Safety Specialist

Job Description- Safety Specialist, Byron, MN

Ornua Co-operative is an international dairy business headquartered in Ireland, world-renowned for its grass-fed dairy products and the proud owner of the Kerrygold brand. Ornua has a strong culture, dedicated to sustainable growth, fast paced innovation and development of its people. Ornua Ingredients North America (OINA) is a subdivision of Ornua and is a leading B2B supplier of cheese innovation.

OINA has an exciting opportunity to join its Byron, MN team as a Safety Specialist!

Role Overview:  

This position reports to OINA H&S Manager with a dotted line to OINA CI Manager.  This position will be responsible for leading the Health & Safety activities at the Byron Plant as well as managing the Continuous Improvement activity in Byron.

Reports to:  Health & Safety Manager

Principal Duties: 

H&S responsibilities

1. Serve as the primary H&S support to operations and employees by leading all H&S activities in Byron
2. Actively engage with employees to identify opportunities to improve health and safety
3. Be an active member of the Ornua Ingredients North America Health and Safety Team
4. Develop and implement H&S strategies for the Byron plant to drive continuous improvement in all areas of H&S
5. Lead the risk assessment program
6. Develop and provide health and safety training
7. Collaborate with plant operations to maintain a safe environment
8. Manage the Powered Industrial Truck (forklift) safety program
9. Prepare and conduct H&S audits for facility
10. Manage all accident/ incident investigations, taking proper measures to identify root causes and further prevention
11. Work with Human Resources on worker’s compensation cases, maintain all proper documentation
12. Complete monthly health and safety tracker
13. Record all safety objectives, aligned with monthly reports, including but not limited to good catches, near misses, behavioral observations
14. Submit reports and data to all federal, state and local agencies in a timely manner as mandated. Act as liaison for federal, state and local agencies
15. Order, track, and maintain all PPE for employees
16. Assess costs to the company from safety incidents and report to management to facilitate decision making
17. Lead the implementation of OINA H&S strategy within the Byron facility and provide input into the OINA H&S strategy led by the H&S Manager
18. Lead and support Group roll out of Ornua H&S global policies at the Byron facility with support from OINA H&S Manager

Additional Responsibilities

1. Analyze business processes within the entire Byron Plant, identifying quality or cost improvement opportunities
2. Develop communication strategy across the plant to clearly present plant KPI’s and relevant information
3. Identify and lead Continuous Improvement Projects at the Plant

Qualifications:

1. Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Safety or related field
2. Ability to read and interpret SOPs and write reports
3. Ability to effectively communicate safety principals to management and staff
4. Ability to solve practical problems and communicate and implement changes
5. Understanding HACCP principles
6. Excellent people relationship skills
7. Ability to multi-task effectively
8. Ability to represent company in an upbeat and professional manner
9. Must be self-motivated, dependable, and a team player