Workplace safety and health concern every employee. Whether or not they work in a job that is traditionally thought of as dangerous, employers need to fully consider all of the safety implications in the average workday. Workplace health and safety committees should be formed to study the safety aspect of each company, with special attention paid to health issues that can come up during the workday. Kevin Gray, a facilities management expert, explains the role of a workplace health and safety committee and gives some test cases when a robust committee could help to prevent injury, ill health, and death on the job.
The Mission of the Workplace Health and Safety Committee
Employees understand how their jobs are done, so they should be part of the safety committee. If managers take over these committees with no employee input, they may miss crucial information. The first responsibility that these committees have is to develop safe work practices. Each function of the company should be studied to make sure that safety goals are being met.
Even sedentary jobs like collating and filing can result in workplace injuries related to repetitive stress. Office workers should not be ignored when it comes to setting up a workplace health and safety committee.
Committees also need to create written documents outlining all of the safety requirements of their company. These documents will be used to train employees and to provide accountability to the employees and the company alike.
Training programs should also be put into place. Each part of the company needs to have its own specific type of safety training, from office workers to warehouse workers and heavy equipment users. Certain types of employers including colleges and universities need more training to use dangerous equipment or chemicals.
A safety committee will need to do self-inspections to make sure that these safety provisions are being handled properly. If a safety committee finds a problem, they should be able to provide this information to management without any problems. Management needs to adopt an attitude of openness toward safety.
Safety committees also need to be able to investigate workplace accidents. They may need to be assisted by a consultant or another outside firm.
On the health side, workers should be supported in healthy activities like eating right, exercising, and participating in stress-reducing activities. Some health and safety committees are also involved with choosing employee health insurance based on a number of special requirements.
Composition of the Health and Safety Committee
Health and safety committees should include 50 percent worker representatives. If workers’ concerns are ignored or swept under the rug, serious safety problems can occur. Senior management should also be involved in the committee, especially if their jobs deal directly with the more dangerous jobs in the company. For example, a good health and safety committee should involve the facilities manager, technical leads, factory floor workers, and office staff of the company.
Prevention of Serious Incidents
As much as possible, the health and safety committee should be concerned with preventing incidents and accidents. Carefully examining each job description in the company and judging each position’s possibility for accidents is a key function of the committee. Every employee should be brought in to meet with the committee in an effort to target unsafe areas of operation. Whistleblowers need to be respected with the understanding that they will not be punished for reporting unsafe conditions to the committee.
Final Takeaways
When the entire company works together, safety and health issues are less likely to become huge problems for the organization. A carefully staffed committee will be able to handle the responsibility of ensuring worker safety while keeping an eye on new developments in the safety field. The health aspect of the committee needs to support a healthy employee without being rigid or punitive.
Kevin Gray reminds all employers that complete representation on the health and safety committee is the goal of every company. When employees from every area are involved, problems can be avoided.
