Should You Have A Site Safety Officer Present After Normal Business Hours?
Posted on: 24 March 2021
Having site safety officers present during working hours helps you keep your worksite in compliance with health and safety regulations. These officers do more than just police the site; they train workers in safety protocols and keep records of inspections and violations. It's really easy among workers who are all familiar with each other to start accidentally forgetting certain safety regulations, but having a third-party site officer to note when this happens can help avoid trouble later on. Some companies offer to send site officers outside of regular day business hours, and even if people at your worksite go home in the afternoon, it may be a good idea to occasionally have a site officer present after hours.
Inspections May Be Easier After Hours
One of the many duties of a site safety officer is to test and inspect safety equipment, such as eyewash stands and other features, like first aid kits. These may be easier to inspect after hours because there are fewer people about (and thus fewer risks that could result in someone having to find an eyewash station that isn't being inspected). If you can arrange for someone, even yourself, to stay onsite while the officer completes these inspections, it could make things go much faster and more smoothly.
If There's a Swing or Night Shift, You Need Someone Present
If you have any sort of a swing or night shift, then a site safety officer should be present during those shifts. These officers look for safety risks and violations, including those that happen as the result of someone cutting corners. In other words, all your safety equipment could be fine, but an employee could be getting sloppy with work and cause a problem. The site safety officer can help catch instances of that if they're happening on non-day shifts.
It Can Be a Better Time for Orientations and Exams
If you have new hires who need to go through safety training (often taught by these site safety officers), an after-hours course may be easiest. You'll have the most room available, and these workers can actually continue to work during the day instead of taking time away from work (remember to pay them for the extra hours they spend in required training). If there are exams, such as hearing tests, that need to be administered, having these done after hours may be best, too. A site safety officer can help the audiologist (or other medical professional) with the paperwork side of things, keeping records of who has had what test.
You can discuss how many site officers you might need and when you need them when you contact the company that can provide the personnel. It could be that you don't need after-hours personnel that often, but having the option is always very helpful.
For more information, contact a site safety and health officer service.
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