In the real world the term
"safety engineering" refers to any act of
accident prevention by a person qualified in the
field.
To perform their
professional functions, safety
engineering professionals must
have education, training and
experience in a common body of
knowledge. They need to have a
fundamental knowledge of
science, engineering, business,
communications, and psychology.
Professional safety studies
include industrial hygiene and
toxicology, design of
engineering hazard controls,
fire protection, ergonomics,
safety and health program
management, accident
investigation and analysis,
measurement of safety
performance, human behavior,
environmental safety and health,
health and environmental laws,
regulation and standards.
Many safety
engineers have backgrounds or
advanced study in other
disciplines, such as management
and business administration,
engineering, education, physical
and social sciences and other
fields. Others have advanced
study in safety. This extends
their expertise beyond the
basics of the safety engineering
profession
Engineers may encounter
situations that have the potential to be
dangerous. Examples of such situations include
presence of high voltages, high
temperatures, high velocities, toxic chemicals,
and large amounts of energy.
An engineer carries a serious
responsibility when designing or supervising a
project, because failure to act to correct a
dangerous situation or failure to follow a code
or a standard is a professional misconduct.
Some General Guidelines to
Deal with Hazards
Identify the hazard
Try to eliminate the cause of the
hazard
If the hazard cannot be
eliminated, then actions should be taken to
reduce it or protect the workers and public from
its consequences.
More information about safety
from
Canadian Society of Safety Engineering
