What should a safety committee do

A good point person is critical. They must be committed and capable. They must be able to motivate employees at every level. On top of that, they need to understand all the safety issues at play. Choose your chairperson carefully. One to lead and communicate. And one to organize and drive progress. Make sure the membership represents every department.

Start by asking for volunteers. They have the experience and tribal knowledge. Bring in managers and entry-level personnel. The only thing they need is a commitment to improvement. Diverse viewpoints are important. They may have valid reasons for their criticism. An antagonist can help the group tackle tough issues.

Meet regularly, at least every month. Create a schedule at least a year out. Set ground rules for collaboration. Insist on professional decorum. Show respect and expect the same. Start by having someone from top management act as a sponsor for the committee, with their biggest responsibility, to ensure that these meetings consistently take place.

It is no secret that successful safety initiatives heavily rely on leadership participation and being the sponsor of such a program is a way for the manager to demonstrate the importance of health and safety to their team, even though they may not always be able to participate themselves due to their other responsibilities.

They can be asked to choose the persons that would best contribute to the team and also be involved in selecting a chairperson for their meetings. As an advisory body, the effectiveness of the committee very much depends on the results it achieves, and this, in turn, depends on actions being taken by the management as well as the sponsor to implement the recommendations.

It is at that level only that the recommendations can be truly translated into company wide actions. In time, given consistency in application, management teams will begin to more and more relay on the committees to provide effective solutions to health and safety problems. All in all, these committees need to be used to empower employees to make health and safety decisions in relation to their workplace.

The collective participation in improving health and safety aspects of their organizations has a huge impact on increasing employee morale, leadership and further enhancing the collective safety culture. What is the best way to manage safety actions and make sure they are actually completed? We aim to find out with this Failure to properly manage audit actions can have disastrous consequences. In this blog, safety expert Bridget Leathley Employee Participation Such teams can provide a good option for organizations that have a significant number of workers that may be reluctant to take on the role of a health and safety representative, but be willing to participate in a group that can collectively provide input to the organization.

Crafting written safety programs. Leading safety training. Conducting workplace inspections and safety audits. Reviewing incidents, near misses, accident investigation reports, claim summaries and loss analyses to prevent reoccurrences of similar incidents. Establishing dispute resolution procedures. Proposing and creating safety checklists. Providing a forum in which labor and management can discuss health and safety issues and collaborate on solutions.

Starting a Safety Committee If you want to have a truly effective safety committee, you must be prepared to invest time and energy in developing it. Set clear meeting agendas, publish them in advance, and follow them. Take meeting minutes that summarize the issues discussed, the proposed actions and the people responsible for following up on each item.

Minutes should be published and provided to each committee member, as well as made available to all employees. Require members to attend all meetings except in an emergency. Set both short-term one to six months and long-term goals. Improve cooperative inspections by including workers and management representatives.

Address legitimate safety issues only. The committee should not be a general gripe forum. Be positive. Mistakes to Avoid There are many reasons why a safety committee loses or never attains effectiveness. Undefined roles. A well-structured safety committee with a clear purpose and knowledgeable members who are aware of their responsibilities will be most effective.

Among other things, it should ensure that the committee meets regulatory requirements. Yet, the committee was not set up with a specific purpose in mind. The charge for each of these subcommittees is attached. Each of these subcommittees meets quarterly. The minutes of subcommittee meetings are published and prominently displayed in all relevant work units. Reports and recommendations of the subcommittees are forwarded to the University Safety and Security Committee for consideration.

The Campus Security Subcommittee has been established to focus on crime prevention and security. It meets at least quarterly and its minutes are also available to the public.