Do you ever feel as if you’re at odds with your supervisors and workers over safety? Like you’re working at cross purposes, in an environment where safety is seen as the enemy of production? What if there were a way to bring workers onto your team and get everybody working together to enhance workplace safety? It may sound like a pipe dream, but many employers have found that an effective safety committee can accomplish just that.
Yesterday, we looked at pitfalls that can derail your safety committee. While a well-run safety committee can create a two-heads (or many heads)-are-better-than-one situation in your workplace, a poorly run safety committee will only sour everybody on the concept. Here’s what you can do to make sure that your safety committee is the kind that can get the job done.
The Right Safety Committee
An effective safety committee does several things right.
It’s the right size. The size of the committee depends on the size of your workforce. The experts suggest a committee of 6 to 10 members in a company of fewer than 200 employees. If there are 200 to 1,000 employees, a committee between 6 and 12 members is recommended. And at businesses with more than 1,000 employees, and/or various shifts and locations, consider having multiple committees.
Achieving safety excellence requires you to involve employees in every aspect of safety. Join us for this webinar on January 27th to develop, implement, and track the progress of an employee-driven safety program.
It includes the right people. A good safety committee member is one who cares about the duties and the outcome. Choose active, productive people who work well in groups and are comfortable speaking out, and who are accessible to their colleagues. One of the most important roles of a member is to serve as a vehicle for rank-and-file employees to express their concerns about working conditions. You want committee members who are easy to reach out to.
It focuses on the right tasks. Although the purpose and activities of committees vary, you can set tasks and focus on the goals that best suit your facility. Take a good look at your facility, your risks, and the special skills of your committee members. Consider special roles they can play that may be unique to your situation.
If your employees aren’t engaged, you may experience higher rates of work-related injuries and illnesses. Attend this webinar to learn how to get everyone to fully engage in your safety program.
It gets the right result. Ultimately, you won’t find the right formula on any list. A strong, purposeful committee should be inspired by management’s belief in the work of the committee and populated by members who sincerely want to improve the safety and health of their coworkers.
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