← Occupation guides

17-2111.00 · Learning planner

Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors: a task-based learning plan

Promote worksite or product safety by applying knowledge of industrial processes, mechanics, chemistry, psychology, and industrial health and safety laws. Includes industrial product safety engineers.

Explore the complete task inventory first →

Understand the profile before choosing priorities

The table shows the ten highest importance ratings among 28 skills with usable ratings. Skills tied on importance can share a rank. Importance (1–5) and level (0–7) describe different dimensions. A level of 4 is not 4/7 of a course, and neither scale is your personal score. Source dates refer to the underlying rating, not the database release date.

SkillImportance / 5Level / 7Rating date
Reading Comprehension4.004.0008/2024 · Analyst
Active Listening3.754.0008/2024 · Analyst
Writing3.753.8808/2024 · Analyst
Critical Thinking3.753.8808/2024 · Analyst
Complex Problem Solving3.623.7508/2024 · Analyst
Speaking3.623.6208/2024 · Analyst
Judgment and Decision Making3.623.6208/2024 · Analyst
Systems Analysis3.623.3808/2024 · Analyst
Systems Evaluation3.503.5008/2024 · Analyst
Monitoring3.383.6208/2024 · Analyst

Anchor the plan in an actual task

Choose one reported task you want to understand better. Then choose one to three skills and describe an appropriate learning activity, evidence you will review and a date. For practical work requiring authorization, choose relevant coursework, observation or supervised training.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors.

Level 4: Understand an email from management describing new personnel policies

Level 2: Read step-by-step instructions for completing a form

Which instruction, constraint or exception in a document would you need to explain accurately?

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors.

Level 4: Answer inquiries regarding credit references

Level 2: Take a customer's order

What would you ask the other person to clarify, and how would you confirm you understood?

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors.

Level 4: Write an email to staff outlining new directives

Level 2: Write down a guest's order at a restaurant

What document would another person need, and how would you check that they could act on it?

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors.

Level 4: Evaluate customer complaints and determine appropriate responses

Level 2: Determine whether a subordinate has a good excuse for being late

What assumption could change your conclusion, and what evidence would you check first?

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors.

Level 4: Redesign a floor layout to take advantage of new manufacturing techniques

Level 2: Lay out tools to complete a job

How would you separate the problem into parts and compare possible explanations?

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors.

Level 4: Interview applicants to obtain personal and work history

Level 2: Greet tourists and explain tourist attractions

How would you explain the task, audience needs and next step in a short conversation?

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors.

Level 4: Evaluate a loan application for degree of risk

Level 2: Decide how scheduling a break will affect work flow

Which options, constraints and consequences would you compare, and what could change the choice?

Systems Analysis

Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors.

Level 4: Determine how a new piece of equipment will affect production rates

Level 2: Determine how loss of a team member will affect the completion of a job

What inputs, outputs and dependencies would you map before proposing a change?

Systems Evaluation

Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors.

Level 4: Identify the reasons why a client might be unhappy with a product

Level 2: Determine why estimates for the time to complete a task are overly optimistic

What would indicate the system is meeting its purpose, and what comparison would be fair?

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors.

Level 4: Monitor a meeting and revise the agenda to ensure important topics are discussed

Level 2: Proofread and correct a letter

What result or exception would you inspect during the task, and when would you revisit it?

Review the result

Your plan should explain why the selected skills matter for your chosen task, what you will do next and what evidence you will examine. Revisit the plan after that activity. Completing a worksheet or matching an occupation’s ratings does not establish professional competence.

Keep your worksheet

Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.

Source and practice material

Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.

Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.