What Does an Industrial Hygienist Do?

Industrial Hygienists do not go around to different manufacturing plants and investigate the hygiene of the industrial employees.  Instead think of them as the people that check the hygiene of your work environment.  They make certain that the place where you spend half if not the most of your time is a safe environment to work in.  From office spaces to manufacturing plants Industrial Hygienists play an important role in your safety.

There are a variety of things that can harm you while you at work.  If you sit behind a desk you are probably highly aware of ergonomics and the importance of doing your job in a manner that doesn’t inflict harm on your body.  But ergonomics isn’t the only factor to consider while working at a desk job.  Have you considered the air in the building?  The air quality in the building can have a significant effect in your health.  Mold spores that have been growing in the building and then are released into the air from construction or by merely being disturbed can cause a wide range of health problems. 

Maybe you don’t work in a traditional office.  Maybe instead of working behind a desk you work in a plant that mass manufactures the desk or the computer on the desk.  Manufacturing is ripe with opportunities to get hurt or injured.  There are pieces of equipment that can seriously injure an employee if the proper training and Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) are not worn.

Have you ever wondered how your Maintenance Manager at your office complex knew what the musty odor was in your building?  Or maybe you want to know how it was determined what type of respirator you had to wear while in the spray booth?  Both of these things were done by an Industrial Hygienist.  In the office building he used specialized equipment to determine that the musty smell was mold that was growing in your walls at your office.  He performed what is called an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) test.  In the manufacturing plant, he conducted Industrial Hygiene (IH) Monitoring.  Most likely he attached a tube onto an employee that would intake the same air that he was breathing while he was working.  Once the air samples were analyzed he made a recommendation as to what respirator would provide the best protection.

An Industrial Hygienist performs a wide variety of tests that make our working environments a safer place to be.  Without the tests and monitoring there would be a significant rise in the number of reportable work related accidents every year.  If you would like to do some Industrial Hygiene Monitoring or have an Indoor Air Quality test done at your work click hereto find an Industrial Hygiene firm near you.