There are several levels of Construction Safety Manager, and they go right to the top. The chances are that the person right at the pinnacle of the equation hasn’t had any direct construction experience, so in that respect, they’re amongst the worst qualified to make decisions. That would apply if they worked in isolation, but the true test of a good Construction Safety Manager is how they use the people around them.
As I’ve said numerous times before, we have one of the most dangerous jobs around. We have to take responsibility for our actions, and their consequences on others around us, but we also need to rely onConstruction Safety Managers to ensure that the basic structure of our Health and Safety requirements are met, and we have access to everything we need to ensure we are safe.
Ultimately, that is the only real job of a Construction Safety Manager. They cannot ensure every worker is safe at all times. They cannot inspect every net every week. They can not catch everyone who falls from improper scaffolding. No, they have to facilitate our safe working practices in construction. In that respect they are no different to any other H&S official in any other workplace.
Their level of work is the only thing that separates you. Any high ranking Construction Safety Manager should ensure high quality safety routines and programs to enable ALL the on-site workers to work without fear of undue accidents. One of the key aspects of Construction Safety Manager jobs is that they require the person in question to take full responsibility for the site safety. Safety programs must be established, co-ordinated, monitored and managed by them.
Of course, this differs slightly with sub contracting, an enormously common aspect of our working lives. While the Construction Safety Manager has responsibility for the prime contracting work, a sub contractor has it upon his shoulders to show a demonstrable high quality safety plan for their work. That isn’t to say that sub contracting work doesn’t need monitoring and managing by the Construction Safety Manager. It does.
IF you have sub contractors on site, they might not always be aware of your sites rules. After all, that’s mostly why you hired them. They may be okay with their own regs, but what about general site ones?. It is the Construction Safety Manager’s job to ensure that they comply with the on-site safety regulations. This is mainly done through discussion with the sub contractor. Just think about how long a job would take if every sub contractors had to undergo long training about site safety.
Just remember that while your Construction Safety Manager may seem an annoyance at times, his job is solely to protect you. If your Construction Safety Manager isn’t doing that effectively, for whatever reason, it is your responsibility to ensure that they are reported.
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