Organize a safety committee
Why safety committees are important
Your safety committee can be a powerful tool for injury prevention. A group of dedicated employees from throughout your company focused on making your workplace safer can make a real difference. A safety committee can help you protect your employees and prevent avoidable costs to you and your employees.
Who to include
Seek employees from different areas of your organization with varied backgrounds to be on your safety committee. This can help get diverse perspectives on how safety issues and solutions will be viewed throughout the organization. Try to include at least as many front-line employees as upper management members. This can make members feel more comfortable discussing important safety topics.
Is a safety committee required?
What do safety committees do?
Develop and review safety policies and procedures
Evaluate safety and health programs
Conduct workplace safety inspections
Review workplace accidents, illnesses, exposures and near misses
Evaluate OSHA compliance
Make recommendations in response to hazards and incidents
Bring external safety resources to the company
Promote safety and recommend safety training
Tips for committee success
- Have clearly defined goals and a mission statement
- Respond when employees give feedback
- Stay focused; avoid taking on too many activities
- Ensure your program is supported by leadership and consistent with their messages to staff
- Enforce safety policies
- Define how long committee members will serve
For specific questions about organizing a safety committee, call your loss prevention representative at 800-937-1181.
