Quote:
Originally Posted by DoughBoy
One of our members became safety officer and they want to know what you think is the responsibility of the safety officer.
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As a former UL Safety Adviser at a few regionals let me say that's the wrong question.
The right question is what is the
authority of the safety officer/captain.
If you want to know what the UL safety advisers are looking for, they're looking for teams that have gone beyond reading the safety manual and buying a box of baking soda. They're looking for evidence of an actual safety culture within the team and that's demonstrated as much or more by actions than by signs.
One of those biggest signs of a culture of safety is that your safety officer can tell me about when she (it's far too often a freshman girl who didn't know she was safety officer until that morning) intervened when another team member of mentor engaged in unsafe behavior.
Which brings me back around to my point, the difference between responsibility and authority. You can make someone "responsible" for safety, but unless you've given them authority to change team culture and behavior you haven't done anything.
And that authority, more than any prepared book, tests you require team members to take or rules is what demonstrates a real proactive culture of safety.