What is a safety committee?
A group of employees and managers who create and implement safety programs. Good safety committees improve employee engagement with organizational policies. They improve training. They help new employees create good habits. They protect the organization from compliance infractions.
Are you in charge of setting up a safety committee at your company? Not sure where to start? Here is a simple checklist.
The Accurate Data Payroll Processing Guide to Creating a Safety Committee
- Appoint a capable leader (or co-leaders)
- Write a mission statement
- Assemble a diverse team (labor + management)
- Set goals and review/readjust regularly
- Meet at least once a month
- Secure the resources to carry out your purpose
What does a safety committee do?
- Design training programs
- Conduct training
- Build checklists
- Increase employee safety awareness
- Encourage employees to bring up safety concerns
- Investigate events (accidents, close calls)
- Write safety manuals
- Conduct inspections
- Correct conditions that could cause accidents
- Discuss claims
- Write policies for dispute resolutions
- Advocate for employees
- Solicit employee involvement
- Improve legal compliance
Let’s discuss the 6 steps.
Assign a Director
The leader can make or break your committee. Your point person needs a combination of attributes. Can he inspire his co-workers? Does she follow through? Is he respected by his peers? Does she understand all the departments/equipment/processes? If you can’t find the ideal chairperson, suggest appointing co-chairs. A confident leader/communicator. And a capable person to execute on the plans.
Write a Mission Statement
This is your guiding principle. It gives you your purpose. It doesn’t need to be lengthy.
Don’t Silence Any Voices
Everyone doesn’t have to agree on how to fulfill the mission. You don’t want a group of like-minded people. The only thing everyone needs is a commitment to improvement. Don’t count out those who criticize management. A variety of viewpoints is better. You want a no-holds-barred discussion so you can solve tough problems.
Your aim is a safe workplace where employees watch out for each other. A place where management supports the staff members. And the workers trust management. You may not reach the goal of zero accidents and injuries. But when there is a concern, you will handle it better.
Getting Started
Meet regularly, at least every month. Make sure everyone puts it on their calendar.
Set ground rules for discussion. Model respectful dialog and expect the same in return.
Set goals short-and long-term goals. Prioritize them and develop a timeline for addressing them. If you have recurring issues, with those.
Mix It Up
Rotate membership in and out of the group. Swap roles inside the committee. Stay flexible, though. If you have a star performer who really owns their role, let them go for it. (And thank them for their dedication!)
A safety committee can make a difference:
- Fewer injuries and accidents
- Lower worker’s comp premiums
- Employees taking responsibility for safety
- Employees making fewer mistakes
- Improved communication between labor and management
- Employee participation
- Improved unity and morale
- Fewer safety violations and penalties
WorkforceHUB from Accurate Data Payroll Processing can help you create and implement a safety program. Give us a call at 440-614-2501 to learn more.
UPGRADE TODAY
Accurate Data Payroll Processing offers WorkforceHUB, the unified Human Resources portal that makes it easy to optimize the performance of your managers, employees, and company.
WorkforceHUB includes TimeWorksPlus, TimeSimplicity, and TimeWorks Mobile. We’ve just added onboarding, benefits enrollment, performance reviews, and employee engagement! WorkforceHUB is created for busy employers like you who need to streamline scheduling, automate time and attendance tracking, maintain regulatory compliance, and decrease labor costs.
How much can you save? Check our Accurate Data Payroll Processing ROI Calculator.
We can get you up and running with Workforce Management Suite in minutes. Contact us today to schedule a demo.
Recent Comments