Final answer:
The health safety representative's duties include providing safety training, maintaining records of work-related injuries and illnesses, conducting tests required by OSHA standards, providing personal protective equipment, posting OSHA citations and injury summaries, and notifying OSHA of serious workplace incidents.
Step-by-step explanation:
Duties of the Health Safety Representative
The health safety representative plays a critical role in maintaining a safe working environment. Their duties include several key responsibilities that aim to protect workers from health and safety hazards. One of the primary duties is to provide safety training to workers in a language and vocabulary that they can understand, ensuring that all employees are aware of potential risks and how to avoid them.
Additionally, keeping accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses is vital for tracking purposes and identifying patterns that could lead to improved safety measures. Conducting workplace tests, such as air sampling as required by some OSHA standards, is another critical responsibility. It helps in detecting the presence of airborne hazards and assessing the quality of the workplace environment.
Furthermore, the health safety representative must ensure that workers are provided with the required personal protective equipment at no cost. They also need to facilitate medical tests such as hearing exams when mandated by OSHA standards. Posting OSHA citations and injury and illness summary data visibly for workers is part of the compliance and transparency aspects of the role.
In the event of serious workplace incidents, such as a fatality, or severe injuries leading to hospitalizations, amputations, or loss of an eye, the representative is tasked with notifying OSHA promptly. They must also ensure that the official OSHA Job Safety and Health poster is displayed prominently to educate workers on their rights and responsibilities under the OSH Act.
The overarching aim of these duties is to prevent workplace hazards by implementing effective controls and ensuring strict adherence to safety standards and regulations, thereby safeguarding workers' well-being.