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Date: 04/04/2025

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

Review, evaluate, and analyze work environments and design programs and procedures to control, eliminate, and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, and biological agents or ergonomic factors. May conduct inspections and enforce adherence to laws and regulations governing the health and safety of individuals. May be employed in the public or private sector.

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  • Work Activities
  • Skills
  • WorkKeys®
  • Abilities
  • Knowledge
  • Career Video
  • Pay
  • Ohio Employment Trends
  • Typical Education
  • Personality
  • Tools
  • Technology
  • Tags
  • Maintain inventories of hazardous materials or hazardous wastes, using waste tracking systems to ensure that materials are handled properly.
  • Develop or maintain hygiene programs, such as noise surveys, continuous atmosphere monitoring, ventilation surveys, or asbestos management plans.
  • Collaborate with engineers or physicians to institute control or remedial measures for hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions or equipment.
  • Conduct audits at hazardous waste sites or industrial sites or participate in hazardous waste site investigations.
  • Conduct safety training or education programs and demonstrate the use of safety equipment.
  • Analyze incident data to identify trends in injuries, illnesses, accidents, or other hazards.
  • Provide new-employee health and safety orientations and develop materials for these presentations.
  • Inspect or evaluate workplace environments, equipment, or practices to ensure compliance with safety standards and government regulations.
  • Analyze incident data to identify trends in injuries, illnesses, accidents, or other hazards.
  • Develop or maintain medical monitoring programs for employees.
  • Conduct audits at hazardous waste sites or industrial sites or participate in hazardous waste site investigations.
  • Investigate health-related complaints and inspect facilities to ensure that they comply with public health legislation and regulations.
  • Maintain inventories of hazardous materials or hazardous wastes, using waste tracking systems to ensure that materials are handled properly.
  • Inspect specified areas to ensure the presence of fire prevention equipment, safety equipment, or first-aid supplies.
  • Investigate the adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, or other conditions that could affect employee health, comfort, or performance.
  • Maintain or update emergency response plans or procedures.
  • Analyze incident data to identify trends in injuries, illnesses, accidents, or other hazards.
  • Collaborate with engineers or physicians to institute control or remedial measures for hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions or equipment.
  • Write reports.
  • Write reports.
  • Coordinate "right-to-know" programs regarding hazardous chemicals or other substances.
  • Collect samples of hazardous materials or arrange for sample collection.
  • Perform laboratory analyses or physical inspections of samples to detect disease or to assess purity or cleanliness.
  • Provide new-employee health and safety orientations and develop materials for these presentations.
  • Recommend measures to help protect workers from potentially hazardous work methods, processes, or materials.

Work Activities

Work Activities

  • Maintain inventories of hazardous materials or hazardous wastes, using waste tracking systems to ensure that materials are handled properly.
  • Develop or maintain hygiene programs, such as noise surveys, continuous atmosphere monitoring, ventilation surveys, or asbestos management plans.
  • Collaborate with engineers or physicians to institute control or remedial measures for hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions or equipment.
  • Conduct audits at hazardous waste sites or industrial sites or participate in hazardous waste site investigations.
  • Conduct safety training or education programs and demonstrate the use of safety equipment.
  • Analyze incident data to identify trends in injuries, illnesses, accidents, or other hazards.
  • Provide new-employee health and safety orientations and develop materials for these presentations.
  • Inspect or evaluate workplace environments, equipment, or practices to ensure compliance with safety standards and government regulations.
  • Analyze incident data to identify trends in injuries, illnesses, accidents, or other hazards.
  • Develop or maintain medical monitoring programs for employees.
  • Conduct audits at hazardous waste sites or industrial sites or participate in hazardous waste site investigations.
  • Investigate health-related complaints and inspect facilities to ensure that they comply with public health legislation and regulations.
  • Maintain inventories of hazardous materials or hazardous wastes, using waste tracking systems to ensure that materials are handled properly.
  • Inspect specified areas to ensure the presence of fire prevention equipment, safety equipment, or first-aid supplies.
  • Investigate the adequacy of ventilation, exhaust equipment, lighting, or other conditions that could affect employee health, comfort, or performance.
  • Maintain or update emergency response plans or procedures.
  • Analyze incident data to identify trends in injuries, illnesses, accidents, or other hazards.
  • Collaborate with engineers or physicians to institute control or remedial measures for hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions or equipment.
  • Write reports.
  • Write reports.
  • Coordinate "right-to-know" programs regarding hazardous chemicals or other substances.
  • Collect samples of hazardous materials or arrange for sample collection.
  • Perform laboratory analyses or physical inspections of samples to detect disease or to assess purity or cleanliness.
  • Provide new-employee health and safety orientations and develop materials for these presentations.
  • Recommend measures to help protect workers from potentially hazardous work methods, processes, or materials.

