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Safety Committee meetings - Getting them Working for You
Many organisations hold committee meetings on a regular basis because they have always done so and because management requires it. There is nothing wrong in that, but the point is, are you making the best use of this time, both from the safety and production points of view?
Just think of the cost of having, say, at least four of your people off the floor at the same time e.g. a manager, a supervisor and two safety representatives. Apart from the fact that you are paying their wages consider the lost production and general disruption.
What am I getting at? Well, in my experience holding the safety committee meeting is a ritual in many firms that is played out each month. Usually the meeting doesn't start on time because people turn up late, or they send their excuses for not attending because they are too "busy" or they just don't turn up at all. When the meeting finally gets under way the complaints and bitches start and the meeting wanders around for an hour or so with no decisions being made and no action taken. By the end everyone is frustrated. In fact, the meeting has been pointless and reinforces the view that there is little common ground between management and workers.
Sure, this is a worst case scenario but some of you will know what I mean.
So what should we be doing? Here we are with a group of people representing different points of view and with different agendas - how can we get the best out of them and how can they contribute?
The first requirement for productive safety committee meetings lies in the hands of management. A senior manager should always attend and attend on time: this demonstrates management commitment to the process and to improving safety generally. Don't leave it to the supervisors to run; senior management is responsible for setting safety standards, it's an integral part of their job and it can't be delegated. We also need a senior manager present at every meeting because decisions have to be made. (It is also possible that management may learn something useful about what is actually happening in their business, about the stuff-ups, mistakes and problems.)
Next, we need an agenda to follow - the following is a suggested format:
- Acceptance and signing of previous minutes
- Follow up last month's business and confirm corrective action taken
- Accident Reports & Hazard Near-Miss Reports
- Monthly Statistics i.e. Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate; Incidence Rate; Analysis of Accidents
- Inspection and Housekeeping Reports
- Management Report - proposed workplace/process changes
- Safety Documentation Review (if necessary)
- Review Safety Plan & progress towards Objectives and Targets
- New Business
- Close, fix next meeting, date, time, place
Bear in mind that the purpose of the meeting is Continual Improvement. Members of the committee will have complaints or mention things which are not up to scratch. If this is the case they should be dealt with promptly and fixed. This is not an opportunity for workers to criticise management or vice versa. If things are not happening the way they should then these should be seen as Opportunities for Improvement, both from the safety and production aspects. Considered in this light, the safety committee is a vital component in the improvement process.
What do we do with all these complaints/Opportunities for Improvement? Obviously, the meeting will have to decide whether or not they are valid. If they are valid and the corrective action is agreed then management must act. One of the best ways to destroy both the credibility of management and the significance of the Safety Committee, from the employees' point of view, is for nothing to happen.
Sadly, this state of affairs is not uncommon. Someone complains, it goes to the safety committee and nothing more is heard of it. Don't get me wrong, I know there are always plenty of complaints which come up which are either not genuine or are insignificant, but if there is a genuine problem and there is a solution - then fix it, promptly. If you can't fix the problem, speak to the person who raised the issue and let them know what is going on - give them feedback.
Safety Committees are there to make improvements and changes for the better - if the committee does nothing then it just becomes an exercise in futility and a joke and you are wasting time and money.
Another important aspect of committee meetings are the Minutes. I recommend that you use a four column system. Column 1 - Item number. Column 2 - Action Required. Column 3 - Name of person/s responsible for taking the action. Column 4 - Completion or review date for the Action Required.
Keep the minutes brief but indicate that all the agenda items have been covered. You don't have to write a lot - just record what action is required for each item on the agenda, who will do it and by when.
Bear in mind that the minutes are designed to record that all the agenda items have been covered and to act as an Action Plan to be addressed before the next meeting. The emphasis is upon Action, making required changes and improvements and moving the whole safety process forward for continual improvement.
Last of all, get the minutes typed up promptly after the meeting and onto the safety notice board so everyone can see what is going on - this is an essential part of the communication process.
So, that's a very quick view of the Safety Committee process which you may find useful.
AchieveSafety - www.achievesafety.com
