Developing an Effective Safety Committee
Format:
The committee’s format shall consist of conducting monthly meetings to determine the safety management
needs of the company.
Membership:
The committee will be comprised of (volunteers willing to participate):
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A representative of upper management
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A chairperson (facilitator)
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A recording secretary (who distributes minutes each month)
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A representative of each department (ensure that there is an even manager-to-employee mix)
If a member cannot make a meeting, a replacement must be assigned to fill in.
Meeting Sequence:
1. Sign-in
2. Call the meeting to order (chair)
3. Introduction of new members or visitors (if applicable)
4. Review of injury trends and discussion of root causes (prior month)
5. Report by Cove Risk Services Health and Safety Consultant (if applicable)
6. List all safety activities (accident investigations, observations, inspections)
7. Old business
8. New business
9. Open Discussion
10. Date/time for next meeting
11. Adjournment
Duties:
Safety committee members should be active and responsible for affecting changes in the company’s health
and safety program. Team members should be responsible for:
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Assisting in conducting accident investigations (with supervisors)
Conducting periodic area inspections
Observing employee behaviors
Analyzing losses and loss trends
Listen to co-workers regarding safety concerns and introduce those concerns at the next meeting
Performing ergonomic assessments (sub-committee)
Analyze Loss Data:
Each month, the facilitator should review and chart accident data (i.e., from accident investigation reports,
workers’ compensation loss runs, etc.). He/she should then provide charts to the safety committee each
quarter to compare trends.
Accident Review Board:
Depending on how often injuries occur, you may want to create an Accident Review Board (ARB). The purpose
of the ARB is to conduct “formal” reviews of accidents that were investigated by management. The ARB should
consist of at least one Safety Committee member, a department head and an hourly employee. Each time an
accident report is reviewed by the Safety Committee facilitator, he/she should determine if it warrants ARB
review. If so, the ARB will convene to determine what action, if any should be taken. (This may also help
reduce fraudulent claims.)
Recommendations to Management:
Once the Safety Committee agrees to changes in health and safety policies and/or procedures, the facilitator
should draft a proposal and present the proposal to top management for consideration. The results of top
management’s decision should be relayed to the Safety Committee for discussion, implementation and/or
possible modification.
Measure Progress:
The Safety Committee facilitator should develop a (tracking system) that indicates whether there has been an
upward or downward trend in claims frequency (number of injuries) and severity (cost of injuries). The Safety
Committee should then develop strategies to reduce frequency and/or severity based on any noted increases.
Reachable goals should be set for the following year. Depending on the frequency of incidents, other areas of
trending should be considered (e.g. “day of week”, “time of day”, “shift/supervisor”, “machine type or area”,
“length of employment”, etc.