Skills

  • Troubleshooting

    Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

  • Time Management

    Managing your time and the time of other people.

  • Critical Thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • Technology Design

    Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

  • Reading Comprehension

    Reading work-related information.

  • Learning Strategies

    Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

  • Operation and Control

    Using equipment or systems.

  • Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

  • Programming

    Writing computer programs.

  • Active Listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • Coordination

    Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

  • Operations Analysis

    Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

  • Mathematics

    Using math to solve problems.

  • Operations Monitoring

    Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

  • Equipment Maintenance

    Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

  • Management of Financial Resources

    Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

  • Repairing

    Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

  • Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

  • Social Perceptiveness

    Understanding people's reactions.

  • Science

    Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

  • Complex Problem Solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • Equipment Selection

    Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

  • Quality Control Analysis

    Testing how well a product or service works.

  • Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • Management of Personnel Resources

    Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

  • Systems Evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

  • Active Learning

    Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

  • Negotiation

    Bringing people together to solve differences.

  • Judgment and Decision Making

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

  • Management of Material Resources

    Managing equipment and materials.

  • Systems Analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

  • Installation

    Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

  • Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • Service Orientation

    Looking for ways to help people.

WorkKeys®

Applied Math
N/A
Workplace Documents
N/A
Graphic Literacy
N/A

Abilities

  • Oral Comprehension

    Listening and understanding what people say.

  • Static Strength

    Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

  • Visualization

    Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

  • Rate Control

    Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

  • Oral Expression

    Communicating by speaking.

  • Manual Dexterity

    Holding or moving items with your hands.

  • Far Vision

    Seeing details that are far away.

  • Depth Perception

    Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

  • Dynamic Flexibility

    Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

  • Peripheral Vision

    Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

  • Speech Recognition

    Recognizing spoken words.

  • Dynamic Strength

    Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

  • Trunk Strength

    Using your lower back and stomach.

  • Gross Body Coordination

    Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

  • Extent Flexibility

    Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

  • Speech Clarity

    Speaking clearly.

  • Stamina

    Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

  • Gross Body Equilibrium

    Keeping your balance or staying upright.

  • Sound Localization

    Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

  • Wrist-Finger Speed

    Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

  • Arm-Hand Steadiness

    Keeping your arm or hand steady.

  • Response Orientation

    Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

  • Reaction Time

    Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

  • Problem Sensitivity

    Noticing when problems happen.

  • Information Ordering

    Ordering or arranging things.

  • Inductive Reasoning

    Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

  • Flexibility of Closure

    Seeing hidden patterns.

  • Selective Attention

    Paying attention to something without being distracted.

  • Speed of Closure

    Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

  • Written Expression

    Communicating by writing.

  • Originality

    Creating new and original ideas.

  • Category Flexibility

    Grouping things in different ways.

  • Deductive Reasoning

    Using rules to solve problems.

  • Spatial Orientation

    Knowing where things are around you.

  • Mathematical Reasoning

    Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

  • Written Comprehension

    Reading and understanding what is written.

  • Number Facility

    Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

  • Control Precision

    Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

  • Night Vision

    Seeing at night or under low light.

  • Near Vision

    Seeing details up close.

