Safety Committee Basic Training

MODULE 2: HOW TO START A SAFETY COMMITTEE

Introduction

This module is designed to help you if you're trying to start a new safety committee in your company. However, if you already have a safety committee, be sure to complete this module because you'll still receive some good information to help you further develop your safety committee's effectiveness. At a minimum, it will be a great review for you. First things first...sell the idea to the boss Let's say your company does not currently have a safety committee. You know your company is required by Oregon OSHA rules to have a safety committee, but for other reasons, you're convinced that the company would benefit if it started one. But how do you "sell" the idea to management? It's a bet you'll have to talk about the bottom line benefits to get management's attention.

Ka-Ching! The Profit Center Safety Committee

Some employers think of safety as a merely one of the costs of doing business. They believe the safety committee is a "cost center" activity that drains the company of money it needs for other production-oriented purposes. If this is the case where you work, think about selling management on the safety committee by first making a commitment to the employer that you intend to make sure the safety committee is a "profit center" activity: that you will only conduct activities and make recommendations that can be shown to somehow save money for the employer. You promise not do things that waste time and money or otherwise duplicate what employees, supervisors, and managers should be doing as part of their jobs. For private-sector companies, this helps improve the overall profit margin. For public sector organizations, this helps conduct services within budget. Let's take a closer look at this idea.

Bottom line benefits of a safety committee

• The safety committee performs the role of a consultant to the employer. If your employer hired an external consultant it would cost thousands of dollars long-term for the same service the safety committee can provide in-house.

  
  

• The safety committee acts as a forum for management and labor to communicate safety related concerns. The benefits from improved communications may be hard to quantify, but they may be substantial.

  
  

• Every hazard the safety committee identifies and is directly involved in eliminating results in significant savings in potential accident costs. We'll talk more about this later.

  
  

• The safety committee can serve as a valuable problem solving group that addresses workplace conditions, morale and quality. By developing solutions, the safety committee improves the company's competitive advantage.

  
  

• The safety committee is an excellent opportunity for employees to improve their professional skills in communications, human relations, problem solving, meeting management, and analysis. Since supervisors and managers should be informed about occupational safety and health, the safety committee is a natural "school" of preparation for future company managers. In fact, some companies even make it a prerequisite.

The safety committee protects the employer as well as the employee

As we just learned, by identifying and being involved in eliminating hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices, the safety committee may save the company thousands of dollars in potential accident costs. In fact, for each eliminated hazard, that could have caused a serious injury, many thousands in savings are realized.

The National Safety Council also estimates that the average direct and indirect costs associated with a non-lost time injury is around $7,000. A lost time injury will cost around $28,000, and a workplace fatality will average $980,000!

In Oregon, the 2002 direct costs...the workers' compensation costs to close a lost-time claim...averaged $12,611: Indirect costs can be two to four times that amount. To close a fatality claim will require close to $300,000

Write strong recommendations by emphasizing costs vs. benefits

What does this mean to you? Statistics like those above can be used by the safety committee to write strong recommendations that emphasize the bottom line by contrasting the costs vs. the benefits. Including cost vs. benefit analysis with each recommendation can show how much money your safety committee help save the company every time it uncovers and improves a hazardous condition, unsafe work practice, or inadequate procedure.

You can take advantage of statistics like this from the National Safety council to sell the benefits of the safety committee.

For every dollar spent by your employer on proactive safety, including safety committee activities, may return hundreds back. You've got to convince management that an effective safety committee not only saves lives, but saves money too. It's a profit center.

Now that you've got support, get it down on paper

It's important to make sure the safety committee has a written plan that includes all of the following sections:

• Role, purpose(s) of the safety committee.
• Reasons for establishing the safety committee.
• Need for management and employee participation.
• Need for support by all departments.
• Responsibilities of the committee.
• Duties of committee members.

Here's an example of a written plan that you can use as a template for your safety committee. Be sure you modify it to meet the unique needs of your safety committee.

XYZ Safety Committee Plan Introduction XYZ Corporation is committed to accident prevention in order to protect the safety and health of all our 125 employees. Injury and illness losses due to hazards are needless, costly and preventable. To prevent these losses, a joint management/worker safety committee will be established. Employee involvement in accident prevention and support of safety committee members and activities is necessary to ensure and safe and healthful workplace. Purpose. The purpose of our safety committee is to bring workers and management together in a non-adversarial, cooperative effort to help our employer promote and maintain a safe and healthful workplace. Organization. There will be at least two management representatives to XYZ's safety committee. One employee representative from each department will also be elected or encouraged to volunteer as a safety committee member. Managers and employees are encouraged to volunteer as members of the committee. Membership. The safety committee chairperson will be elected from the committee membership and will serve at the pleasure of the committee. Safety committee members will serve a continuous term of at least one year. Length of membership will be staggered so that at least one experienced member is always serving on the committee. Membership in the committee will be considered professional development and annotated to each member's performance appraisal. XYZ considers membership in the committee as a prerequisite for advancement to management positions. Responsibility. The safety committee has the following responsibilities: Meet regularly to discuss safety and health Communicate with employees and the employer Identify hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices Recommend strategies to eliminate hazards Recommendations. Safety committee written recommendations will be submitted to management. Management will respond to recommendations according to the following schedule: Identified Hazard Severity of Injury Response Fatal Fatality Immediate Serious Serious physical harm Immediate Minor Minor injury 14 days Administrative Not applicable 30 days Procedures. The committee's plan of action requires procedures by which the committee may successfully fulfill its role. Procedures developed should include: Meeting date, time, and location. Election of chairperson and recorder. Order of business. Records. Duties of each member should include: Report unsafe conditions and practices Attend all safety and health meetings Review all accidents and near-misses Recommend ideas for improving safety and health Set an example by working in a safe and healthful manner Observe how safety and health is enforced in the workplace Complete chairperson/committee assignments Represent employee safety interests Summary. Only the planning and effective leadership of management and the safety committee can build a program which lasts. The safety committee should be an effective problem-solving team, providing guidance and leadership in safety and health matters. Ima Goody CEO

