This paper is concerned with the work of safety engineers within Occup
ational Health Services (OHS) in Sweden, and focuses on their accident
prevention activities. It is a review of a paper published in this jo
urnal two years previously. The paper provides a short summary of the
results of the original study and then supplements the earlier data in
two ways. First, extensive comparisons are made between the work of s
afety engineers and that of nurses and physiotherapists working in the
same OHS units. In general, although there are both similarities and
dissimilarities in the way in which they address the accident problem,
the accident prevention work of all three occupational groups is limi
ted in scope. Second, the role of safety engineers is considered in th
e light of the major changes in the nature of OHS in Sweden. Given for
thcoming reductions in national government funding (amounting to a thi
rd of the current costs of the Services) and continued debate over the
balance between prevention and rehabilitation, there has been specula
tion over the future role of the safety engineer. The paper treats saf
ety engineers as a profession and views them as an important resource
in the work of OHS. It concludes with some suggestions as to how this
professional role might develop in the future, in particular in relati
on to accident prevention.