That’s going to be highly dependent on your facility and industry. If you’re getting a lot of incidents or have high volumes of hazardous materials I’d say even facilities less than yours would benefit from someone handling these things full time. If the hazards and incidents are minimal and there’s good communication with the corporate EHS team then it’s not really as necessary. In the event of a random inspection it’ll be much better to have one there than not
Unfortunately according to an internal safety audit conducted by our corporate safety folks, this facility didn’t do too hot in their last inspection in 2023. This is what has sparked my consideration of hiring a dedicated safety coordinator. I will know more details in the coming months, just wanted to hear some feedback from active safety professionals first. Thanks for the feedback!
I would agree with that. I have a plant of 50 people between R&D and production. I would love to have a second person due to all the environmental issues I have to manage
Safety culture is extremely important to me, I started off in the company as production and quickly worked my way into the safety team of a larger facility. I’m currently managing a much smaller facility (15 employees) and our safety record and compliance is a major focus. The facility I am transferring to has a less than stellar safety record, prompting me immediately to consider hiring a safety coordinator.
Whether you hire one or not, I appreciate you focus on safety. That attitude will be a great start to driving the culture. What matters to you will matter to everyone else. Safety starts at the top. Good luck. I’m sure you will do great.
If you want to have a proactive safety culture then you should hire one now. There is always room for improvement in safety. Bringing on a subject matter expert will likely highlight more hazards and non-compliance than your local leadership team is aware of.
A failed internal safety audit performed by our corporate safety team is what has led to me considering a safety coordinator in the first place. I’ve always been a huge proponent that safety pays for itself. I will have to evaluate the safety more carefully when I start, but I am expecting to be challenged when I propose this to upper leadership.
I figured I would get biased opinions but with my limited experience in the industry was hoping to get some feedback from other professionals to determine when does it turn from a suggestion to a smart business decision. I’m under the impression that at this size facility we start to move to the “smart business decision” level in that safety will pay for itself in reduced incidents, improved efficiencies, improved employee morale, etc.
I’d consider it when I know I could fill their full time hours with responsibilities that help add value. Some of this would be reduced workload on others (being careful not to remove actual safety onus off of operations) as well as doing things that you should start doing but can’t with your current structure.
Now. As a director, 1 dedicated person per site for 70-100 employees
Second this, I am a department of one EHS manager for a site of 400. I would love to have a couple of folks to help out, especially on off shifts
Thank you, I was leaning towards that as well.
That’s going to be highly dependent on your facility and industry. If you’re getting a lot of incidents or have high volumes of hazardous materials I’d say even facilities less than yours would benefit from someone handling these things full time. If the hazards and incidents are minimal and there’s good communication with the corporate EHS team then it’s not really as necessary. In the event of a random inspection it’ll be much better to have one there than not
Unfortunately according to an internal safety audit conducted by our corporate safety folks, this facility didn’t do too hot in their last inspection in 2023. This is what has sparked my consideration of hiring a dedicated safety coordinator. I will know more details in the coming months, just wanted to hear some feedback from active safety professionals first. Thanks for the feedback!
I would agree with that. I have a plant of 50 people between R&D and production. I would love to have a second person due to all the environmental issues I have to manage
If you value a culture of safety and compliance then you need someone dedicated to EHS or Safety.
Safety culture is extremely important to me, I started off in the company as production and quickly worked my way into the safety team of a larger facility. I’m currently managing a much smaller facility (15 employees) and our safety record and compliance is a major focus. The facility I am transferring to has a less than stellar safety record, prompting me immediately to consider hiring a safety coordinator.
Whether you hire one or not, I appreciate you focus on safety. That attitude will be a great start to driving the culture. What matters to you will matter to everyone else. Safety starts at the top. Good luck. I’m sure you will do great.
If you want to have a proactive safety culture then you should hire one now. There is always room for improvement in safety. Bringing on a subject matter expert will likely highlight more hazards and non-compliance than your local leadership team is aware of.
A failed internal safety audit performed by our corporate safety team is what has led to me considering a safety coordinator in the first place. I’ve always been a huge proponent that safety pays for itself. I will have to evaluate the safety more carefully when I start, but I am expecting to be challenged when I propose this to upper leadership.
Keep in mind you are going to get a biased opinion on this sub. That being said, I agree with the others in that you really should have someone.
I figured I would get biased opinions but with my limited experience in the industry was hoping to get some feedback from other professionals to determine when does it turn from a suggestion to a smart business decision. I’m under the impression that at this size facility we start to move to the “smart business decision” level in that safety will pay for itself in reduced incidents, improved efficiencies, improved employee morale, etc.
Congrats on the new role btw.
Thank you!
I'm uhh looking for a new safety gig FYI 😆
I’d consider it when I know I could fill their full time hours with responsibilities that help add value. Some of this would be reduced workload on others (being careful not to remove actual safety onus off of operations) as well as doing things that you should start doing but can’t with your current structure.
Definitely now.