Safety Specialist

Salary: $27.14 - $31.25

Job Overview

An incumbent is this job classification assists in the development, coordination and implementation of comprehensive safety programs ensuring that departments and their staff comply with applicable safety, industrial hygiene and environmental standards.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate work requires the exercise of initiative and independent judgment in ensuring compliance with all safety and health programming; identifying and prioritizing employee training needs and maintaining and submitting required reports on training and safety. The candidate performs workplace safety inspections to assist in identifying unsafe operations and/or business practices and provide direction on the required corrective actions to abate the hazards. The candidate performs accident/incident investigations to assess the root cause; communicates investigation findings, and corrective measures via written reports. The candidate provides safety and health training to ensure policies, procedures and standards are understood and followed. The candidate assists in overall safety programming development and implementation. The candidate’s work is performed in office environments, visits to departments and their work sites, outdoor field environments and sometimes in confined areas. The candidate will have a frequent need to walk and stand in areas of height, rough surfaces, outdoor environments, maintenance areas, dusty and dirty areas, roadways or traffic work zones, confined spaces, around heavy machinery, electrical, chemical, trenches, excavations, welding areas, mechanical areas, water plants, wastewater plants, ditches, canals, boat ramps, parks, waterways, and docks. The candidate outdoor environments may include hot or cold, wet, or dry locations and all hours of county operations. The candidate may occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.

Core Competencies

• Customer Commitment - Proactively seeks to understand the needs of the customers and provide the highest standards of service.
• Dedication to Professionalism and Integrity - Demonstrates and promotes fair, honest, professional and ethical behaviors that establishes trust throughout the organization and with the public we serve.
• Organizational Excellence - Takes ownership for excellence through one's personal effectiveness and dedication to the continuous improvement of our operations.
• Success through Teamwork - Collaborates and builds partnerships through trust and the open exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives to achieve organizational goals.

Duties and Responsibilities

Note: The following duties are illustrative and not exhaustive. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position. Depending on assigned area of responsibility, incumbents in the position may perform one or more of the activities described below.

• Performs workplace safety inspections to ensure compliance with appropriate safety programs and assist in identifying unsafe operations and/or business practices, to include determination if Immediate Danger to Life and Health (IDLH) situations are present or have the potential to be present, and provide direction on the required corrective actions to abate the hazards based on OSHA standards.
• Provides oversight and guidance of the monthly safety self-inspection program and supports Safety Action Council (SAC) representatives in the completion of these duties.
• Assist in overall safety program development and implementation to include the creation and implementation of documents, forms, checklists and SOPs based on safety regulations for inspection purposes.
• Assist with the Inspection, inventory and oversight of the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Program.
• Provides Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), to include respiratory protection, recommendations based on tasks/hazards associated with job assignments.
• Investigates accidents, to include industrial accidents, causing injuries to employees and/or the public or loss to the County. Evaluates the causes of accidents, reviews loss analysis and develops recommendations for modifications in the work environment or procedural changes.
• Analyses accident data to identify trends, repeat offenders and cost estimates as related to accidents and coordinates with the County Workers Compensation Program processing worker compensation claims.
• Provides safety and health training to ensures policies, procedures and standards are understood and followed.
• Develop, design and present safety & health training programs, courses and associated materials based on OSHA and serves as a lead trainer for all county departments’ required safety training needs. Trains and/or facilitates training programs on topics such as but not limited to, Hazard Communications, Confined Space, Excavation/Trenching, Scaffolding, Hot Work, Forklift, Respiratory Protection, Maintenance of Traffic (MOT), First-Aid/CPR, AEDs, and Blood-borne Pathogens etc.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Job Specifications

• Knowledge of federal, State and local regulations pertaining to industrial hygiene and sampling techniques, asbestos management and hazardous materials management.
• Knowledge of safety principles, procedures and practices in the areas of OSHA general industry & construction.
• Knowledge of loss prevention and control methods.
• Knowledge of safe equipment operation and procedures.
• Knowledge in safety training course development, design and implementation.
• Knowledge of workplace accident inspection and investigation techniques.
• Ability to interpret and apply the theories, practices and procedures of OSHA and Florida Workers’ Compensation rules and regulations and safety principles, methods and procedures.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other County employees at all levels and the public.
• Ability to interpret regulations, procedures and safety criteria.
• Ability to prepare comprehensive technical and non-technical reports.
• Ability to present ideas effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to detect hazardous conditions in varied working situations and operations.
• Skill in the use of computers and software (Excel, Access, Word, PowerPoint etc.)
• Ability to prepare, submit and maintain written reports.

Physical Requirements

• Work is generally performed in an office environment, but the job requires frequent visits to departments and their work sites that are in open environments and sometimes in confined areas.
• There is frequent need to walk and stand in areas of height, rough surfaces, outdoor environments, maintenance areas, dusty and dirty areas, roadways or traffic work zones, confined spaces, around heavy machinery, electrical, chemical, trenches, excavations, welding areas, mechanical areas, water plants, wastewater plants, ditches, canals, boat ramps, parks, waterways and docks. The environment may include hot or cold, wet or dry locations and all hours of county operations.
• The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.

Work Category

• Medium work - Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 20 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects.

Minimum Qualifications Required

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree in education, safety or a related field; AND
• Three years of experience in workplace safety training, accident prevention, accident investigation, and/or training coordination; OR
• Any equivalent combination of education (not less than a High School Diploma/GED), training and experience that would reasonably be expected to provide the job-related competencies noted above; AND
• Possession of a valid Florida Driver’s License.

Emergency Management Responsibilities

In the event of an emergency or disaster, an employee may be required to respond promptly to duties and responsibilities as assigned by the employee’s department, the County’s Office of Emergency Management, or County Administration. Such assignments may be for before, during or after the emergency/disaster.