973-597-0750 [email protected]
How To Develop Labor/Management Safety Committees

73% of U.S. workers consider safety extremely important when deciding where to work.

To attract quality prospects in this competitive hiring market, you’ll need to commit to showing that you care about the safety of all your employees. 

A great way to do this is by developing a labor/management safety committee. But that can feel daunting if you don’t already have one or don’t even know what it is. 

In this post, we’ll go over safety committee requirements and answer questions like how do you create an effective safety committee and what is the key goal of a joint labor/management safety committee.

Keep reading to learn more.

What is A Labor/Management Safety Committee?

A labor/ management safety committee is a combined group of employees and managers whose job is to improve safety at a company. The members are there to identify, assess, and help prevent the hazards associated with the business.

These committees come with many benefits. Examples include fewer injuries and accidents, higher employee morale, and even lower workers’ comp premiums.

Development

When developing your company’s labor/management safety committee, remember OSHA’s 7 core elements. So, what are the seven core elements of a workplace safety program?

  • Management leadership
  • Worker participation
  • Hazard identification/assessment
  • Hazard prevention/control
  • Education and training
  • Program evaluation and improvement
  • Communication and coordination with contractors and staffed employees 

Legal Safety Committee Requirements

Your first step should be to check for any applicable state or federal safety committee requirements so you can stay in compliance. Start learning about some of the US Department of Labor requirements here.

Choose a Director

You’ll need the right people in the various safety committee roles and responsibilities to be as effective as possible. This should start with a strong director to lead the committee.

The first of OSHA’s seven elements requires management to be as committed to improving health and safety as the employees. Appointing a manager as the director can help ensure they’re fully bought in and help them lead by example.

The director needs to be able to communicate effectively with other members at all levels of the company. And this person also needs to have a good understanding of the different safety issues impacting the company.

Diverse Membership

The committee members should come from every department and every level of the company so that it will have members with diverse viewpoints and knowledge.

This will help to bring good worker participation because all employees should feel like they have a voice. Having a solid mix of departments and levels is one of the most critical factors that impact the success of a safety committee.

The breadth of knowledge offered by the members will help the committee to have a more well-rounded idea of the different issues and things happening in the company, not just in one department.

This will allow the committee to identify better and assess the company’s hazards. It will help them develop new and creative ways of presenting and controlling those hazards.

The committee’s size will depend on the company size and the number of departments or projects that need to be represented.

Set Schedule and Expectations

Once the committee members have been selected, you’ll need to set the schedule. This should include regular monthly meetings, at the least. Be sure to schedule far in advance, so the committee meetings and any related events remain a priority.

This is also the time to set expectations for how the committee will be run and how communications will be handled. The committee may want to select one person who will be in charge of documenting the meetings, or they may want to create a rotating schedule.

This should also be the time to set professional and respectful behavior expectations. Committee members may not always agree on different solutions, but it should be clear from the start that respectful debate and communication are required.

Mission Statement

Without a clear mission and purpose, the committee won’t be fully effective. One of the first things the committee does should be to clarify the purpose of the committee by creating a mission statement. 

The committee’s primary goals should be to educate and train all employees, management, contractors, and staff in proper safety protocols.

Create a safety committee checklist of the different goals and issues the committee plans to tackle. Depending on the business, this could include a plan for hearing conservation, electrical safety, or ergonomic risk assessment.

Run Organized, Efficient Meetings

The organization goes a long way towards the success of a committee. Make sure that the committee meetings have a clear structure and plan. 

Take minutes at each meeting showing what was discussed, and then send copies to all members. It’s a good idea to attach these to summary emails that go into further detail about what was discussed, the possible solutions, and who is responsible for further research. Also, include what will be discussed at the next meeting so members can prepare.

Periodically, a meeting should be used to check how the committee is progressing and whether safety at the company is improving.

Begin Developing a Labor/Management Safety Committee Now

The health and safety of your employees should always be your number one priority. Use these safety committee requirements to develop a labor/management safety committee and show your employees that you’re dedicated to creating a safe workplace.

If you’d like to work with professionals committed to creating safety in every workplace, Phase Associates can help! Contact us today.

When it comes to the workplace, safety should always be a number one priority. The Phase Associates progressive health and safety environmental consultants and training experts can guide you and help you develop a labor/management safety committee for your workplace throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland.

If you are interested in other workplace safety articles, be sure to check out our blog, as we have many. Below we list a few.

Workplace Safety Training Courses

Get Help With OSHA Recordkeeping and Recording

Electrical Safety in Construction

Excavation, Trenching, Piping Safety

Heat Stress Monitoring Services

5 Best Actions for Construction Site Safety