MEMIC recently put together an excellent guide on effective Safety Committees.
What is a Safety Committee? A Safety Committee is a group of concerned individuals who have the overall safety and well-being of the employees and the success of the company in mind. Forming safety committees is an easy and effective way to improve the safety and health of the workplace. From an employer’s perspective, safety committees are great because they get employees involved and focused on keeping their workplace safe, on reducing accidents, and on increasing productivity. From an employee’s perspective, safety committees provide a safe venue where individuals can express their safety concerns, ask safety-related questions, or offer suggestions for improvement.
The purpose of the Safety Committee is to get more employees actively involved in safety, to eliminate accidents, and to help create a corporate culture that embraces safety. A Safety Committee consists of individuals gathered together to:
- complete self-inspections
- review workplace accidents and complete accident investigations
- recommend corrective actions
- express their safety concerns
- review and improve safety policies and programs
- suggest and coordinate safety training
The Safety Committee should strive to heighten everyone’s safety awareness and participation in the safety and health effort. Safety education programs, inspections, and accident analyses are some of the tools that can be used to show managers and employees how to recognize hazards and devise solutions. Supplementing these efforts with formal training sessions, departmental safety meetings, handouts, and videos will increase company-wide knowledge of specific safety subjects. Basic safety concepts should be the bedrock consideration for all personnel; therefore, the Safety Committee should aim for total participation on the part of all personnel. The type of involvement may vary from person to person, depending on individual talents, skills, and position in the company. Strong, give-and-take communication between management and employees leads to cooperation and a united front in the effort to prevent accidents. The Safety Committee is a crucial factor in fostering that communication.
Continue reading the article published by MEMIC here —
Increasing Safety Committee Effectiveness (225.0 KiB, 758 hits)
Additional information is contained on: membership, the 8 elements of success, responsibilities, size, leadership, and how to conduct the meeting.
Source: MEMIC