PROJECT SAFETY STAFFING 6
6.4 DEDICATED SAFETY PROFESSIONAL
A dedicated safety professional is an individual who shall not hold other non-safety duties and is present at the site full-time . The dedicated safety professional should be responsible for developing, managing, implementing, and enforcing the contractor’s written safety and health program and may include input from others . Some staffing guidelines about a dedicated safety professional are presented in this section .
6.4.1 Responsibilities
Responsibilities of the project safety professional should be explicitly stated during the approval process and communicated to the prospective professionals . An example of project safety staffing policy and responsibilities is presented as Exhibit 6-1 .
6.4.2 Quantity
Each contractor on the project may be required to provide a dedicated on-site full-time qualified safety professional when:
• Actual or expected crew size reaches “X” employees (e .g ., 20 employees)
• Required by the contractor’s corrective action plan as part of the pre-qualification process
• The contract value exceeds $X million in labor only (e .g ., $5 million), or
• Hazardous activities are predetermined to be present
Furthermore, the contractor may also define when the project requires additional on-site full-time qualified safety professional . For example, an additional safety professional may be required for each crew size increment of fifty employees or increments of $10 million in labor only thereafter . This requirement must be defined in all contracts to each, separate, contractor .
6.4.3 Site Presence and Coverage
Each contractor should provide safety coverage during all off-shift work, e .g ., a three a .m . concrete pour . It is recommended to state clearly that the dedicated safety professional should be required to be on-site at all times when workers are on the jobsite . It is recommended that no subcontractor labor be allowed on a jobsite without a designated competent person on site for each subcontractor and as supervision for the general contractor .
6.4.4 Qualifications
Depending on the project risk level, the qualifications of the dedicated safety professional should be clearly defined in terms of education, appropriate construction industry safety experience, and/or professional certifications .
6.4.5 Experience
The more complex and riskier the project the more stringent the qualifications . For example, when requiring a dedicated safety professional for a crane and rigging subcontractor, the individual should have adequate experience in that discipline .
6.4.6 Education
A 2011 report prepared for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) titled “National Assessment of the Occupational Safety and Health Workforce,” reported that the majority of the safety professional employers are looking for professionals with bachelor’s degree- level .2 On projects that will include numerous site safety professionals, it is typical to assign a Project Safety Manager who will be the lead on the site . Some contractors and Owners prefer college educated construction safety professionals to take on the role of Project Safety Manager to manage construction safety programs including the safety staff at the project level . Here is an example requirement, “The safety manager must hold a safety engineering or equivalent qualification and have a minimum of seven years’ experience in construction safety and five years of management experience.”
Readers should understand that not all contractors, especially smaller contractors will not hire or be able to hire a safety professional with a college degree . Under those circumstances contractors are recommended to hire safety professionals with certain field safety experience and minimum certifications such as:
o OSHA 30 and/or OSHA Outreach Trainer o Certified or trained Rigging/Signal Person o Scaffold Competent Person
o Fall Protection Competent Person o Confined Space Competent Person o Certified Flagger
These professionals should be backed up by corporate safety professionals who have the 4-year safety degree and applicable professional certifications .
6.4.7 Certifications
Some Owners and few Contractors have also started to require professional certifications such as the Board of Certified Safety Professional’s (BCSP) Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST)® and Certified Safety Professional (CSP)® for their safety staff .
The Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST) certification is designed for individuals who demonstrate competency and work part-time or full-time in health and safety activities devoted to the prevention of construction illnesses and injuries . The CHST certification meets national standards for certifications . Candidates for the CHST certification are typically employed as safety and health specialists on construction job sites, serving in either full-time or part-time positions . Typical individuals are responsible for safety and health on one or more significant construction projects or job sites . They may work for an owner, general contractor, subcontractor, or firm involved in the construction or construction safety .3
A CSP (Certified Safety Professional), awarded by BCSP, is certified in the comprehensive practice of OSH . Certified Safety Professionals (CSP) are persons who perform at least 50% of professional level safety duties including; are making worksite assessments to determine risks, potential hazards and controls, evaluating risks and hazard control measures, investigating incidents, maintaining and evaluating incident and loss records, and preparing emergency response plans . Other duties could include; hazard recognition, fire protection, regulatory compliance, health hazard control, ergonomics, hazardous materials management, environmental protection, training, accident and incident, investigations, advising management, record keeping, emergency response, managing safety programs, product safety and/or security .4
More information about the certifications is available at www .bcsp .com . Please note according to the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), certifications should be from a professional safety organization accredited by the National Commission of Certifying Agencies (NCCA) or the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB), or a nationally recognized accrediting body that uses certification criteria equal to or greater than that of the NCCA or CESB, certification is an independent third-party indicator of achievement .5
6.4.8 Specialists
Even though it is not common, depending on specific project needs, certain large projects (for example projects over $1 billion in construction cost) will include specialists such as Ergonomists, Industrial Hygienists, Security Managers, and Environmental Compliance Manager Full-time on-site . However, for small to medium sized projects, it is typical practice to employ these specialists on an as-needed basis . For example, the project might need to employ an industrial hygienist for only a week, when excavating, transporting, and disposing of contaminated soil or to perform a noise study to analyze project impacts on the neighborhood residential community . Selected certifications are listed below:
o CIH (Certified Industrial Hygienist) has an emphasis on evaluating and controlling physical, chemical, ergonomic and biological hazards . www .abih .org/certified
o CFPS (Certified Fire Protection Specialist) has responsibilities regarding the application of technologies in fire safety, fire protection, prevention, and suppression . www .nfpa .org
3 Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) . Certifications . www .bcsp .com (Accessed January 3, 2015)
4 Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) . Certifications . www .bcsp .com (Accessed January 3, 2015)
5 Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) . Certifications . www .bcsp .com (Accessed January 3, 2015)
o CHMM (Certified Hazardous Materials Manager) is involved in environmental protection, waste management, dangerous goods transportation, safety, and materials handling . www . ihmm .org
6.4.9 Documentation and Approval
Documentation of qualifications should be submitted to the Contractor prior to the award of any resultant contract . All proposed dedicated safety professional should be approved in advance by the Contractor prior to award of the contract or at the pre-construction meeting to ensure the person meets the project expectations and has the necessary qualifications to support the applicable project scope .