Roles and Responsibilities of a WSHO

Workplace Safety and Health Officers (WSHOs) are responsible under the WSH (Workplace Safety and Health Officers) Regulations for fulfilling the following duties:

• Risk identification and assessment — Assist the workplace occupier or person in charge in identifying and assessing foreseeable risks arising from the workplace or its work processes.

• Risk elimination —  Recommend reasonably practicable measures to eliminate foreseeable risks to workers and others affected by the workplace undertaking.

• Risk minimisation and control — Where elimination is not reasonably practicable, recommend measures to minimise the risk and safe work procedures to control it.

• Implementation —  Assist the occupier or person in charge in implementing the recommended risk elimination, minimisation, or control measures and safe work procedures.

WSHOs thus play critical roles in enabling workplace occupiers to develop and implement systems to manage workplace safety and health risks, and drive WSH initiatives in the workplace. These may include:

• Leading risk assessment teams to identify workplace risks and implement control measures. 
• Implementing incident reporting processes at the workplace. 
• Investigating workplace incidents to identify root causes and recommending corrective and preventive measures. 
• Developing, implementing, or maintaining WSH management systems, including the WSHMS components (not limited to the listed): 
  • WSH inspection regime 
  • Maintenance regimes and occupational health programs 
  • Safety training and promotion 
  • Emergency preparedness and response 
  • Contractor selection, evaluation and control 
  • Control of movement and use of hazardous chemicals. 
• Conducting internal audits on WSH management systems, excluding purely administrative document preparation. 
• Serving as an assessor for permit-to-work systems. 
• Serving as the secretary of a workplace safety and health committee. 
• Proposing WSH initiatives and programmes to management to drive a strong safety culture and adopt best WSH practices.