What is a Safety Consultant?

What is a Safety Consultant

A safety consultant is a recognised safety professional who specialises in providing advice and guidance on safety issues to businesses to improve safety outcomes. They assist businesses to create and maintain safe working environments by conducting whole or targeted workplace assessments, recommending improvements to safety policies and procedures, and providing safety training to employees.

The Safety consultant may also be called on to assist with the investigation of high-risk outcome accidents and incidents to determine the root causes and recommend corrective action. They are unrestrained by hierarchical issues and are trained to question every level of a business. They work to protect workers and customers alike, helping to ensure that everyone remains safe and healthy in the workplace.

First and foremost, the safety consultant has a task to provide an unbiased, objective perspective. They are capable of the risks of a work environment and interrogate safety systems to ensure that they are current, effective, and compliant with industry standards. This can be especially helpful in complex or high-risk industries, as consultants can identify and anticipate potential hazards that may not be obvious to the untrained eye.

Risks of not engaging a ‘Qualified’ and ‘Certified’ Safety Professional

As a highly trained professional the safety consultant specialise in workplace safety and health. There are many ‘safety specialists’ in this field that provide services without a thorough understanding of the legislative requirements, standards, and other laws that govern businesses or how to properly implement them in the workplace. Often these are people who believe that safety is just ‘common sense’ and usually are employed due to a vacancy in a business that needs to be filled.

In these instances, the business relies on the advice and assistance only to see the program fail or worse. Often this is when a specialist is called in to assist the business back on track. The safety consultant should have relevant safety certifications issued through the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (AIHS) and Auditing certifications issues by Exemplar Global for providing any advice that affects the business. The AIHS certification proves their level of knowledge and commitment to maintaining or improving that knowledge and Exemplar Global confirms the safety consultant knowledge and skills of completing a safety audit is maintained to the highest level.

In some instances, the Business has a safety specialist on staff and these people are responsible for setting up and monitoring safety protocols, as well as providing risk assessments and training for employees. They also investigate accidents and incidents to identify areas of improvement and to recommend corrective measures. Often mentoring the remainder of the safety team to assist in improving their skills and knowledge set.

The Safety Consultant as an employee in a business.

Safety consultants are often employed by companies to work alongside their safety and health team. They provide advice on issues such as hazard assessment and control, emergency preparedness and response, and the implementation of safety procedures. They are also involved in the development of safety plans, policies, and procedures, as well as the design and implementation of safety training programs.

Safety consultants are essential for any business or organisation that wants to ensure that its employees and customers are safe and healthy. By providing expert advice and guidance, they can help to create a safe and healthy workplace, while also helping complete safety audits of the systems.

How does the Safety Consultant provide cost savings to businesses?

The process of reducing the risk of workplace accidents, can result in fewer workers’ compensation claims, decreased employee absenteeism, and fewer liability claims. The Safety consultant advice on these topics to provide cost savings to businesses. They can also help ensure that a business is compliant with all relevant safety regulations, which can help avoid costly fines and damage to reputation or brand. Additionally, safety consultants can provide guidance and assistance in creating a safety culture within the workplace, which can help to reduce the overall costs associated with workplace accidents by engaging with workers and health and safety representatives to build trust and compliance.

The Consultant can assist with the creation of a Safety Management system to drive improvements in the organisation. Organisations should have a Safety Management System to assist in ensuring risks such as these to not eventuate or are kept low. We have more information on the Safety Management System we support (Safety Direct^tm) and the various function it can perform for your organisation.

So, why engage a qualified safety consult to provide professional advice?

Engaging a safety consultant can help your businesses save money by providing resources to help create an effective safety management system. This can include providing guidance on the development of safety policies, procedures, and programs, as well as assisting in the implementation of these systems. This can help to reduce the risk of workplace accidents and ensure that businesses are compliant with all relevant safety regulations. This cost savings the safety consultant can bring to a business’s reduces the costs associated with workplace accidents and ensure that their employees remain safe and productive.

If you are interested in our WHS Consultancy services, you can contact David, Andrew or Mark to discuss your Health and Safety Issues.

We have qualified and certified Safety Consultants that can assist you in your business and offer a range of WHS consulting services including completing safety audits, along with general and specific health and safety training courses.

Contact us today for an obligation free quote on any of our services.