This position reports directly for the Chief of Safety, and as a profession safety team member, provides general safety and fire protections, and training for the South Texas Veterans Health Care System.

Duties

The Safety Technician provides support as a part of a team ( including Chief Safety Service, Supervisory Industrial Hygienist, Safety Specialists, Industrial Hygienist, and a Program Assistant ), that focuses on reducing /eliminating the risk of injury and/or illness to employees, patients and visitors and also protects property. The Safety Technician must keep track of inspections, education, accident investigations, record reviews and communication of information and administrative processes. Safety Technician will investigate situations, accidents (approximately 1/day or 30/month throughout the system) injuries, complaint and incidents and where necessary take action to see that deficiencies are corrected. Corrections must be completed in a timely manner (2-4 days of occurrence). Demonstrates sound judgement and good customer service in dealing with others, so that the highest level of care and service may be given with as much professionalism and accuracy as possible; good communication is essential. Coordinates, manages and assists with continuous life safety program inspections at hospital divisions under the day-to-day guidance of the Chief, Safety Service, Safety Specialists, and industrial Hygienists. Some knowledge of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards is required as well as general knowledge in maintaining fire protection systems such as fire hydrants, sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, and smoke detectors. Assists with hands-on fire extinguisher training and will help organize components of annual fire prevention week activities. The Safety Technician will be responsible for inspecting construction sites throughout the STVHCS, so background in construction safety is essential. Will work at times under the guidance of other professional safety team members. Unsafe conditions, issues, etc., will be reported directly to the Chief, Safety Service. This position will be based in the STVHCS Safety Office. There will be some travel to clinics, vet centers and nursing homes affiliated with the STVHCS. It is essential that the Safety Technician has computer literacy. The Safety Technician will do inspections of service/product line areas, as well as regular walk-throughs making observation of unsafe acts and conditions, and regulatory noncompliance; will inspect closets and storage areas for security and safety compliance. The Safety Technician may be asked to assist with special projects. This may require inclusion of data in computerized programs and preparing and organizing reports as well as measuring the effectiveness of bringing systems to a higher level of technology. Will respond to emails daily and must be able to communicate readily with persons from all aspects of the health care system. The Safety Technician maintains a level of training and keeps up with newer technology, as well as shares information with the rest of the service (such as through training events and reporting). Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Position Description/PD#: Safety Technician/PD028160 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/09/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Individual Occupational Requirement: Applicants must possess experience that involved: (l) identifying, preventing, or eliminating safety hazards in work methods or environmental conditions; or (2) safety training or promotion. Such experience must have provided a practical knowledge of occupational and environmental safety hazards, survey techniques, and control and preventive methods. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: biological technician, medical technician, engineering technician, fire prevention inspector, and environmental health worker. AND: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assisting with continuous life safety program inspections at hospitals under the guidance of a Safety Chief or Safety Specialist; AND applying standards from governing associations to maintain fire protection systems such as fire hydrants, sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, fire alarm pull stations, fire and smoke doors, fire and smoke partitions, and other fire protection components. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one (1) year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of subjects such as safety, fire prevention, industrial hygiene, or other directly related subjects.. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond one (1) year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationsComplianceCompliance InspectionProblem SolvingRisk ManagementTechnology Application Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Applicant must be able Moderate lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds), 1 hr Straight pulling, 1 hr pulling hand over hand, 1 hr pushing, reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, 8 hrs walking/ standing, 1hr crawling, 1 hr repeated bending, climbing with use of legs and arms, both legs required, operation of crane, truck, tractor, or motor vehicle, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, depth perception, ability to distinguish basic colors, ability to distinguish shades of colors, hearing (aid may be permitted), emotional & mental stability, prosthetic limbs permitted. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

Contacts

• Address Audie L Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital 7400 Merton Minter Boulevard San Antonio, TX 78229 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]