Safety Committees & Safety Programs
Safety Committees / Safety Programs
If you want to have a truly effective safety committee, and an effective Safety program, you must be prepared to invest time and energy in developing it.
Safety committees should be composed of a mixed population of employees and managers, key participants should be the safety manager, HR staff, representatives from senior management, key supervisors and select junior leaders.
The importance of including all affected groups is paramount, It does no good to make suggestions for process changes without considering areas such as HR or even Corporate they may be aware of operational or budgetary constraints that must be considered.
Committees need a chairperson who is skilled at leading teams as well as discussions.
“This isn't always the senior person or the highest-ranking member,”
The safety committee must also be valued by the highest levels of management, This means that top-level management fully supports the time spent by members of the committee on safety-committee activities and that the safety committee has an adequate budget.
Safety committees need a specific purpose:
A properly functioning safety committee fulfills several functions, Committee members should be able to identify problems, use their range of insights to seek solutions, have the authority and expertise to implement needed policies which ensure an effective safety program and the scope of oversight necessary to ensure changes made are effective.
Before convening, map out your objectives for the committee, goals and responsibilities, and the resources you have available.
That could be reviewing accident records and recommending high-frequency areas to be studied or conducting job-safety analyses. The committee could even be tasked with creating and running a behavior-based safety program.
Take care to determine the optimal size of your committee and the specific roles each member will play.
Putting people on the committee who can actively contribute to identifying problems or working toward solutions is key. Additionally, committee members must be able to work in a group setting with others outside of their work groups and sometimes outside of their departments. Inclusion is important but so is effectiveness. If they can’t help solve a problem, they don’t need to be on the committee.
Maintaining the Committee’s Effectiveness
To have an impact, Safety committees should do the following:
Hold regular meetings, following a consistent schedule.
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.
Publicize the committee’s accomplishments.
Set both short-term (one to six months) and long-term goals. These should be measurable, achievable and reviewed periodically to determine the group’s effectiveness.
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.
Committee members should do their share by working to keep abreast of current issues and keep an eye out for potential problems and come up with new ideas to tackle existing problems.
Mistakes to Avoid
There are many reasons why a safety committee loses or never attains effectiveness.
“I’ve seen a few safety committees succeed, but I’ve seen many more flounder after their initial enthusiasm wears off and they realize the committee is not functioning well.”
Failure to articulate a purpose and top-heavy management representation are among mistakes to avoid when establishing a safety committee.
*Undefined roles. A well-structured safety committee with a clear purpose and knowledgeable members who are aware of their responsibilities will be most effective. Craft a mission statement that clearly defines the committee’s functions and member duties. Among other things, it should ensure that the committee meets regulatory requirements.
“The most common mistake I see is when a company or organization sets up a safety program just for the sake of having a safety program, Perhaps an insurance loss-control rep or safety consultant suggests one or, in the case of some state OSHA programs, it may be required. Yet, the committee was not set up with a specific purpose in mind. When that happens, the committee is usually not going to be effective and will probably not survive too long.”
*Lack of training. Members should demonstrate a general understanding of technical safety and health issues, familiarity with data gathering, and experience with group dynamics and meeting participation. Asking someone to perform an accident investigation or job-safety analysis without training is asking for trouble, The team will be more effective if they are trained on what to do and how to do it.”
*Insufficient budget. A committee should be considered an investment, and management needs to provide adequate tools and resources. The committee may need funds for safety and health fairs, wellness programs, and other safety activities and incentives.
*Inadequate size. The size of your organization and its hazard potential should determine the size of your committee. It is a good idea to keep the safety committee small so that every member can participate actively. Subcommittees can be established for special projects.
*Lack of formal meeting agenda. Preparing and disseminating an agenda in advance keeps everyone on the committee cognizant of the meeting’s objectives and more likely to stay on task.
*Lack of communication. Publicize meeting minutes and committee actions to both employees and managers.
*Lack of follow-up. A committee’s reputation depends on the members doing what they promise.
*Lackluster participation. Get all members involved, and impress upon them exactly what is needed to attain a safer workplace. Committees should find ways to involve all departments or workgroups.
*Management domination. While management’s commitment is essential, company leaders should not stifle meetings and decisions.
*Unable to effect change. Committee members should be empowered to make changes for the health and safety of all employees—this is the main reason the group exists.
To have a highly reliable safety program in the workplace, both hazardous conditions and the unsafe behaviors that result in harmful exposure must be addressed. All angles must be covered to ensure the safest possible work practices are utilized within the safest possible working conditions every time the process is performed.”
The safest possible working conditions will only occur when an effective safety management system includes strong “hierarchy of controls” strategy to effectively control hazardous conditions in the workplace. All employees should be trained in the principles of hazard elimination, substitution, equipment design to reduce hazardous conditions. Inspections, Job Hazard Analyses (JHA), and purchasing policy will all help to identify mitigate conditions in the workplace that can injure employees. Quality, not price should be the bottom-line criteria when correcting hazards in the workplace.
The safest possible work practices will only occur within an effective safety culture exhibiting tough-caring safety leadership and accountability on the part of both management and each employee. Managers at all levels should be educated about the importance of their role as corporate leaders and leading by example is the best strategy in demonstrating a real commitment to safety. Employees should be educated about the importance of personal leadership through professional safety behavior. A personal tough-caring leadership approach is required to make it happen. Everyone should be tough on themselves by having high standards of personal behavior and safety performance. They should be tough because they care about their own safety and the safety of everyone in the company.
Here is the bottom-line: Only when both hazardous conditions and unsafe behaviors are effectively addressed and eliminated will the workplace be truly reliably safe and healthful for each employee and a profit center activity for the employer.
