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The Occupational Safety Officer is the person appointed by the employer for advising and consulting in writing and orally, on matters relating to the health and safety of employees and the prevention of work-related accidents in his/her premises.

 

Responsibilities of the Occupational Safety Officer

The Occupational Safety Officer records his written instructions in the company’s special ledger which is stamped by the Labor Inspectorate, except in the case of technical works for which the stamping is not required. In these cases, the records can be electronic. When the ledger is kept in physical form -paperback, the employer is obliged to take notice of the recorded instructions by signing in it.

The Occupational Safety Officer is required to visit the facility he has been assigned to on specific days and hours, based on a visit schedule posted to the Labor Inspectorate. Indicatively, his/her obligations include: the provision of written and oral consulting on occupational health and safety issues, the supervision of the proper use of the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), the assessment of risk and the prevention measures to be taken, the investigation of work accidents, etc.

 

The Occupational Safety Officer should in particular

a. advise on the planning, programming, construction and maintenance of facilities, the introduction of new production processes, the procurement of tools and equipment; he/she also selects the Personal Protection Equipment and checks their effectiveness, organizes and arranges positions and formats the working environment and generally organizes the production process,

b. check the safety of the installations and of the technical equipment prior to their operation, as well as of the production processes and the working methods prior to their implementation; he/she supervises also the application of health and safety measures for the employees and for the prevention of accidents, updating thereafter the relevant heads of departments or the management of the organization.

 

Which are the duties of the Occupational Safety Officer?

The Occupational Safety Officer, in his/her duties to advise the company on the safety of employees, follows a plan:

  • Every facility of the business is controlled, at predetermined dates and hours as they are ratified by the Labor Inspectorate.
  • During the visits, audits are conducted of all work areas and posts with respect to health and safety at work and the prevention of work accidents. The checks are carried out based on the current health and safety legislation.
  • He/she identifies the sources of occupational hazard and records the preventive measures to be taken to control the risk and protect the employees. Based on this information, the Written Occupational Risk Assessment for the installation is drafted, according to the provisions of Law 3850/2010.
  • Proposes the Personal Protection Equipment and supervises the proper use by the persons.
  • Prepares the instructions for safe execution of the work and communicates them to the employees.
  • Supervises the execution of fire and alarm exercises to determine the preparedness for accidents.
  • Investigates the causes of work accidents according to Article 15, §Γ of Law 3850/2010.
  • On completion of the control, he/she informs orally the employer about the findings and proposes corrective / remedial actions.
  • Records any such proposals in the special book of the installation for posting suggestions
  • The Occupational Safety Officer has the obligation to observe the business/professional secrecy.

 

Which are the advantages offered by HSWC in the Occupational Safety Officer Service?

HSWC is the leader provider of health and safety services in Greece; it possesses nationwide the largest network of professionals with the outmost expertise, to offer important advantages to its clients:

  • Continuous up-dating, training and guidance of its Occupational Safety Officers.
  • Constant support by a central specialized consulting department of the company for any issue that may arise.
  • Customized services (e.g. adapted checklists) to suit client’s specific needs.
  • Provision of summarized information by sending control reports for each facility.
  • Network of nationwide coverage.
  • Application of the most innovative practices and methods for Work Safety, alongside the international trends.
  • Use of front-line technology for data collection and data processing (big data analysis), and mainly the provision of direct and accurate information to our clients and their support wherever they are located.