Health and safety engineer

Health and safety engineers design objects and programs by combining engineering principles and health and safety requirements. They envision the protection and well-being of the people using designed objects or performing work under designed health and safety programs. They assess facilities and the risks that they might pose (e.g. contaminant materials, ergonomics, handling of dangerous substances, etc.) in order to design and improve health and safety measures.

The following job titles also refer to health and safety engineer:

environmental health and safety engineer
health and safety specialist
health and safety engineering expert
health and safety expert
safety case expert
health engineer
occupational health and safety engineer
safety engineer
safety case lead author
health and safety engineering consultant
industrial health and safety engineer
health and safety consultant engineer
health and safety engineering adviser
health and safety engineering specialist

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as health and safety engineer. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Health and safety engineer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to health and safety engineer.

fire prevention and protection engineer
acoustical engineer
nuclear engineer
surface engineer
environmental mining engineer

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of health and safety engineer. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of health and safety engineer with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of health and safety engineer.

Engineering principles: The engineering elements like functionality, replicability, and costs in relation to the design and how they are applied in the completion of engineering projects.
Technical drawings: Drawing software and the various symbols, perspectives, units of measurement, notation systems, visual styles and page layouts used in technical drawings.
Engineering processes: The systematic approach to the development and maintenance of engineering systems.
Assessment of risks and threats: The security documentation and any security-related communications and information.
Safety engineering: The engineering discipline used to ensure that systems, machines and equipment work according to the set safety standards and laws, such as environmental law.
Health and safety regulations: Necessary health, safety, hygiene and environmental standards and legislation rules in the sector of particular activity.

These skills are necessary for the role of health and safety engineer.

