An environmental health and safety director is the head of the safety department. He is responsible for implementing all of the existing environmental compliance rules in a company. In smaller companies he is the only one there and does everything, but in bigger companies he supervises the environmental health and safety coordinators that follow his directions. He is ultimately responsible for quality controls of for instance water and air in and around the facility and he makes sure that all necessary environmental permits are obtained and renewed on time. The environmental health and safety director has to make sure that all personnel attached to the company respect all rules so that employees, visitors, and contractors stay safe when they are at that particular workplace. He and his team have to assess every possible risk factor that is brought to his attention. He watches over the production process and just over about anything that goes on in the company. He is responsible that action is taken when safety rules are violated and he needs to make sure that repeat violators are reprimanded appropriately. The environmental health and safety director has to know all safety rules so that he can ensure compliance of the company with OSHA.
The job position of environmental health and safety director is a leadership position and that means that leadership qualities are necessary for this position. This job position also requires good social skills and a lot of common sense. The environmental health and safety director has to have an eye for detail. Preventing disaster is often embedded in the ability to notice little details that can erupt in big consequences. The goal is that the people who work in the company are in a safe environment, as well as any visitors to the company. Families who live in the area of the factory have the right to feel safe and the environmental health and safety director is often the person who communicates with the people who live in the area and he addresses all concerns that arise. He needs to have great communication and social skills. He represents the company towards the media in case concerns are being addressed by reporters. Bigger companies will often ask for a degree in public relations just to make sure that the man they hire is capable of dealing with issues and people. A degree in science is often also very valuable for this position so that chemicals and the risk they carry are better understood.
Do not underestimate the potential responsibilities of the person in this position. The salary of an environmental health and safety director depends on how big his responsibility is. Yearly income of someone in this position can reach around one hundred thousand dollars. When something goes wrong everyone will point their finger at him. The things that can go wrong can have minor consequences like some broken bones, but fatalities among the workers occur too. When waste products are not handled right they can cause disasters to the environment and preventing that is also the task of the environmental health and safety director.
