Posted By Descarte
Perhaps if a safety manager has extra responsability over budgets and where money gets spent on things like safety equipment, PPE and training then perhaps that is true.

Posted By Phil Rose
I wonder if this a question of semantics?

I would have thought that the responsibilities are defined withing the job description not the job title, which can bear little or no relation to what the person does or is asked to do. If the person has been appointed under the Management regs

Phil

Posted By David Bannister
I agree with Phil. There are many examples of safety advisers having extensive management duties, responsibilities and accountabilities; equally some with safety manager written on their business cards are carrying out hands-on safety roles, doing inspections.

My own perception is that the title of safety officer is now mostly outdated and dates back to times when safety people were expected to be seen in the factory with a clipboard and take down the names of anybody who wasn't using the guards properly, wore a tweed jacket with elbow patches and had responsibility for making sure that the Factories Act poster was still displayed (with no offence intended to any Safety Officers who are doing a great job at preventing harm).

There have been previous threads on similar subjects and opinions have been expressed along the lines of "managers manage, advisers advise etc" and whilst this is partly true, job titles don't always indicate the nature of the job being done. I had a title of director for many years with absolutely no involvement with strategic matters, merely being expected to generate and deliver the work. It was a title designed to present me in a favourable light to customers and to con me in to thinking that the title meant something! I never did get that Porsche. Merely a P45. Ho hum.