Integrated Cooperation Between Dangerous Goods Safety Advisers and Occupational Health and Safety Experts in Industry

The Circular on Hazardous Substance Safety Organizations was published in its latest version on 13.09.2017 following extensive and detailed work, and came into force on 01.01.2018.

The Notice on Hazardous Substance Safety Advisory Services was published on 22.05.2014. The purpose of this Notice is to regulate the qualifications, training and certification of hazardous substance safety advisors (HSSA) who will be employed or engaged to assist companies transporting, consigning, packaging, loading, filling and unloading hazardous substances in carrying out their operations safely without harm to human health, other living organisms and the environment, in accordance with the provisions of international agreements to which we are parties and relevant legislation. It also defines the procedures and principles concerning their duties, authorities and responsibilities. As of 1 January 2018, Hazardous Substance Safety Advisors within HSSAO can provide services to a total of 8 different companies or a total of 8 different locations including their branches. If a company wishes to employ the advisor within its own organization, the Hazardous Substance Safety Advisor must pay insurance contributions on a full-time basis under the HSSA occupation code and be assigned only to such professional work. A full-time employed advisor can provide services at a single company or a total of 5 locations under the same tax number of this company. The company required to have an HSSA must pay social security contributions using the specified occupation code for the HSSA it will employ within its own organization and must not assign the personnel to other work. Employment of an HSSA under a different occupation code carries serious penalties and adversely affects the company both financially and ethically. In this context, the company's Occupational Health and Safety Specialist working within its own organization cannot simultaneously work as a Hazardous Substance Safety Advisor due to overlapping occupation codes. Although this situation appears to create an extra expense for companies, Hazardous Substance Safety Advisors provide positive contributions to the companies they support, thus delivering operational efficiency and long-term financial returns.

Occupational Health and Safety Expertise is undoubtedly a highly respected process that must be carried out with professional conscience and human responsibility beyond legislation, and must be continued with continuity. Hazardous Substance Safety Advisory Services must be conducted at the same level as Occupational Health and Safety but in a differentiated manner.

The Hazardous Substance Safety Advisor should report risks identified to the Occupational Health and Safety Specialist, and the Occupational Health and Safety Specialist to the Hazardous Substance Safety Advisor, and they should monitor each other while progressing. In this process, these two professional disciplines working while monitoring each other provide high added value to companies as a third eye in areas where operational blindness has developed. In this way, both the Hazardous Substance Safety Advisor and the Occupational Health and Safety Specialist will develop their work, lighten their own responsibility, and remain active in how they can further improve their work. For both Occupational Health and Safety Specialists and Hazardous Substance Safety Advisors to play an active role in companies, company management must assign serious responsibility to the advisors and specialists and approach matters with awareness. The greatest breakthrough in development on this matter lies in training. Beyond the training arranged according to the regulation, real and objective-oriented training is needed. Objective-oriented training is awareness-raising training to be provided to company management and white-collar personnel. The most important aspect of training to be provided to field personnel is to make them feel that this is not merely a formality, but is important and necessary for the health of employees first and then the enterprise. My greatest recommendation to Hazardous Substance Safety Advisors who will work in this sector is the importance they will give to sectoral development and sincerity. Although Occupational Health and Safety and Hazardous Substance Safety Advisory Services are different mechanisms of a system, they are sister sectors. They must certainly be differentiated but should proceed in an integrated manner with each other.

Okay Selçuk Chemical Engineer Regional Coordinator TMGD TR Mühendislik LTD. ŞTİ.

 

References Notice on Hazardous Substance Safety Advisory Services Regulation on Road Transport of Dangerous Goods Directive on Authorization of Hazardous Substance Safety Advisory Organizations (HSSAO; Hazardous Substance Safety Advisory Organization Authorized by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications) (HSSA; Hazardous Substance Safety Advisor)