2H26
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY TECHNICIAN

This is technical and administrative safety work in a centralized safety office, or for a City Department with an established safety program for industrial settings. An employee in this class conducts regularly scheduled inspections to detect and document unsafe or unhealthy working conditions and to ensure compliance with governmental and accepted safety standards. The employee makes recommendations to reduce and eliminate hazards through policy, procedure or training. The employee acts as a liaison between the Department, third party administrators and the Central Safety Office. Work is performed under the supervision of an Occupational Safety Administrator.

1. The work must be performed in a large operating department or centralized safety agency.
2. The employee must have responsibility for performing inspections in industrial settings, evaluating hazards and preparing reports and recommendations.

• Conducts inspections to detect unsafe and/or unhealthy working conditions; inspects work environment and machinery and equipment for compliance with governmental standards and accepted safety norms; evaluates physical conditions, safety practices, and hazardous situations according to governmental regulations and accepted safety standards; interviews employees, contracted workers and government officials to obtain facts about work environment, practices and accidents; observes employees at work to determine compliance with safety precautions and required safety equipment; recommends new safety procedures designed to protect workers; reviews log of reported accidents and preventive actions; checks for fire prevention equipment and other safety and first-aid supplies; tests working area for noise, toxic and other hazards, using decibel meter, gas detector and light meter; prepares report of findings with recommendations for corrective action.
• Investigates accidents to ascertain the nature, extent, and circumstances surrounding the accident; prepares official comprehensive reports detailing the events and circumstances; makes recommendations for safety measures and programs to reduce and prevent future occurrences.
• Conducts and coordinates safety training in areas of personal protective equipment, first aid, CPR, proper lifting, injury and accident reporting, resources conservation, compressed gas safety, hazardous waste storage and handling, Right- to-Know, chemical hazards in the workplace and confined space entry to ensure employee safety and compliance with federal, state and local regulations; purchases training materials from approved vendors; researches potential training topics; maintains attendance logs; evaluates results of training.
• Responds to complaints, makes recommendations for improvements in operations, policies and procedures; monitors compliance with safety practices and regulations.
• Performs related work as required.

KNOWLEDGE OF:
• industrial hygiene standards, regulations, and procedures.
• personal protective equipment, such as glasses, helmets, goggles, face shields, respirators, clothing and other safety equipment.
• monitoring equipment such as balometer, solomat IAQ, smoke tubes and organic vapor analyzer.
• federal, occupational, safety and health standards.
• engineering design affecting safe work habits.
• industrial safety standards, practices and regulations.
• inspection methods and procedures.
• interviewing methods and techniques.
• data collection and analysis.
SKILL IN:
• conducting investigations.
• attending to detail.
• report writing.
• using computerized equipment and software to collect and analyze data.
ABILITY TO:
• obtain and analyze samples.
• conduct a thorough safety inspection in an industrial plant.
• conduct site safety inspections in areas such as confined space entry and lock out procedures.
• evaluate and assess the level of compliance with regulated safety norms.
• determine how hazardous working conditions can be reduced.
• make cogent recommendations.
• prepare, conduct and coordinate training in safety practices and methods.
• present ideas effectively, both orally and in writing.
• learn and utilize specialized software used in presentations.

EDUCATION
• Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth school grade.
AND
EXPERIENCE
• One year of safety experience providing technical or administrative support for a safety program in an industrial, military, or occupational safety environment.

NOTE:

Completion of an associate’s degree program in Occupational Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Safety Engineering or a related field at an accredited college or university may be substituted for the experience required.

PHYSICAL AND MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to physically perform the duties and to work in the environmental conditions required of a position in this class.

• Possession of a valid proper class motor vehicle operator's license as issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania prior to appointment and during tenure as an Occupational Safety Technician.