Obtaining an NCSO® brings various professional and reputational benefits to the person who completes it, and its importance lies in the level of knowledge and experience that this certification determines.
To understand the importance of this certification, it is necessary to know what this recognition is about and the basic requirements to obtain it.
What is NCSO® Certification?
The term National Construction Safety Officer (NCSO) is assigned to all construction professionals who have over 3 years of experience in the field and have completed 13 mandatory courses that demonstrate their skills in areas such as health, safety, administration, injury management, hazard recognition, auditing, among others.
For construction companies, it is beneficial to have an NCSO person within the team, as they hold a nationally recognized certification issued by local safety associations in the country. They can propose safe project management practices and provide basic elements in the administration of the company’s health and safety.
What are the responsibilities of an NCSO®?
The skills of the professional with the national certification are applied to the area of health and safety management of the construction project or company. Therefore, it is necessary that this professional be in charge of:
Recognizing and reporting hazards within the safety project.
Conducting occupational health and safety training and effectively imparting it to the rest of the team within the project.
Being part of meetings and audits of occupational health and safety processes.
Reporting and proposing solutions for non-compliance with applied health and safety measures.
Acting as a communication channel between the construction company and regulatory agencies to keep company practices up to date.
Taking each of these responsibilities into account, we can see that the role of a National Construction Safety Officer is important in managing the health and safety aspect of the company in an integrated manner.
Why is it important to have an NCSO®?
The NCSO figure within a construction company becomes an essential resource for managing occupational health and safety processes.
By having the necessary preparation and experience to develop safe work strategies, the management and administration of occupational health and safety are simplified. The construction company receives additional reputation by guaranteeing a construction service that complies with safety standards, and administrative processes are covered to demonstrate to regulatory agencies that the company complies with the imposed norms.
Likewise, effectively implementing proposals issued by the certified professional will help reduce injuries and provide a comfortable and productive work environment.
In conclusion, the importance of obtaining an NCSO certification lies in all the benefits it generates for both the qualified professional and the construction company or project in which they work. There are various economic, professional, and reputational benefits that they will receive, making their services increasingly valuable.
If you want to learn about all the benefits that this designation brings you, we invite you to read our article about them.