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gloved hands holding a hazardous material bottle over safety signs

Associate in Occupational Safety and Health Technician

Program Outcomes

  • Prevent harm to workers, property, the environment and the general public by identifying hazardous conditions and practices and implementing alternative practices and/or corrective measures.
  • Promote occupational health and safety within organizations by communicating to workers and management about risks and hazards and training workers how to prevent risks and hazards and how to protect themselves while performing various job-related tasks.
  • Collect data on work environments for ongoing analysis that may predict risks and hazards and identify sources of exposure and/or contamination.
  • Conduct job site inspections and determine which areas may not be in compliance with State and Federal laws and/or employer policies.
  • Design programs to control, eliminate and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, radiological and biological agents or ergonomic factors as well as prepare an emergency response plan.
  • Advise management on how to increase worker productivity through raising morale and reducing absenteeism and equipment downtime while saving on insurance, workers' comp. benefits, and litigation expenses by presenting cost effective safety and health prevention measures.
  • Respond to an accident or incident by utilizing emergency response plans, investigating the event, assisting the worker(s) with immediate and long term rehabilitation with a focus on returning to work and by promoting corrective action to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
  • Maintain complete safety and health records as required by law and by company policy and preparing.

Fundamental Areas of Knowledge and Core Abilities Outcomes

General Education at Pierce College prepares graduates to live and work in a dynamically changing world by emphasizing whole student development through fundamental areas of knowledge and the college five core abilities.