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Ensuring expert advice: the role of safety and

health professionals in a changing world

Andrew Hale

Delft University of Technology, Safety Science Group,

Delft, Netherlands

Presentation to 5th Occupational Risk Prevention Conference.

Santiago, Chile 9-11 May 2007

With thanks to Frank Guldenmund for the analyses & the many colleagues

from ISSA & ENSHPO for their work on the surveys



Overview of presentation

• Sources of information & research• Developing professions: historical roots &

changing challenges

• The road to professional recognition: legalrequirements and voluntary certification



Sources of information & research

• Historical studies of safety regulation & professionaldevelopment 1844-2007

• Development of professional training courses:networks of universities: ISSA Safety Training Sector

• ISSA surveys of qualification & certification systems

• Development of networks of safety and healthprofessional organisations (ENSHPO, INSHPO)

• ENSHPO survey of role and tasks of safetyprofessionals

• ENSHPO voluntary certification system.



Status of the safety profession

A venerable profession, but still progressing to fullmaturity and respectability

• Professional inspectors – a British invention

• 1833 working hours & conditions

• 1844 safety

• 1890s Safety museums & Institutes• 1920s Safety First movement in industry

• 1940s Associations of safety officers/professionals

• 1970s Academic courses at universities• 1970s Scientific peer reviewed journals



What defines the job of the safety

professional?• The law and regulations:

• direct legal requirements for safety inspectors and safety

practitioners• interpretation & enforcement of the law as task

• The employer as boss or as client of a consultant:

• avoiding prosecution or liability claims• commercial interests: survival, loss control

• enlightened self interest, industrial democracy

• Scientific & professional development:

• repository of exclusive knowledge & experience

• professional association claiming territory



Ages of safety

First: Technology & Law 1840s - 1970s

Second: Human factor 1910-1940 accident proneness

1965- cognitive ergonomics

Third: Management & 1985-

Interorganisational



Stages of development of safety

management systems

1. Struggle forcommitment(pathological)

2. Dedicated safety

services do the work (reactive, calculative):

3. Integration in the line.(proactive, generative)

1. Inspectors & safetyofficers as enforcers& policemen

2. Health and safety

advisers as subjectspecialists

3. Safety staff audit & monitor & act as

change agents & companyconscience



Competing professionals

Safety

Engineer

Occupational

Hygienist

HSE(Q)

Manager

Ergonomist Occupationalphysician

Occupational

health nurse

Occupational

psychologist

Risk

manager

Risk and

working

conditions

Insurance

economics

Management

Medicine

Primary

health care

Engineering

Environmental

science

Chemistry

Socio-technical

systems

Psychology

Fire

prevention

Disaster management



Clusters of professions: Netherlands 1997

Safety

Prof. Change

agent

Work &

Organisation:

Stress & Absence

Occ.

Physician

Occ.

Health

Nurse

Occ.Hygiene

Ergo.

Risk

analyst

Fire



Development of ISSA and ENSHPOsurvey of actual role and tasks of SPs

• Questionnaire aimed at understanding the depth &

frequency of tasks, hazards dealt with & network of contacts of safety professionals

• Included tasks & hazards often associated with otherprofessional groups – like occupational hygienists, risk

analysts and occupational physicians – to test overlap

• Translation and adaptation: national vocabularies andapproaches

• Distribution via professional association or trainingbody – biased sampling?



Questionnaire content

• Who are they? 8 questions (age, gender, education andtraining, experience)

• Who do they work for? 11 questions (internal/external,industry sector, full/part-time, many sites, international)

• What tasks do they do?* 83 questions (risk analysis,prevention, management, monitoring)

• What hazards do they deal with?* 31 hazards

• Who do they work or deal with?* 36 contacts(internal/external)

* How often = weekly, monthly, yearly, not yet, not part of job



Participating countries

All EU members and candidate countries invited

- Problems of establishing network contacts

- Problems of financing & analysis (volunteer’s work)

Final agreement and participation from:

• Europe: Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Italy,

Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal,UK

• Asia: Singapore

• Australia



Demographics

The safety professional is:

• Over 35 and working in a second career, but staying there

at least 10 years. All countries.• Two levels of job: higher education & middle technical

education: Av.59% graduate at bachelors level or higher

• Male dominated (Lowest Australia 71% Highest NL 96%)• Mix of full- and part-time: Av. 69% full time

• Mix of internal & external employment: Av. 61% internal



Core competences: all countries

Tasks:Compliance checks, workplace and job risk

assessments, accident investigation, personalprotective equipment, physical inspection & behaviouraudits, emergency procedures.

Hazards:

Machinery safety, physical work/posture, human error,noise, lighting.

Contacts:

Employees, line and top management, maintenance,government inspectors.



Core competencies: 8 out of 11countries

Tasks:

Training/information/motivation, safety managementand safety culture, annual plan & report.

Hazards

Dangerous materials, fire & explosion, electricity,vehicles, work at computers.

ContactsProfessional H&S colleagues, employee representation,

quality, finance, fire service.



Differentiation: 3-7 countries with amajority dealing with:

Tasks:

Design involvement, sustainability, performanceindicators, document & audit SMS, emergency drills,permits to work.

Hazards:

Occupational disease, vibration, biological,environmental/external, workload/stress/bullying, road& transport.

Contacts:Lawyers, trades unions, specialists/consultants



Minority tasks in most, if not allcountries.

• Peripheral tasks :

Cost-benefit, insurance and compensation tasks,maintenance planning, environmental policy.Radiation, subsidence/collapse, violence, productsafety, third party safety.

Policy makers & planners, standards/certificationbodies, insurers, employers/industry bodies.

• Niche involvement :National level activities, first aid/fire brigade, keeping

sickness statistics, expert witness



A task of Sisyphus

Where you need contacts andhelp

Project teams,

sounding boards,working groups



Broad conclusions

• There is a broadly shared international profile of the

safety professional, with a common core competence,but with nuances per country, or safety tradition. Thisforms the basis for European certification by ENSHPO

• The safety profession is one of broad generalists with

knowledge extending far into the fields of risk management, occupational hygiene and ergonomics

• They are increasingly needing and getting competencein management, organisational change and the ethics

of their profession



More information?

www.enshpo.org

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