  • Glare Sensitivity

    Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

  • Hearing Sensitivity

    Telling the difference between sounds.

  • Auditory Attention

    Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

  • Explosive Strength

    Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

  • Visual Color Discrimination

    Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

  • Memorization

    Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

  • Speed of Limb Movement

    Quickly moving your arms and legs.

  • Perceptual Speed

    Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • Time Sharing

    Doing two or more things at the same time.

  • Multilimb Coordination

    Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

  • Fluency of Ideas

    Coming up with lots of ideas.

  • Finger Dexterity

    Putting together small parts with your fingers.

Knowledge

  • Law and Government

    Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

  • Biology

    Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

  • Medicine and Dentistry

    Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

  • Therapy and Counseling

    Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

  • Telecommunications

    Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • Mathematics

    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

  • Communications and Media

    Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

  • History and Archeology

    Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

  • Sales and Marketing

    Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • Geography

    Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

  • Administrative

    Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

  • Administration and Management

    Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

  • Engineering and Technology

    Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

  • Education and Training

    Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • Public Safety and Security

    Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

  • Food Production

    Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

  • Psychology

    Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

  • Design

    Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

  • Computers and Electronics

    Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • Customer and Personal Service

    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

  • Personnel and Human Resources

    Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

  • Transportation

    Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

  • Philosophy and Theology

    Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

  • Sociology and Anthropology

    Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

  • Physics

    Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

  • Mechanical

    Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • Economics and Accounting

    Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

  • Fine Arts

    Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

  • Production and Processing

    Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

  • Building and Construction

    Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

  • English Language

    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • Foreign Language

    Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

  • Chemistry

    Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Career Video

Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

Pay

  • Typical Salary
  • $120,010
    $76,960
    $47,840
    Ohio
    US
    $128,040
    $81,140
    $49,550
  • Typical Hourly Wage
  • $58
    $37
    $23
    Ohio
    US
    $62
    $39
    $24

Ohio Employment Trends

  • Currently Employed 5,760
  • Yearly Projected Openings 630

Typical Education

Personality

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.They do well at jobs that need:
  • Integrity
  • Attention to Detail
  • Concern for Others
  • Dependability
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Cooperation

Tools

  • Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
  • Air pollutant samplers
  • Air samplers or collectors
  • Air sampling pumps
  • Air velocity and temperature monitors
  • Anemometers
  • Audiometers
  • Barometers
  • Chemical absorption gas analyzers
  • Chromatographic detectors
  • Colorimeters
  • Compressed air gun
  • Decontamination shower
  • Desktop computers
  • Dissolved oxygen meters
  • Dosimeters
  • Eyewashers or eye wash stations
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Flame ionization analyzers
  • Flowmeters
  • Gamma counters
  • Gas chromatographs
  • Gas detector tubes
  • Gas detectors
  • Geiger counters
  • Goggles
  • Handheld thermometer
  • Hazardous material protective apparel
  • Laboratory balances
  • Laboratory flasks
  • Leak testing equipment
  • Liquid leak detectors
  • Lux or light meter
  • Manometers
  • Medical tape measures
  • Moisture meters
  • Multi gas monitors
  • Notebook computers
  • Pasteur or transfer pipettes
  • Peristaltic pumps
  • Personal computers
  • Photometer
  • Pressure indicators
  • Psychrometers
  • Respiration air supplying self contained breathing apparatus or accessories
  • Respirators
  • Rotameters
  • Safety shoes
  • Sample holders
  • Sampling syringes
  • Single gas monitors
  • Soil testing kits
  • Spectrofluorimeters or fluorimeters
  • Spirometers
  • Toxicology test kits or supplies
  • Turbidimeters
  • Vibration testers
  • pH meters

Technology

  • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
  • Compliance software
  • Data base user interface and query software
  • Electronic mail software
  • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
  • Internet browser software
  • Office suite software
  • Operating system software
  • Presentation software
  • Project management software
  • Spreadsheet software
  • Web platform development software
  • Word processing software

Tags

  • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.
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