Safety engineering
Safety engineering is an applied science. Safety engineering assures that a life-critical system behaves as needed even when pieces fail.
Safety engineers are responsible for keeping people free from danger, risk, or injury in the workplace. They develop safety programs to minimize losses due to injuries and property damage. They try to eliminate unsafe practices and conditions in industrial plants, mines, and stores as well as on construction sites and throughout transportation systems. Safety engineers work for a wide variety of industrial and commercial companies. Many of them work for insurance companies. Others are employed by government agencies or safety organizations. Still others teach in colleges and universities or work as independent consultants.
Safety engineers often have other titles, such as director of safety, safety manager, or safety coordinator. Sometimes technicians assist them. The duties of safety engineers vary depending on where they work. Engineers employed in large manufacturing plants often develop broad safety programs. They study the buildings, equipment, procedures, and records of accidents in their plant and point out safety hazards. They may suggest ways to fix unsafe structures or recommend changes in the layout of the plant.
Other safety engineers work with designers to make sure that their company's products are safe. They may be responsible for seeing that a new automobile model meets safety standards. Or they may check the design and production of children's toys.
Safety engineers who work for insurance companies usually provide consulting services to their clients. They are experts who can spot hazards and recommend ways to eliminate them. For example, they may review plans for a shopping center that is to be insured by their company and point out dangerous traffic patterns. Once the center is built, they inspect it and check that the elevators have been installed properly so that there will not be accidents. They also study maintenance procedures and may recommend that floors be cleaned when customers are not present.
In the trucking industry, safety engineers review patterns of traffic accidents. They study routes, schedules, loads, and speeds to determine how these factors affect accidents. They also inspect trucks for safety hazards.
Overseeing the safety of various products is the major responsibility of a safety engineer. These safety tests may be completed in the laboratory or in real-world conditions and include both correct and incorrect use of the product or item in the test to address any potential safety concerns. A safety engineer is very critical in the development of a new product both from customer safety and company liability aspects.
The safety engineer must know what standards to apply to the product to keep it in compliance with safety laws. This includes researching and monitoring changes to the various regulations on all levels. In addition to completing or overseeing the safety tests the safety engineer must also prepare written documentation to support the finding of the test and be prepared to meet with clients, production teams and other types of engineers to address and problem solve any problems identified in the safety testing process.
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Good communication skills, understanding of regulations and good research skills are essential for a safety engineer.
2. Read the list given below. Which of the following would be considered acceptable normal behavior for safety engineers?
1) Reviewing specifications for products and researching current regulations for safety testing on each different type of product or item.
2) Unknowing the standards of applying to the product for keeping it in compliance with safety laws.
3) Overseeing or completing product tests as required either in a lab or out in the actual working conditions the product will be used in.
4) Keeping accurate records of data obtained by the test and compiling it into reports that can be used by the production teams.
5) This is not part of the duties to provide consulting services to their clients.
6) Meeting with production teams, clients and managers to discuss modifications to the project to address any safety issues discovered.
7) Testifying in court or civil proceeding with regards to the safety testing if required.
8) In the trucking industry the driver must inspect trucks for safety hazards.
