Safety Committees: The heart of your

organizations safety efforts

Building Your Facility Safety Committee

In today’s economy resources are stretched to the limit and many employees must wear multiple hats. Management

commitment of resources for a safety committee is an

excellent way to reduce the frequency and severity of workplace injuries and illnesses.

By analyzing injury trends, inspecting the facility for hazards, reducing hidden costs associated with workplace injuries and creating a safety conscious atmosphere, a safety committee can play an integral role in reducing the frequency and severity of workplace injuries and illnesses.

Building Your Facility Safety Committee Cont.

A safety committee’s potential value and

benefit is only as good as its defined purpose, functions and activities- and

follow through.

When the input and value of the committee and its members are recognized,

employees, supervisors and managers welcome its purpose.

Is the company required to have a safety committee?

Does OSHA require employers to have a workplace safety committee?

NO!

Why have a safety committee?

Because all workers have the right to a safe and healthy workplace. A workplace safety committee enables employees participation and involvement in the safety and health process plus provides an opportunity to share the responsibility in maintaining a safe work environment

To whom does the committee report?

To whom the committee reports should be fully knowledgeable about committee duties, health and safety issues and committed to the prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses. The best choice is usually a member of senior management since they most likely are the one to take direct action on problems

Safety Committee Role

What kind of committee do you want?

Do you have an advisory or action oriented safety committee?

Does this role suit the membership and management?

Why should your company have a safety committee?

Serve as an advisory board Participate in the development of health

and safety procedures Measure effectiveness of safety programs Get employees involved in safety Participate in work area self-inspections Participate in accident investigations Recommend corrective actions Promote safety training

Safety Committee Purpose

Organizing or re-energizing a safety committee whose sole purpose is to prevent injuries and accidents can protect your companies from avoidable costs that directly affect your companies bottom line.

The purpose of the committee needs to be clearly defined.

The degree of the committee’s authority should be clearly defined and permanently recorded

The committee is responsible for a set of activities, authority given by management to carry out those responsibilities must be granted

Examples: 1. to be able to carry out inspections and investigations

Safety Committee Make-up

Typically are a blend of employees and management

Provide an open forum to discuss accidents, near-misses, recommendations for corrective action

Prevention of recurrence

Opportunity for improvement

Safety Committee Make-up

Safety committee should be made up of a mixed population of employees and management

Representatives should be from both production and administration

Members should be elected by peers If there are no volunteers then the

employer can select the members If there are multiple locations one

committee can be adequate or establish a committee at each location

Committee Functions

A safety committee’s basic duties should include:

Conducting visual surveys of the workplace to identify safety and health concerns at least quarterly

Implementing a system to gather safety-related suggestions

Report hazards and other information from employees.

Committee Functions Cont:

Conducting regularly scheduled meetings to discuss accidents and illness prevention methods

Safety and health promotion

Hazards noted on inspections and other pertinent subjects.

Reviewing incidents that resulted in injury or illness as well as the “near misses” that did not result in injury.

Committee Functions Cont:

Taking action to correct the identified hazards by developing suggestions for management

Promoting safety and first aid training for all employees

Companies should:

Keep records of identified hazards and recommendations for a minimum of 2 years

Why?

Documentation of identified hazards, recommendations for correction and injury reports can assure that progress is being made and that hazards are being controlled. They can also provide a basis for managing similar hazards that may arise in the future.

Basic Meeting Procedures

Establish a regular, published meeting

time, date and if possible, place

Have a written agenda

Take meeting minutes and distribute to members and department heads

Start and end meetings on time

Encourage all members to express themselves in a polite, respectful manner

10 Success Factors for an Effective Safety Committees

1. Clear Direction: Have a clear understanding of the committees purpose, why the group exists and what are they trying to accomplish.

For example a mission statement of the

committee may be as follows:

“This safety committee exists to continuously reduce the risk of injury and illness to employees and visitors at our

facility. The committee will do so in a way that uses the organization’s resources efficiently and will strive to achieve an

Optimal level of safety and health for the organization.”

This statement of direction is clear and simple as it contains only a few objectives.

10 Success Factors for an Effective Safety Committees Cont:

2. Common Performance Goals: Common goals are critical to the committee’s success.

◦ There should be no hidden agendas.

◦ For a goal to enhance performance it has to be in line with the committee’s overall direction, challenging and completed by a specified deadline. Goals should be specific descriptions of work the committee is to accomplish within a specific time frame.

10 Success Factors for an Effective Safety Committees Cont:

Examples of some goals for a safety committee might include some of the following:

provide accident investigation training to all front-line supervisors by the end of the year

Conduct a risk assessment of all work tasks by the 1st quarter of the year

Prepare a job safety analysis for all “high-risk” activities by the 3rd quarter

10 Success Factors for an Effective Safety Committees Cont:

Complete a feasibility study of installing a local ventilation system in the welding shop by the 2nd quarter of the year.

Management may provide the expected outcome of the committee’s effort however the group should determine how they will achieve these targets. Goals and objectives should be frequently reviewed and updated and measure the team’s performance.

3.Definition of Roles

Basic roles of the group include a leader, facilitator and team members.

The leader is the most critical as the committee develops. Initially the leader assists with the design of the committee, provides clear direction and helps the committee progress. Later the leader acts as a coach and monitors the progress of the committee.

Definition of Roles Cont:

The roles of each committee member must be clearly understood

Each member has unique attributes to the team and should recognize why they were selected for the team

Roles should be defined and communicated

The leader should discuss the roles with each individually.

4.Real Committee Function: The basic elements of the safety committee require that members work together to complete significant tasks. Spending time as a group is critical. 5. Visible Management Support and Commitment: Management should visibly Show interest in the safety committee’s activities and communicate a sense of urgency for the groups purpose. Management should not wait until problems within the committee develop but show a proactive interest in the group.

6. Mutual Responsibility and Group Accountability: One problem when a committee is formed carelessly is that accountability may be lost. The leader must determine prior to formation of the committee how they will be held accountable as a group if substandard effort is produced. The whole group should be held accountable for poor work but likewise the whole group should be recognized for solving problems.

7. Authority to Manage the Work: The committee not the leader should have the authority to make decisions over basic committee functions. If the leader or management intervene the committee’s sense of ownership for the work will be compromised. 8. Committee Size and Skill Set: The primary factor in determining the size of the team is the number of tasks, skills needed, and complexity of the functions required.

Committee Size and Skill Set Cont:

The first person in the workflow is to be interdependent with the last the last person and all must be mutually accountable to each other for results.

Ideally committees should consist of members between 5 and 15 members.

9. Basic Material Resources:

A safety committee needs the necessary tools to perform their work. The safety committee should not have to beg or search for the appropriate resources.

Such resources include appropriate meeting space, access to relevant data and reports, time to perform committee tasks, and additional training.

10. Interdependence and Trust

Trust and interdependence go hand-in-hand. There is not magic recipe to instantly creating a high level of trust among a group. Trust can be lost in minutes when there is dishonesty among team members and they do not get along. In essence trust and interdependence is a relationship issue that depends on daily interactions.