Safety Knights

I would like to know the same thing. I just finished my Masters and still feel like when I am writing a safety plan I am not writing proficiently.

I/we do quite a bit of policy writing. I learned a lot of my skills at a previous consulting firm I worked at. The main thing is to make it as site-specific as possible. Some OSHA standards will specify what has to be contained in the written program, so you'll expand upon that so that its relevant to your operations. The best starting point is to establish the purpose of the program, as well as assign roles and responsibilities so that you can have what you want to accomplish (and can build off that), then determine who is responsible for implemeting and enforcing which parts.

Nope - procedure writing is by far my weakest skill in EHS. Technical writing in general I feel takes quite a bit of practice. Something that has helped me is working with consultants when drafting up new programs

Plaigiarize a bunch from safety programs at other places and craft to be your own. The military and often universities have a ton of forms and procedures and programs you can pilfer from.

Also, making a bulletpoint list of whatever reg or requirement is helpful so you can mark off as the procedure addresses it.

Otherwise, for specific procedures, the maintenance department or OEM is your best friend.

Writing is my strong suit in general (“What can you do with a B.A. in English 🎶”) so that is an advantage for me.

In my experience writing safety programs. I’ve found the easiest route is find what OSHA requires you to have and keep the rest of the verbiage easy to digest. When people start getting “technical” with their policies they write themselves in to a corner and make the company responsible for things inadvertently. Keep it simple.

In my opinion, being highly skilled in writing safety procedures is all about getting the required information while making it easy to read. Depending on the procedure and industry, it can be as simple or as intricate as you want. Often times, companies have existing operating policies that need to be taken into account, but at the end of the day, employees at all levels of the organization should be able to read it, and it should meet at least the minimum for OSHA compliance.

I learned this on the job and through working with mentors. But the first part of my professional experience was writing SOPs for millwork manufacturing as an intern.