ILOILO CITY — Western Visayas is in need of more safety and health practitioners, said the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Occupational and Health Safety Center (OHSC) regional extension unit (REU 6).
Melveen Melecoton of REU 6 on Wednesday said that since January this year, the region has certified 288 safety officers and approved seven applicants for Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-accredited or appointed safety officers.
“Safety officers are either employees or the general public who attended the basic training for safety officers just to gain credentials when they apply to become safety officers in a company,” he said.
The appointed safety officers are trained and certified by DOLE and are already organic in a company, he added.
He said that Western Visayas has nearly 514 hazardous workplaces that require a full-time safety officer.
These include among others construction firms, laboratories with biological hazards, bakeries and manufacturing firms.
Also needing safety officers are non-hazardous and highly hazardous firms. Non-hazardous include offices, business process outsourcing firms, and convenience stores, among others. The hazardous firms among others are petroleum depot and pyrotechnic companies.
“Anyone in the company can become a safety officer as long as they are trained with the 40-hour basic training for safety officers,” he said. Also, they should have experience being a safety officer and/or an employee who has contribution on safety and health in their workplace
They have to get accreditation with the OSHC to become DOLE-accredited safety practitioner in their industry, he added.
As part of their advocacy to promote the culture of occupational safety and health, the OSHC also conducted orientation for 171 establishments in the region with 583 clients since January. (Perla Lena/PNA)
