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Friday, 5 July 2024

SMS : Safety Committee , Selection & Duties of Members

Chapter : Safety Management 

Safety Committees, Selection & Duties of Members

Safety committees are an essential component of any organization that prioritizes the well-being and security of its employees. These committees are tasked with identifying potential hazards in the workplace, implementing safety protocols and procedures, and ensuring that all employees are trained in proper safety practices. By fostering a culture of safety within the workplace, safety committees play a crucial role in preventing accidents, injuries, and illnesses.

One of the primary responsibilities of a safety committee is to conduct regular inspections of the workplace to identify potential hazards. This may include inspecting equipment, machinery, and work areas to ensure that they meet safety standards and regulations. By identifying and addressing potential hazards proactively, safety committees can help prevent accidents and injuries before they occur.

In addition to identifying hazards, safety committees are also responsible for developing and implementing safety procedures and protocols. This may involve creating safety training programs for employees, establishing emergency response plans, and conducting regular safety drills. By ensuring that all employees are trained in proper safety practices, safety committees can help minimize the risk of accidents and injuries in the workplace.

Furthermore, safety committees play a critical role in promoting a culture of safety within the organization. By fostering open communication and collaboration between employees and management, safety committees can create an environment where safety is everyone's responsibility. This can help to increase employee awareness of potential hazards and encourage them to report any safety concerns they may encounter.

Overall, safety committees are an integral part of maintaining a safe and healthy workplace. By identifying hazards, implementing safety procedures, and promoting a culture of safety, safety committees can help prevent accidents, injuries, and illnesses in the workplace. Organizations that prioritize safety committees demonstrate a commitment to the well-being of their employees and contribute to a safer and more productive work environment.

Selection Safety Committee Members

What makes a successful safety committee member?

Safety committee members must:

Set a good example. Committee members must set a good example. He / She must be above average in their safe work habits and their positive attitude about safety.
Be visible. Names of safety committee members should be posted prominently in their departments. They are the strong right hand to Engineers/supervisors. Some companies also give safety committee badges to identify their committee members.
Hold regular meetings. Safety committees must meet formally (usually at least once a month, sometimes biweekly).
Serve as a sounding board for safety and health activities. Positive management groups ask their safety committees to be sounding boards on proposals for new safety rules, developing RA/JHA changes or additions to personal protective equipment, participate in safety fairs and safety victory days.

Job Description of Effective Committee Member:-

Primary Function

To give your best efforts to make the department free from accidents and occupational health problems.

Duties
  • Work safely yourself-set the example in the department. Attend and actively participate in safety committee meetings when on day or second shift. If you are on third shift, notify your supervisor so that your alternate can attend.
  • Work with your supervisor to eliminate hazardous conditions and unsafe work practices in the department. Speak to your fellow employees if you believe that they are engaged in an unsafe work practice; report things which you feel you can't handle to your supervisor for further action.
  • Investigate with your supervisor recordable case injuries that occur in your department. Participate in Plant ./ Site Review Committee activities on lost workday case accidents or industrial illnesses in your department.
  • Listen to employee suggestions about safety and bring those that appear to have merit to the department supervisor for review.
  • Coordinate with your alternate to conduct department safety inspections in the first week of each month, using the pre-printed checklist as your guide. Each quarter participate with a plant management member in a facility wide safety audit.
Importance of  Safety Meetings

Safety meetings are an opportunity for management and safety department to communicate employees how they can do their jobs safer and better. Topics discussed in safety meetings may be topics that you are familiar with, or topics that you have limited knowledge about.


If the topic is something that you are familiar with, it may be easy to tune-out and not listen to the safety information presented. Do yourself a big favor and listen to the information as if you have never heard before. You may just learn something new, about the newest protective equipment, or a smarter way to do your job. Information passed on in a safety meeting has a purpose - to stop you or your co-worker from being injured. Safety meetings also allow employees an opportunity to relay safety concerns or improvement ideas to their supervisors.

 Accidents result from unsafe acts or unsafe conditions. According to some experts, for a variety of reasons, unsafe acts typically account for 90% of all accidents. Safety meetings serve as a preventative measure against unsafe acts by educating employees on how they can do their job safely.

 If you're still not sold, let's look at the potential cost of accidents. More specifically, how can accidents directly affect you?
  • DEATH - The ultimate unwanted result. Where does this leave your loved ones?
  • FINANCIAL COST - Lost pay or reduction in pay. Who pays the bills? Are you the sole income producer in your household?
  • PAIN & SUFFERING - An obvious detriment that no one desires.
  • DISABILITY - A life changing experience. Now you're not able to do what you use to do.  Maybe now you can't cast that fishing rod? Ride that bike, hug your wife, lift your child, or simply see? Or perhaps you're confined to a wheelchair. Good bye career.
  • COMPETITIVENESS ON BIDDING JOBS - Other than payroll and benefits, worker' compensation insurance and accident costs may represent the bulk of a company's operating expense. When a company's operating expense increases, they are then less competitive to bid jobs. If your company is not awarded jobs, where does that leave you?
  • YOUR CO-WORKERS SAFETY - Perhaps you and your co-worker have been working together for sometime now. Chances are you may spend as much time with your co-workers as you do your own family. Thus, you obviously do not want something bad to happen to them. Watch out for their safety too.
Safety meetings are a perfect opportunity for you to communicate any safety ideas or concerns that you may have. Participate in your safety meetings. If you don't participate, then your ideas will not be heard. Who knows…the idea that you have may very well save your co-worker's life or even your own.

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