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A construction safety engineer ensures all workers at a job site are safe. For example, they ensure a site follows safety processes to include the proper use of protective gear. This video discusses the safety engineering field.
How to Become a Construction Safety Engineer
Employers look for construction safety engineers that have a bachelor’s degree in engineering from an accredited program. Because of this, you will want to research programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Additionally, your bachelor’s program should include courses in advanced math, physics, and various engineering courses. From there, you may start gaining experience as an engineer before learning more about the specialized field of safety engineering.
A construction safety engineer would be expected to have a blend of experience in engineering and safety, though an employer may consider master’s level courses as a substitute for experience. Employers will look for candidates that understand safety engineering, compliance, and how to investigate accidents.
Job Description of a Construction Safety Engineer
A construction safety engineer is responsible to inspect instruction sites to look for hazards that could injure those on the worksite and recommend ways to improve the safety of the work environment. The work environment includes all areas of a work site and could include scaffolding, weight bearing structures, PPE (personal protective gear), and even the processes workers follow on a job site. Basically, these engineers are vital in ensuring that safety standards and regulations are met and that any violations discovered are corrected. They create reports on their findings so that action can be taken to make a site safer for all.
Industrial Safety Health Engineer Career Video Transcript
Even with workplace regulations to protect workers, many jobs carry an element of risk. Industrial safety and health engineers are responsible for using engineering tools and technology to make places that are dangerous to work at as safe as possible. These engineers promote worksite and product safety to avoid hazards from a variety of sources: chemical, physical, biological, and even psychological. They are always on the lookout for new ways to predict and prevent hazardous conditions and when they do occur, control them with safety measures.
Industrial safety and health engineers work with other public health and safety workers to coordinate efforts, often teaming up to investigate industrial accidents and injuries, find their cause, and prevent future problems. While they spend time in the office to plan new and improved safety programs, these engineers also travel to worksites to evaluate machinery and environments and to train workers in safety and emergency procedures. Many of these positions require a four-year college degree in engineering, along with work related experience. For these engineers, maintaining safer, healthier workplaces keeps American industry industrious.
Article Citations
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Construction Safety Engineer.
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