Advise on safety improvements: Provide relevant recommendations following the conclusion of an investigation; ensure that recommendations are duly considered and where appropriate acted upon.
Adjust engineering designs: Adjust designs of products or parts of products so that they meet requirements.
Perform scientific research: Gain, correct or improve knowledge about phenomena by using scientific methods and techniques, based on empirical or measurable observations.
Draw up risk assessment: Assess risks, propose improvements and describe measures to be taken at the organisational level.
Approve engineering design: Give consent to the finished engineering design to go over to the actual manufacturing and assembly of the product.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of health and safety engineer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Human factors regarding safety: The considerations and implications for human safety.
Quality assurance procedures: The procedures to inspect a product or system to ensure that it is according to specifications and requirements.
Materials science: Field of science and engineering that researches new materials on the basis of their structure, properties, synthesis, and performance for a variety of purposes, including increasing fire resistance of construction materials.
Textile materials: Have a good understanding of the properties of different textile materials.
Design principles: The elements used in design such as unity, scale, proportion, balance, symmetry, space, form, texture, colour, light, shade and congruence and their application into practice.
Fire safety regulations: The legal rules to be applied for fire safety and fire prevention in a facility.
Fire protection engineering: Application of engineering principles for the design and production of fire detection, prevention and suppression systems that range from the conception of fire alarms to space planning and building design.
Physics: The natural science involving the study of matter, motion, energy, force and related notions.
Environmental legislation: The environmental policies and legislation applicable in a certain domain.
Nuclear energy: The generation of electrical energy through the use of nuclear reactors, by converting the energy released from nuclei of atoms in reactors which generate heat. This heat subsequently generates steam which can power a steam turbine to generate electricity.
Civil engineering: The engineering discipline that studies the design, construction and maintenance of naturally built works such as roads, buildings, and canals.
Thermodynamics: The branch of physics that deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy..
Fire prevention procedures: The regulations concerning fire and explosion prevention, and the equipment, systems and methods used in it.
Thermohydraulics: Types of hydraulic flow processes used to move generated heat and the use of this heat to produce electricity.
Fire-fighting systems: The devices and systems used to extinguish fires; the classes and chemistry of fire.
Chemistry: The composition, structure, and properties of substances and the processes and transformations that they undergo; the uses of different chemicals and their interactions, production techniques, risk factors, and disposal methods.
Radiation protection: The measures and procedures used to protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation.
Ergonomics: The science of designing systems, processes and products that complement the strengths of people so that they can use them easily and safely.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of health and safety engineer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Advise on construction materials: Provide advice on and test a wide range of construction materials.
Perform laboratory tests: Carry out tests in a laboratory to produce reliable and precise data to support scientific research and product testing.
Design safety equipment: Design equipment that protects people from injury, such as hard hats, airbags, and life jackets, applying design principles while keeping health and safety rules and regulations in mind.
Investigate occupational injuries: Assess, manage, and report cases of occupational illness, disease, or injury, establishing if this is a single case or if there is wider incidence.
Determine fire risks: Evaluate buildings, housing complexes, public places, and sites in order to discover fire risks.
Install safety devices: Set up devices that protect individuals from harm and ensure occupational health, such as airbags and residual current devices.
Undertake inspections: Undertake safety inspections in areas of concern to identify and report potential hazards or security breaches; take measures to maximise safety standards.
Monitor work site: Regularly ensure that working conditions on site meet health and safety requirements; ensure that the proposed work will not pose a threat to the physical integrity of others.
Conduct workplace audits: Conduct work site audits and inspections in order to ensure compliance with rules and regulations.
Design strategies for nuclear emergencies: Develop and oversee the implementation of strategies which aim to prevent equipment malfunctions, errors, and contamination risks in nuclear facilities, and which outline response actions in the event of a nuclear emergency.
Adhere to standards of national and international safety programmes: Comply with national and international safety standards, e.g. in aviation. Adhere to standards of national and international safety programmes.
Conduct fire safety inspections: Conduct inspections in buildings and on sites to assess their fire prevention and safety equipment, evacuation strategies, and related strategies, and ensure compliance with safety regulations.
Carry out environmental audits: Use equipment to measure various environmental parameters in order to identify environmental problems and investigate manners in which they can be resolved. Perform inspections in order to ensure compliance with environmental legislation.
Follow nuclear plant safety precautions: Comply with nuclear power plant safety procedures, policies and legislation to ensure a safe working environment for all employees, and to ensure the safety of the public.
Develop material testing procedures: Develop testing protocols in collaboration with engineers and scientists to enable a variety of analyses such as environmental, chemical, physical, thermal, structural, resistance or surface analyses on a wide range of materials such as metals, ceramics or plastics.
Follow up on safety breaches: Ensure that actions intended to reduce threats and improve health and safety are met according to the plan.
Instruct employees on radiation protection: Explain the various legal and operational measures established in the company against radiation, such as reducing exposure time and wearing protective gear, to the employees and communicate the emergency procedures.
Apply knowledge of human behaviour: Practice principles related to group behaviour, trends in society, and influence of societal dynamics.
Draft design specifications: List the design specifications such as materials and parts to be used and a cost estimate.
Respond to nuclear emergencies: Set in motion the strategies for reacting in the event of equipment malfunctions, errors, or other events which may lead to contamination and other nuclear emergencies, ensuring that the facility is secured, all necessary areas are evacuated, and further damages and risks are contained.
Conduct fire tests: Conduct tests on a variety of materials such as building or transportation materials in order to determine their physical properties against fire such as flame resistance, surface burning characteristics, oxygen concentration or smoke generation.
Test safety strategies: Test policies and strategies related to risk and safety management and procedures, such as testing evacuation plans, safety equipment, and carrying out drills.
Evaluate industrial hygiene: Assess hygiene in industrial environments by evaluating chemical, physical, and biological agents to ensure the health of people working with them.
Write inspection reports: Write the results and conclusions of the inspection in a clear and intelligible way. Log the inspection’s processes such as contact, outcome, and steps taken.
Advise architects: Give advice on design, safety issues, and cost reduction to architects during the pre-application phase.
Educate employees on occupational hazards: Provide information and advice to employees related to the possible occupational hazards, such as industrial solvents, radiation, noise and vibration.
Accept own accountability: Accept accountability for one`s own professional activities and recognise the limits of one`s own scope of practice and competencies.

2149 – Engineering professionals not elsewhere classified

 

 

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References

1. Health and safety engineer – ESCO