Biggest Challenges for HSE Professionals

Biggest Challenges for HSE Professionals

I will try to cover all issues which i have experienced during my careers as a HSE Professional. As a HSE professional biggest challenges to promote the real safety culture at our organisations. As a HSE professional we all do our duty with full of honesty and with enthusiastic way but when we reached office and all of sudden anyone violated safety rules what would be your first reaction? We think that we give the trainings to workers colleagues but still they violated safety culture inside the organisations so we have to do the next to prevent violation and to create full of safety culture within our premises. Health Safety Environment professionals don't have an easy job. When they succeed nothing happens, when they fail someone gets hurt. It takes a will of steel and a huge amount of positivity to take on such a role. It’s a biggest challenge to each an individual’s safety professional but we can do,  whatever negative situations come before starting the work it should be neglect and has to do the work with full of honesty. Many of the organisations strive to promote the safety so Health safety Environment professionals face the challenges to prevent the organisations reputation & their business.

"Concern for man himself and his safety must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavours. Never forget this  in the midst of your diagrams and equations"....Albert Einsteen

Some of facts we are explaining, it would be an easy for understanding about HSE culture & what should have the responsibility of each & everyone towards promoting a good safety culture.

1. Industry HSE Scenario:

• Worker injuries, illnesses and fatalities. 4,679 workers were killed on the job in 2014 [BLS 2014 workplace fatality preliminary data] (3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) – on average, almost 90 a week or more than 13 deaths every day. Why this is happening a big questions being an HSE professionals.
• The leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites are referred to as OSHA's Focus Four. They are falls, electrocution, struck-by object, and caught-in/between. These "Fatal Four" were responsible for nearly three out of five (56 percent) construction worker deaths in 2010, BLS reports.
• 4,836 workers were killed on the job in 2015 [https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.nr0.htm] (3.4 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers) — on average, more than 93 a week or more than 13 deaths every day.

♦ Being a HSE Professionals How it is happening??? a big questions we are not doing our jobs or peoples are not following safety rules inside their premises. Most of the HSE professionals say that employees discipline will be biggest challenges we trained the employees but there is the compliance challenge of ensuring that staff will implement this training.

♦ All above issues related to safety but Environment issues must also take into the account Air Pollutions, Water Pollutions, Noise Pollutions, Generation of Hazardous waste and its recycle, reuse, flora & fauna affections, social impacts, geology impacts. We all talk about sustainable development but without compliance of Environment Rules & regulations and support of the management is it possible?? NO, it is not possible. To prevent the waste generations we should go towards recycle and reuse and follow the ZLD and to prevent the Pollutions it is the responsibility to each and everyone along with HSE professionals.

2. Government Bodies Responsibilities:

•   State Pollutions Control Boards, Central State Pollutions Control Boards, MoEF, Inspector of factories, Fire Chief of factories, Disaster Response and Fire Service Departments, Irrigations Departments, Centre Ground Water Boards etc. Governments established laws & policies and strict rules for the each and every fields but it is the responsibilities to follow these rules by the employer. Goverment bodies should take strict action by full of honesty against employers if employers violates any rules and regulations formed by the government bodies. HSE professionals should implement these rules with the help of management.HSE Professionals face challenges due to non support of management and governments bodies.

♦ I heard sometimes organisations are not promoting the safety culture and they expect that safety would be maintains because we hire competent safety officers/managers but some facts should follow by the employers for promoting safe working culture.

3. Responsibilities of Employers or Organisations:

•  Every employer should provide safe equipments, safe environment, safety PPE’s to all workers & employees.
• Employers should hire all competent and trained workers for their respective fields.
• Provide proper appropriate instructions and trainings.
• Ensure that the hours of work do not adversely affect employee’s safety and health.
• Take measures to eliminate any extreme physical and mental fatigue and many more………

4. Responsibilities of HSE professionals:

•  Provide advice and guidance on Health safety and Environment standards.
• Promoting a positive HSE culture within the organisation.
• Advising management on accident prevention.
•  Overseeing the development of adequate risk assessments.
•  Identifying the training need for employees and workers.
•  Monitoring health safety environment performance.
• Overseeing accident reporting and investigations and many more…………..

5. Responsibilities of Workers or Employees:

• Take reasonable care of their own safety and that the other people who might be affected by the thing that they do and the thing that they fail to do.
• Comply with safety instruction and procedures.
• Use all safety equipments properly.
•  Report any situation which they believe could be a hazard and which they cannot themselves correct.
•  Report any work related accident or ill health.

Workers have following rights

• The right to provided with adequate information on action the employers has taken to ensure occupational health and safety.
• The right to necessary training in occupational safety and health.
• The right to be consulted by the employers on all matters of in occupational safety and health related to work.
• The right to leave workplace which the worker has reason to think present imminent and serious danger to his or her life or health and not be compelled to return until it is safe.

Finally I conclude that being a HSE professional we should have lots of power and patience to face challenges on daily basis and we should focus only our job responsibility towards your organisation and always try to improve the Health safety and Environment culture within the organisation.