control program effectiveness.
- Developing methods to evaluate the costs and effectiveness of hazard controls and programs and measure the contribution of components of systems, organizations, processes, and operations towards the overall effectiveness.
- Providing results of evaluation assessments, including recommended adjustments and changes to hazard controls or hazard control programs, to individuals or organizations responsible for their management and implementation.
- Directing, developing, or helping to develop management accountability and audit programs that assess the safety performance of entire systems, organizations, processes, and operations, or their components, and that involve both deterrents and incentives.
