What does a safety assistant do?
Safety assistants help safety managers create and execute safety protocols. Typical duties include examining work areas, locating hazardous elements as well as keeping up with safety manuals and guidelines. Also, they interview injured employees, maintain first aid centers, and probe work safety incidents. Additionally, they direct regular audits with safety mentors to make certain that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) policies and procedures are followed. Primary job qualifications include knowledge in safety protocols, detail-oriented, organizational skills, teamwork, and time management. Another important requirement in this field is training in occupational hazards.
Safety assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real safety assistant resumes:
- Maintain and manage training records relate to MSHA compliance, ATF compliance and company-requir training.
- Manage and facilitate extensive Safety/Security and HAZMAT training for all personnel.
- Assist patients with daily hygiene, also assist nurses with patients periodically; distributing medication and direct observation
- Work as one-to-one patient safety assistant worker providing supervision to patients who suffer from physical, mental and psychological conditions.
- Organize CPR trainings and hearing tests for employees.
- Train in the use of the Autopulse CPR machine.
- Inspect all electrical tools, extension cords, ladders, etc.
- Assist in planning, developing, scheduling, and delivering EHS education training programs.
- Develop and administers programs that educate employees on, and ensure compliance with (OSHA) and other government agencies.
- Maintain compliance with OSHA, emergency action plan, fire prevention, hazard communication, and personal protective equipment programs.
- Organize annual EHS coordinators conference, including international travel, and accommodations.
- Establish rapport with rig managers and personnel to enhance investigations of identify safety concerns and take appropriate corrective action.
- Ensure electrical safety, machine guarding and LOTO requirements.
- Perform field monitoring as needed, walk down blinding points, LOTO, first line breaks, and all turnaround functions.
- Escort MSHA officers on official inspections of the mine.
Safety assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Safety Assistants are proficient in Patients, Patient Care, and Patient Safety. They’re also known for soft skills such as Ability to use technology, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Safety Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 21%
Worked as one-to-one patient safety assistant worker providing supervision to patients who suffered from physical, mental and psychological conditions.
- Patient Care, 11%
Communicated patient status effectively with nurse/CNA assigned to patient care.
- Patient Safety, 10%
Maintain trial filing and tracking system in order to ensure timely reporting of patient safety information to regulatory authorities.
- CPR, 8%
Scheduled all annual retraining for employees and scheduled all other First Aid, CPR and EMT training.
- OSHA, 5%
Ensured telecommunication technicians utilized safety equipment according to OSHA Guidelines.
- Safety Audits, 4%
Conducted physical inventory audits for chemicals and safety audits for laboratories.
"patients," "patient care," and "patient safety" are among the most common skills that safety assistants use at work. You can find even more safety assistant responsibilities below, including:
Ability to use technology. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a safety assistant to have is ability to use technology. Their role and responsibilities require that "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to use advanced technology." Safety assistants often use ability to use technology in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "responded to emergency situations such as intoxicated students, and called ambulances as needed. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling safety assistant duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to communicate safety instructions and concerns to employees and managers." According to a safety assistant resume, here's how safety assistants can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "maintained management of hazardous materials and a hazardous communication program. "
Detail oriented. safety assistants are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to safety assistant responsibilities, because "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians need to understand and follow safety standards and complex government regulations." A safety assistant resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "assist in re-orienting confused/disoriented patients as needed. "
Physical stamina. A big part of what safety assistants do relies on "physical stamina." You can see how essential it is to safety assistant responsibilities because "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to stand for long periods and be able to travel regularly." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical safety assistant tasks: "scheduled dot physicals and maintained all paperwork associated with government trucking regulations. "
Problem-solving skills. A commonly-found skill in safety assistant job descriptions, "problem-solving skills" is essential to what safety assistants do. Safety assistant responsibilities rely on this skill because "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to solve problems in order to design and implement workplace processes and procedures that help protect workers from hazardous conditions." You can also see how safety assistant duties rely on problem-solving skills in this resume example: "company supplied new system to manage safety data sheet (msds online a velocity ehs solution). "
The three companies that hire the most safety assistants are:
- Turner Construction14 safety assistants jobs
- Parkview Health12 safety assistants jobs
- The Henry Ford11 safety assistants jobs
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Compare different safety assistants
Safety assistant vs. Environmental health specialist
An Environmental Health Specialist is responsible for determining the existence of possible health hazards and taking measures to prevent or corect them. They monitor health and safety conditions in resedential, industrial, commercial, and recreational settings.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a safety assistant are more likely to require skills like "patients," "patient care," "patient safety," and "cpr." On the other hand, a job as an environmental health specialist requires skills like "environmental health," "public health," "risk assessments," and "regulatory agencies." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Environmental health specialists really shine in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $62,998. Comparatively, safety assistants tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $41,586.The education levels that environmental health specialists earn slightly differ from safety assistants. In particular, environmental health specialists are 7.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a safety assistant. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Safety assistant vs. Public health internship
A public health internship provides students with a great learning opportunity to put into practice those educational principles and skills learned in the classroom. They will gain a better understanding and appreciation for the duties and responsibilities of full-time professionals in public health. This exposure will provide students with leadership skills and professional development learning opportunities. In addition, students have an opportunity to contribute to various health-related agencies and organizations. The internship location should be at a primary public health agency whose work reflects the best in the industry.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that safety assistant responsibilities requires skills like "patient care," "patient safety," "cpr," and "dot." But a public health internship might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "environmental health," "public health," "risk assessments," and "epa."
Public health interns earn higher levels of education than safety assistants in general. They're 10.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Safety assistant vs. Health specialist
A health specialist is primarily responsible for the health and welfare care of patients in a community or medical facility. They are also responsible for providing consultations, conducting assessments and examinations, providing prescriptions, and recommending care methods. A health specialist may also diagnose and treat ailments and injuries, coordinate with other health experts, and discuss conditions with patients and their families. Furthermore, a health specialist may participate in public discussions to raise awareness of health issues and lifestyles.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, safety assistants are more likely to have skills like "patient safety," "safety audits," "dot," and "safety standards." But a health specialist is more likely to have skills like "health education," "public health," "data collection," and "veterans."
Health specialists earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $56,603. Comparatively, safety assistants have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $41,586.health specialists typically earn higher educational levels compared to safety assistants. Specifically, they're 10.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Safety assistant vs. Health and safety coordinator
A health and safety coordinator is responsible for identifying the potential safety risks of an organization, recommending solutions to mitigate hazards that may affect the company's operational performance and productivity. Health and safety coordinators inspect the safety and security of the facilities, including the production tools, equipment, and machinery, and analyze findings to develop procedures that would eliminate work-related threats. They also facilitate safety training and programs for the employees, as well as emergency drills and reiteration of safety policies and protocols for strict compliance.
Types of safety assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
