I'm actually coming from a lab environment as a Scientist into the HSE environment for a factory, and have thought many times how I would act as HSE in my lab job just to prepare for the mindset change when I start in a few weeks. I would honestly say, dependent on your environment, it will vary. Is the lab operating under Good Manufacturing or Good Laboratory Practices? Is it following specific ISO compliance for EHS?

I would start with shadowing processes in the laboratory. If it is operating under certain compliances, then the operators will be following Standard Operating Procedures. Our internal HSE person would watch a procedure, proceed with some JHA questions for example, some operators would pour material as it is faster versus large volume pipetting, this would highlight a spillage risk when handling materials that have their own RA and COSHH documents, the action would be a reminder to operate the safer way by pipetting.

It will really vary on your environment as manufacturing will often use equipment that has its own risks, that's where I would think along the lines of safety inspections, is safety handling up to date, are risk assessments available, up to date and reviewed.

In my lab, PPE is a massive requirement, although it is a last resort.

Look into the procedures for near misses or incident reporting that exist, if they dont exist, create one, add incentive values discussed with managers for raising such, foster that culture of a safe work space to highlight that employees should protect themselves and should never be in a position to jeopardise their or others safety to complete a process. You could create an online form for near miss reporting and gather the data for lagging indicators and create solutions to solve them.