The Purpose of a Safety Consultant

Aug 6
19:15

2012

Leighanna Cumbie

Leighanna Cumbie

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Every job as an aspect of risk, some jobs have a higher propensity than others. When the risk is a daily possibility of losing a life or greatly impacting the standard of living day to day that is when a Safety Consultant is hired. Jobs like tearing down old military buildings, working in a metal fabrication shop, or even plants that make pigment all have a safety consultant who is hired to oversee the job.

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Every job as an aspect of risk,The Purpose of a Safety Consultant Articles some jobs have a higher propensity than others.  When the risk is a daily possibility of losing a life or greatly impacting the standard of living day to day that is when a Safety Consultant is hired.  Jobs like tearing down old military buildings, working in a metal fabrication shop, or even plants that make pigment all have a safety consultant who is hired to oversee the job. 

Whether it is for the military or simply for a local manufacturing company safety consultants have a very important job that they are required to do: keep people safe.  The job of the consultant is to ensure that every possible safety standard is provided so that each employee may do their job as safely as possible.  Even the military employs safety consultants to oversee their work.  It might sound like a contradiction but the military does not have time to stay up to date on all the safety standards, so when there is a big to job to be done they often hire an outside consultant. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Association or OSHA writes all the standards and regulations that industrial facilities must follow.  OSHA generates a lot of new standards and often times it is difficult for plant managers to stay current on all the new laws.  .

The safety consultant is constantly reading OSHA guidelines.  This is one of the primary reasons why organizations like the military hire consultants; they are well versed on the new regulations.  Not only will a consultant maintain a working knowledge of what OSHA is adding to the list of regulations but they will also keep track of the standards that change.  If a change impacts a client then the consultant will contact the client and advise the client of the correct way to proceed. 

Often times plant managers and facility directors will neglect hiring a safety consultant for fear that it will cost too much.  OSHA fines can be as little as tens of thousands of dollars and as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars.  When the cost of hiring the consultant is weighed in proportion to the cost of getting a fine or even the cost of losing an employee to frivolous injury, the money spent on the consultant is justified.  If you have never had a safety audit or if you want to be prepared when OSHA comes to visit, click hereto find out more about how a safety consultant can help you.