Safety Committee Functions

Functions and Duties

1. Management Commitment to Workplace Safety and Health

   Establish procedures for review and management's response to minutes. Submit written recommendations for safety/health improvement/changes and response. Evaluate employer's safety/health policies and procedures. Respond in writing to safety committee recommendations. Review corrective action taken by management.

2. Committee Meetings and Employee Involvement

   Establish procedures for employee input, i.e. to receive suggestions, report hazards, and other pertinent safety and health information. Include employee input on agenda for safety committee meetings. Hold monthly meetings. Keep meeting minutes. Develop and make available a written agenda for each meeting. Take meeting minutes and distribute to management and the safety committee members. Include in the meeting minutes all recommendations.

3. Hazard Assessment and Control

   Establish procedures for workplace inspections to identify safety and health hazards. Assist the employer in evaluating the accident and illness prevention program. Appoint an inspection team of at least one employee representative and one employer representative. Conduct workplace inspections at least quarterly. Make a written report of hazards discovered during inspections. Review corrective measures. Make written recommendation to correct the hazard, and submit it to management for timely response.

4. Safety/Health Planning

   Establish procedures to review inspection reports and make appropriate implementation of new safety/health rules and work practice. Develop/establish procedures for an annual review of the company safety and health program.

5. Accountability

   Evaluate the company safety and health accountability program. Make recommendations to implement supervisor and employee accountability for safety and health.

6. Accident/Incident Investigations

   Establish procedures for reviewing reports completed for all safety incidents, including injury accidents, illnesses and deaths. Review these reports so that recommendations can be made for appropriate corrective action to prevent recurrence.

7. Safety/Health Training for Committee Members

   Identify and make accessible applicable OSHA standards and other codes that apply to your particular industry. Provide specific training on your type of business activity. Include at a minimum, hazard identification of the workplace and how to perform effective accident incident investigation. Identify the location of safety procedures provide with appropriate equipment and inform employees of their location. Recommend training for new employees and refresher training on company, department and work location safety practices, procedures and emergency response. Management should maintain and make available to the safety committee records on employee safety training.

Workplace Safety Committee Member Duties

Actual duties will vary according to company needs.