Safety Committee Basic Training

COURSE INTRODUCTION

Not many years ago, Oregon employers were saddled with the 6th highest workers compensation costs of all 50 states. Approximately 45,000 Oregon workers a year were being seriously injured, or made ill on the job.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, management, labor, and government came together through the legislative process to reform the workers’ compensation system and to make safety and health on the job top priority. One of the key elements in this effort to prevent on-the-job injuries and illnesses was the passing of a law that required employers to have a workplace safety committee.

Although everyone acknowledges that a safety committee process is never perfect, imagine the benefit of having workers and management in a large number of Oregon workplaces coming together on a regular basis to identify and solve everyday safety and health problems.

It’s been 11 years now since the first reforms took place. Employment is at a record high, and on-the-job injuries and illnesses are at a record low. Oregon workers’ compensation costs are now ranked 38th of all 50 states. This translates to an estimated savings of $4.8 billion over 11 years.

Although we can't say precisely what part safety committees played in this remarkable turnaround, they did play a part. This is not the time to let our guard down though. One of Oregon OSHA’s strategic goals for the next five years is to continue to emphasize the benefits of effective safety committees.

OR-OSHA’s requirements for safety committees

Effective safety committees prevent workplace injuries and illnesses, and that’s the best reason for starting one; however, your workplace must have a safety committee if it meets one of the following conditions:

• Has 11 or more employees
• Has 10 or fewer employees and a lost-workday-cases incidence rate in the top 10 percent of those rates for employers in the same industry
• Has 10 or fewer employees, is not an agricultural employer, and has an NCCI classification and premium rate in the top 25 percent of rates for all NCCI classifications

Our goal is to help you continue to prevent accidents and keep workers’ compensation costs low. With this goal in mind, have fun and study hard on this informative online training course. Remember, if you have questions please free to send your instructor an email.

OK, let's head over to Module One!