ECHO Incorporated is an industry leader in developing and manufacturing high-performance, professional-grade, handheld outdoor power equipment. With distributors and thousands of dealers across North and South America, ECHO is constantly anticipating the future of the outdoor power equipment industry and the need for environmental sustainability. Working for ECHO means joining a team of people who are committed to collaboration, innovation, creativity, and high-quality products that make us a globally competitive brand.
ECHO is hiring a Safety Manager for our Lake Zurich location! The Safety Manager provides company leadership for environmental, health, safety, and physical security across a multi-location manufacturing and distribution network. This role sets the strategic direction, governs standards, and partners closely with Operations, Engineering, HR, and Facilities to ensure a safe, secure, and compliant workplace. The leader will oversee both traditional manual-work environments and advanced automation/robotics systems, ensuring risk is managed consistently across all sites.
The salary range for this position starts at $120,000 and total compensation is based on experience and qualifications.
This is an on-site position based out of our Lake Zurich facility.
ECHO’s benefits include:
- 11 paid holidays
- Extremely affordable medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Paid time off
- Yearly bonus potential
- 5% 401K match
- Tuition reimbursement
Duties/Responsibilities:
Safety Strategy & Governance:
- Develop and execute the site EHS strategy and roadmap aligned with operational goals.
- Establish annual safety and security objectives, KPIs, and action plans.
- Own and maintain the corporate Safety Management System (SMS) and ensure consistent adoption across all facilities.
- Manage building safety and security plans in multiple locations.
- Lead cross-site safety councils, leadership forums, and governance routines.
- Standardize policies, procedures, and audit frameworks for all locations.
Regulatory Compliance:
- Ensure compliance with OSHA, state, and local regulations across all sites.
- Serve as primary contact for regulatory agencies.
- Lead OSHA inspections, audits, and corrective action management.
- Consistently maintain audit‑ready documentation, logs, OSHA, and compliance records.
- Monitor regulatory changes and proactively update corporate standards.
Hazard Identification & Risk Management:
- Conduct Job Safety Analyses (JSAs) and risk assessments.
- Identify and mitigate unsafe conditions, behaviors, and processes.
- Lead ergonomics evaluations and corrective actions.
- Assess safety risks related to new equipment, processes, or layouts.
- Participate in capital project safety reviews and MOC processes.
- Evaluate risks associated with robotics, automation, AGVs/AMRs, and advanced manufacturing systems.
- Partner with Engineering and Controls teams on machine safeguarding, interlocks, and functional safety compliance.
- Integrate human-factors engineering into workstation and automation design.
Incident Management & Investigations:
- Lead response to workplace injuries, near misses, and incidents and cross-location trend analysis.
- Conduct root cause analyses and develop corrective actions systemic risk reduction initiatives.
- Track closure and effectiveness of corrective actions.
- Report findings and trends and propose courses of action to the management and leadership teams.
Workers’ Compensation Management:
- Partner with HR to own the workers’ compensation program end-to-end.
- Partner with HR to coordinate with medical providers, insurers, and adjusters.
- Manage return-to-work process, identifying potential modified duty programs.
- Partner with HR to monitor claim trends, costs, and reserves.
- Drive claim reduction and cost containment strategies with HR.
Safety Training & Awareness:
- Design, deliver and maintain all safety and security training programs.
- Deliver or oversee training for:
- New hires
- Job-specific hazards
- Equipment and machine safe operation
- Emergency response
- Leverage digital learning platforms and analytics to measure training effectiveness.
Emergency Preparedness:
- Own, launch, and maintain emergency response initiatives and plans while executing annual requirements for crisis management and business continuity requirements.
- Lead drills and simulations (fire, spill, evacuation, weather).
- Coordinate emergency response teams and equipment readiness.
- Serve as site incident commander during emergencies.
Contractor & Visitor Safety:
- Oversee vendor safety performance and corporate-level contractor governance.
- Establish and monitor contractor safety requirements, orientations, and enforce stop-work authority.
- Ensure visitor and temporary worker safety compliance.
Safety Metrics & Reporting:
- Track and report safety KPIs (TRIR, DART, near misses, severity).
- Analyze trends and identify leading indicators to drive targeted improvement plans.
- Prepare safety dashboards and executive reports.
Safety Culture & Leadership Partnership:
- Lead behavior-based safety initiatives.
- Coach leaders on safety accountability and behaviors.
- Partner with HR on discipline consistency tied to safety violations.
- Reinforce a high-trust, prevention-focused safety culture.
Physical Security & Loss Prevention:
- Own physical security strategy including access control, surveillance, and incident response.
- Partner with teams to ensure cyber-physical security integration.
- Oversee security vendor management and contract performance.
- Support cargo theft prevention and distribution-specific security measures.
- Develop multi-site security standards and audit programs.
Automation & Robotics Safety:
- Conduct risk assessments for robotics, automated conveyors, AGVs/AMRs, and advanced equipment.
- Ensure compliance with machine safeguarding and functional safety standards (ISO 9000, IEC 62061).
- Partner with Engineering on safe automation design, commissioning, and change management.
- Monitor automation-related incidents and lead systemic corrective actions.
Job Experience/Skills:
- 7–10+ years EHS experience in manufacturing environment.
- Strong OSHA and regulatory expertise.
- Proven incident investigation and WC management experience.
- Ability to influence frontline and senior leaders.
- CSP or equivalent certification preferred.
- Cross-functional team leadership.
- Detail oriented with strong organization skills .
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Experienced user of Microsoft Office, especially PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, Word.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Safety, Engineering, Environmental Science, or related field.
Equal Opportunity Employment:
We are an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applicants.
E-Verification:
In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.