Getting organized

OK, you know the safety committee is going to be composed of a number of people from management and the labor force. What kind of structure should the safety committee take? That really depends on the mandate the committee has received from the employer, the management system, size of the organization, and the corporate culture. But, generally safety committees are composed of the following positions:

• Employee Representative
• Management Representative
• Chairperson
• Recorder
• Treasurer

The elected chairperson has some very important duties to fulfill:

• Prepare an agenda for meetings
• Arrange for meeting room
• Notify members of meeting dates/times
• Distribute agenda
• Delegate responsibilities
• Make assignments
• Preside and conduct the meeting
• Enforce committee ground rules
• Communicate with the employer
• Report the status of recommendations

Duties of the safety committee recorder

• Assist the chairperson with agenda
• Record minutes of the meeting
• Distribute and post the minutes
• Assume chairperson's duties if necessary

Duties of safety committee members

• Receive suggestions, concerns, reports from employees
• Report employee suggestions, concerns, reports to committee
• Report back to employees on their suggestions, concerns, reports
• Attend all safety committee meetings
• Receive training on safety and health subjects
• Review injury and illness reports
• Monitor safety and health programs and system
• Set example by working safely
• Conduct safety inspections
• Make recommendations for corrective action
• Assist in communicating committee activities to all employees

Some thoughts on the makeup of the safety committee

If one of the purposes of the safety committee is to bring management and labor together in a cooperative effort to improve the safety and health of workers, it just makes business sense to include representatives from management ranks as well as the work floor.

Management and labor can sit together and discuss their unique and common concerns regarding safety. The safety committee becomes a forum for arriving at mutual solutions to problems that helps to ensure that both management and labor acceptance.

It's important that the safety committee not be dominated by management in general, or any one individual, be it the safety director, chairperson, or member. To make sure this does not happen, establish ground rules, and techniques for decision-making that promotes group consensus.

Management representatives and the chairperson will be the primary conduits of communications between the safety committee and the employer. Committee members are the primary communicators with employees. It's very important that communications occurs in both directions.

Last words

Well, you've sold the CEO on the value of the safety committee, wrote an effective safety committee plan, and recruited members. You're organized, but don't relax...there's quite a bit more to do if you expect long term success. But first, it's time for the module review quiz. Good luck!

Let's Review

11. When designed and conducted effectively the safety committee can save the organization far more money than is invested in safety. According to the text, when the safety committee does this, it functions as a _______________.

a. cost-center activity
b. staff support
c. profit-center activity
d. line activity

12. Bottom-line benefits of safety committees include all of the following except?

a. higher morale
b. increased profits
c. improved problem solving
d. coercive relationships

13 According to the NSC, the average direct and indirect costs for a lost time injury on the job is _______.

a. $10,000
b. $28,000
c. $100,000
d. $300,000

14. The average Oregon workers' compensation costs to close a lost-time claim is around _______.

a. $12,600
b. $28,000
c. $108,000
d. $350,000

15. The average Oregon workers' compensation costs to close a fatality claim is around _______.

a. $10,000
b. $28,000
c. $100,000
d. $300,000

16. A well-written safety committee plan does all of the following except?

a. Details the role, purpose(s) of the safety committee.
b. Explains how members can contribute to the success of the committee.
c. Increases safety committee member anxiety.
d. Reviews member responsibilities.

17. It's important that the safety committee chairperson be appointed by the safety manager or employer.

a. True
b. False

18. It's important that the safety committee not be dominated by management in general, or any one individual, be it the safety director, chairperson, or member. To make sure the safety committee is not dominated by one person's ideas, do any/all of the following except?

a. establish ground rules
b. appoint that person as the chair
c. work with an agenda
d. make decisions based on consensus

19. The safety committee's action plan should include all of the following except:

a. Election of chairperson and recorder
b. Enforcement procedures
c. Meeting date, time, and location
d. Order of business

20. All safety committee members should be involved in designing the action plan.

a. True
b. False

Answers to the quiz.

Congratulations on completing the second module! Now that you have learned what it takes to get that committee up and running, let's continue on to the next module to learn how to motivate committee members. If you have any questions or comments, just drop me an email at allen.e.freauff@state.or.us.