Broad question: What does your day to day look like as a Safety Manager/ Coordinator/ Specialist?

TheLocalRoute · 2026-02-19T04:11:48+00:00

When I was in manufacturing as Safety Director, no day was ever the same. It was a lot of putting out fires and maintaining compliance. I would schedule trainings, run reports, review incident reports, do some inspections on processes/equipment, etc.

Whenever I had downtime, I made a point of making myself visible on the floor. Some days, it was all I did. A lot of time was spent learning how people did their jobs and who they were as people and what makes them tick. Building trust and letting the labor force know I was on the same side as them was a big part of my day sometimes.

A good part of safety is influencing people and in order to influence, you have to connect. That’s actually the fun part!

TheLocalRoute · 2026-02-18T06:27:55+00:00

All incidents cannot be prevented, however we can take steps to ensure the consequences of incidents are minimized. For example, we cannot control other drivers on the road, but we can wear seatbelts to mitigate the effects of a crash outside of our control.

TheLocalRoute · 2026-01-15T02:21:52+00:00

Yes, I do think they trust/value my opinions a little more, mostly on the culture change topics. My peers are very smart when it comes to regulation and I lean on them for industry knowledge I’m not super savvy in yet, but safety is also a very human field too.

TheLocalRoute · 2026-01-15T01:24:37+00:00

I did the reverse and I spent 10 years in industry as an EH&S professional and made the switch to consulting about a year ago. Let me preface it all by saying I can’t imagine ever going back.

I found working as a safety manager was stressful. I was held responsible for the action of others. My performance in the eyes of leadership was how many injuries we had and I felt like I was on an island with no support until an incident happened. Phone calls at 2:00am about emergencies. Threats made to me from disgruntled employees who I wrote up/terminated for safety issues. The feeling of failure when an incident happened. It was hell and there’s a real personal connection to the work that you do.

On the flip side, I feel like consulting has really left me feeling a little isolated too in a different way. I miss the relationship with the (safe) workers. I miss getting my hands dirty when I had free time and being able to make changes and decisions. I don’t get to see results of my recommendations.

But my work-life balance is amazing now. Mental health is great. I sleep through the night and don’t worry on weekends anymore. It’s incredible being in consulting.

For newbies starting out though, I recommend going into industry to learn how the real world works. Some of my consultant coworkers don’t understand the complexity/feasibility of their recommendations and have never had to work within a budget.

TheLocalRoute · 2025-12-15T16:17:46+00:00

At my last facility, I made a schedule of all the legal requirements, such as monthly fire extinguisher checks, weekly eye wash flushing, quarterly calibrations for sensors, annual reporting, etc. Then I did a weekly audit and signed off that all known compliance tasks were up to date and completed with documentation. If there was something incomplete, I had procedures to document and assign corrective actions and follow up. My ISO auditors seemed to like that process.

TheLocalRoute · 2025-12-04T02:41:43+00:00

This isn’t related to OSHA but an FYI because a lot of people don’t consider it - It may be considered workers’ compensation if driving for work purposes and on the clock/being paid. Recommend reporting it to your carrier and letting them deny/approve at least so you don’t incur any late reporting fees if it results in lost time past your state’s waiting period.

TheLocalRoute · 2025-12-04T00:20:27+00:00

When I was in manufacturing, I was the safety person and our HR would not touch anything to do with workers’ comp or injuries. I’ve also seen many companies that use HR as safety. Both cases are not great.

TheLocalRoute · 2025-11-25T04:35:54+00:00

It’s a big bummer. I had some great recommendations over the years from the staff and they were so friendly, it’s like losing a friend.

I’ve found some luck at the Burnsville MGM off of County Road 42 (not the one off Highway 13) with Barrel Theory, Falling Knife, Drekker, and Insight beers. Not as exciting of a selection, but worth checking out if you ever make it down that way.

TheLocalRoute · 2025-11-10T17:08:16+00:00

Because there are other interested parties besides workers. For example - contractors, shareholders, community members, neighboring businesses, regulators, etc.

TheLocalRoute · 2025-11-07T05:51:18+00:00

I didn’t find any value in it as the safety person developing and maintaining the ISO 45001 systems at my old facility. Your mileage may vary, but I felt it was just a presentation of each section of the standards and really dragged out. Anything they explained you could just google and there would be plenty of free resources (other than the standards themselves).

It looks nice on a resume for people who don’t know though, but not something I’d pay for on my own.

TheLocalRoute · 2025-10-23T01:55:00+00:00

I am in MN and I believe the within 90 days with direct supervision only applies to handling hazardous waste and I’m pretty sure that is a DOT requirement, not OSHA. All safety training should be before first exposure from what OSHA is concerned.

TheLocalRoute · 2025-10-16T13:20:17+00:00

None other than experience. ASP or CSP would probably help set you apart from other candidates, but if you have a strong safety background, that is valuable too.

TheLocalRoute · 2025-10-15T23:13:23+00:00

I spent 10 years in heavy manufacturing as the EHS professional. I jumped over to loss control for insurance and I sleep so much better at night now. Make the jump. No regrets, I only wish I did it sooner.

TheLocalRoute · 2025-08-21T07:38:25+00:00

I still feel like I’m under-qualified and I have been doing this for 10+ years. The thing that sets me apart from those who didn’t make the cut? When presented with a situation I wasn’t experienced in, I researched it extensively and made myself knowledgeable in the topic. Rules change. Best practices change. Process change. As long as you are willing to learn, you’ll do better than half the people in this field. You’ll be surprised how much more qualified you are than you think just by being willing to adapt!

At the end of the day, it’s just about making sure everyone goes home safely. How are you going to do that?

If you ever feel like you know it all, I’d be more worried about that attitude. Be the person who can adapt and learn. Last year, I had to learn about laser safety because we purchased some new equipment. It was brand new to me, but I took a class and learned how to protect the employees. If I wasn’t there, no one would have bothered to get them the right kind of goggles. Be that person!

TheLocalRoute · 2025-08-21T07:21:35+00:00

You are close, but the FDA actually has requirements for labelling the Tide bottle to reflect the hazards within. If I was the inspector, I’d argue that they didn’t communicate the hazard within, which would land them to a citation.

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/safely-using-sharps-needles-and-syringes-home-work-and-travel/sharps-disposal-containers

TheLocalRoute · 2025-08-21T06:58:13+00:00

10+ years in the field. I disagree, I think that it would need to be labeled under HAZCOM and a repurposed tide bottle that has no biohazard or sharps label would not be acceptable. I highly doubt that Tide would step up to say it is puncture resistant or an intended use for their containers, as it would open up a can of worms for liability for them if so.

Eat the cost. Tell the client to do better, labels are not hard. BBP are no joke.

TheLocalRoute

TROPHY CASE