SAFETY MANAGER

safety manager

Souderton, Pennsylvania

Position Summary

The Safety Manager is responsible for leading and managing the plant’s occupational safety and health programs to ensure a safe, compliant, and injury-free work environment for all employees. This position provides safety leadership throughout the beef case-ready operation, including production, fabrication, packaging, sanitation, maintenance, quality assurance, warehouse, shipping, and support functions.

The Safety Manager develops, implements, and maintains safety programs in accordance with OSHA regulations, company policies, applicable federal and state requirements, and industry best practices. The position partners closely with Operations, Human Resources, Maintenance, Quality Assurance, and plant leadership to identify hazards, reduce workplace injuries, improve safety performance, and promote a strong safety culture.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the plant’s overall safety program and serve as the primary safety resource for management and employees.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations, company safety policies, and applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
• Conduct routine safety inspections, audits, observations, and hazard assessments throughout the facility.
• Identify unsafe conditions and behaviors and develop corrective actions to eliminate or reduce hazards.
• Partner with Operations leadership to establish and maintain effective safety practices in a high-volume beef processing and case-ready environment.
• Develop, implement, and maintain safety programs, procedures, policies, and training initiatives.
• Manage and monitor programs including, but not limited to:
• • Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)
  • Machine guarding
  • Personal protective equipment (PPE)
  • Hazard Communication
  • Ergonomics
  • Powered industrial trucks
  • Confined spaces
  • Electrical safety
  • Fall protection
  • Emergency response
  • Bloodborne pathogens, where applicable
  • Respiratory protection, where applicable
  • Chemical safety
  • Hearing conservation
  • Heat and cold stress
  • Slips, trips, and falls
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• Lead investigations of workplace injuries, illnesses, near misses, and other safety incidents. Identify root causes and implement appropriate corrective and preventive actions.
• Monitor OSHA recordkeeping requirements and ensure workplace injuries and illnesses are documented accurately and timely.
• Coordinate OSHA reporting requirements when applicable.
• Analyze safety data and trends to identify recurring hazards and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop and communicate safety metrics and performance reports to plant leadership.
• Conduct and/or coordinate employee safety training, including new-hire orientation, refresher training, regulatory training, and job-specific safety training.
• Work with supervisors and managers to ensure employees receive appropriate training before performing assigned work.
• Conduct regular safety meetings, toolbox talks, and employee safety communications.
• Participate in incident review meetings and safety committees.
• Promote employee involvement in safety initiatives and encourage employees to report hazards, near misses, and unsafe conditions.
• Assist management with developing safe work practices for new equipment, processes, production lines, and facility modifications.
• Review equipment, processes, and proposed changes for potential safety hazards.
• Partner with Maintenance and Operations to ensure appropriate machine guarding and energy-control procedures are implemented.
• Evaluate ergonomic risks associated with repetitive work, lifting, pushing, pulling, standing, reaching, cutting, trimming, packaging, and other activities common to beef processing.
• Recommend engineering, administrative, and work-practice controls to reduce ergonomic and other workplace hazards.
• Coordinate with Human Resources and management regarding workers’ compensation claims, workplace injuries, return-to-work efforts, and transitional duty when applicable.
• Maintain appropriate documentation related to safety inspections, investigations, training, corrective actions, and regulatory compliance.
• Coordinate with insurance carriers, third-party safety consultants, regulatory agencies, and other external partners as necessary.
• Assist during OSHA inspections, regulatory visits, audits, and other compliance activities.
• Ensure corrective actions identified through internal or external audits are assigned, tracked, and completed timely.
• Conduct emergency preparedness activities, including evacuation procedures, emergency response plans, drills, and workplace emergency procedures.
• Ensure safety signage, postings, PPE requirements, and other safety communications are maintained throughout the facility.
• Partner with Human Resources and Operations to address employee safety concerns and promote accountability at all levels of the organization.
• Coach supervisors and managers on effective safety leadership, hazard recognition, incident prevention, and employee accountability.
• Maintain visibility on the production floor and regularly interact with employees and supervisors across all shifts.
• Ensure compliance with applicable EPA state, and local environmental regulations and company environmental policies.
• Some travel may be required
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Safety Responsibilities

The Safety Manager must understand and actively address the unique hazards associated with a beef case-ready processing environment, including:

• Knife and cutting-tool safety
• Cuts and lacerations
• Amputations and machine-related injuries
• Conveyor and processing equipment hazards
• Mechanical and electrical hazards
• Lockout/Tagout
• Repetitive motion and ergonomic exposures
• Manual material handling and lifting
• Wet, slippery, and cold working environments
• Refrigeration and freezer environments
• Chemical exposure associated with sanitation activities
• Powered industrial truck and pedestrian traffic
• Dock and trailer safety
• Packaging equipment
• Sanitation equipment and procedures
• Employee exposure to moving equipment and machinery
• Noise exposure
• Working at heights and ladder safety
• Employee fatigue and other operational safety risks

Leadership Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, coaching, and direction to safety personnel and/or safety representatives, as applicable.
• Establish clear expectations for safety performance among supervisors and managers.
• Hold leaders accountable for addressing identified hazards and completing corrective actions.
• Foster a culture in which safety is treated as a shared responsibility throughout the organization.
• Lead by example through consistent adherence to all safety policies and procedures.

Qualifications

Required: 

• 5 or more years of progressive safety experience, preferably in a manufacturing, food-processing, meat-processing, distribution, or other industrial environment.
• Working knowledge of OSHA regulations and occupational safety principles.
• Working Knowledge of EPA and applicable state environmental regulations relevant to food processing or manufacturing operation.
• Demonstrated experience conducting safety inspections, incident investigations, hazard assessments, and employee training.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively with employees and leaders at all levels of an organization.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced production environment and regularly spend time on the production floor.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and safety-related reporting systems.

Preferred: 

• Experience in beef, poultry, meat, food, or other high-volume processing operations.
• OSHA 30-Hour certification.
• Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety, Environmental Health and Safety, Industrial Hygiene, or a related field; equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered
• ASP, CSP, CIH, or other recognized safety certification.
• Experience with workers’ compensation and return-to-work programs.
• Experience with OSHA recordkeeping and regulatory inspections.
• Experience with ergonomic assessments and injury-reduction programs.
• Bilingual English/Spanish or other language skills relevant to the plant workforce.

Physical and Environmental Requirements

• Ability to regularly walk and stand throughout a large manufacturing facility.
• Ability to enter production, refrigeration, freezer, sanitation, warehouse, shipping, and other operational areas as required.
• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment, including safety footwear, hard hat, hearing protection, eye protection, protective clothing, and other PPE as required by the work area.
• Ability to work in varying temperatures, including refrigerated and freezer environments.
• Ability to climb stairs and ladders and navigate industrial work areas safely.
• Ability to occasionally lift, carry, push, or pull materials or equipment necessary to perform job duties.
• Ability to respond to workplace incidents and emergencies as required.

Work Schedule

This position requires flexibility to support a 24/7 manufacturing operation. The Safety Manager may be required to work varying schedules, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and occasional extended hours based on operational needs, emergencies, investigations, training, or other business requirements.

 Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K
• Vacation, sick leave, and six company-observed holidays
• Better Future Program-2-year MONTCO Community College tuition paid for employees and dependents
• Be Extraordinary. Join Us Today!

EOE/VETS/DISABILITY