Improve the Effectiveness of Your Safety Committee Meetings

Do you have an uncomfortable feeling that your safety committee meetings are just not getting the job done? Take advantage of the following checklist to see how to conduct the "perfect" meeting.

Before the meeting

• Plan carefully: who should attend, what topics, when, where, and how.

• Coordinate the agenda with management representatives.

• Send an agenda to safety committee members and interested parties at least five days prior to meeting.

• Establish meeting management ground rules.

• Review minutes from the last meeting and check on the status of any pending actions.

• Come early and set up the meeting room.

At the start of the meeting

• Start on time.

• State meeting ground rules.

• Establish a common focus on content.

• Establish a common focus on process.

• Maintain an open and balanced discussion.

• Define and agree upon roles and responsibilities.

• Keep the focus on safety and health issues (do not allow personal attacks).

• Seek approval of agenda from participants (review, revise, and re-order the agenda) if required.

• Introduce new members and guests.

• Define roles and responsibilities.

• Set clear time limits.

• Review action items from the previous meeting.

During the meeting

• Focus on each problem in the same way at the same time.

• Focus on the resolution of problems.

At the end of the meeting

• Establish action times and responsibilities.

• Set the date and place of the next meeting and develop a preliminary agenda.

• Evaluate the meeting (see following list)

• Close the meeting efficiently and positively.

• Prepare committee minutes.

• Distribute/post minutes.

• Follow up on action items.

• Begin planning the next meeting.