By Leasa Hachey
In order to continually improve, any health and safety committee needs some measure of performance. The committee should be periodically assessed for effectiveness in order to strengthen weak areas and maintain strong ones.
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (http://www.ccohs.ca) lists a number of evaluation methods that can be used to gather information to measure effectiveness, such as:
Do the workers know who is on the committee?
Workers should be aware of who is on the committee so that they can communicate with the members and voice any safety concerns.
Suggestion: Post a list of committee member names in a prominent location visible to all staff.
Do supervisors see it as a threat to established worker/supervisor communication channels?
In most workplaces, employees report unsafe acts and conditions initially to their immediate supervisor, who is then responsible for acting on such reports and for directing safe work procedures. Undermining this communication channel could result in resentment of the committee.
Suggestion: Committee members should not interfere with this process except under special circumstances, such as cases of imminent danger where immediate corrective action is necessary.
Are members’ duties and their level of authority known to workers?
When everyone understands who is doing what, cooperation will increase.
Suggestion: The duties and authority of committee members should be posted for all to read and form a part of new employee orientation.
Is the committee seen by workers as being useful in reducing safety issues?
If the committee is not seen as useful, feedback from workers may decrease and there will be poor cooperation, or even opposition, to the committee.
Suggestion: In order to maintain a high degree of safety awareness throughout the workplace, committee members should communicate solutions as well as problems and committee successes need to be publicized at least as well as occasional failures. It is also important for the committee to respond and resolve problems in a timely manner.
How many committee recommendations have been implemented?
The number of recommendations implemented should exceed those not implemented. If it does not, this may indicate that there is a lack of management commitment to safety or that the recommendations are unrealistic.
Suggestion: The committee should provide achievable solutions to health and safety problems and management should support realistic recommendations.
Are members perceived as enforcers or advisors?
If committee members act as enforcers they may alienate their coworkers.
Suggestion: Committee members should only observe and advise, leaving compliance enforcement to supervisors.
Do employees perceive the committee as reducing management’s responsibility for maintaining a safe workplace?
Opposition to health and safety committees can sometimes come from the belief that these committees reduce or remove management's overall responsibility for safety in the workplace.
Suggestion: It should be clearly communicated to workers that formation of a committee does not mean management is in any way less responsible for safety in the workplace.
