Why ohs meetings are important

Normally such increased authority does not extend to situations where a supervisor's responsibility might be overridden, such as correcting unsafe acts or shutting down an unsafe operation unless imminent danger exists.

However, a committee member should have the right to discuss the resolution of safety matters with any supervisor. However, the committee's main role is to make recommendations for action. The authority for action, and hence the accountability for non-compliance, stays with the employer.

Establishing a committee does not lessen the employer's accountability or responsibility for health and safety. The individual to whom the committee reports should be fully knowledgeable about committee duties, health and safety issues, and committed to the prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses. A committee which does not meet on a regular basis will lose its drive, and will be perceived by workers and management to be of limited effectiveness. Some laws state that the committee must meet at least monthly or quarterly every three months.

Under certain circumstances, such as the initial stages of a newly formed committee or where extraordinary safety problems exist, it may be necessary to meet more often than the legal minimum. In organizations where conditions that cause incidents appear to be well managed, meeting time can be effectively used for additional health and safety education or training for the members.

Committees should not be satisfied with just having a quorum at each meeting, but should strive for full attendance.

Appoint alternates to the committee to help achieve this goal. Absenteeism leaves parts of the work force without representation, creates discontinuity in committee activities, indicates a lack of commitment to workplace safety, and reduces the credibility of the committee as a whole. Meetings should be scheduled well in advance, ideally for a set time of day and day of week to promote regular attendance and allow preparation time for committee members.

Once the time and date is set, the meeting should not be postponed except for emergency reasons. Frequently postponed meetings will be seen as symptoms of lack of interest in safety, lack of management commitment, and lack of committee leadership. The timing of meetings may depend on factors which are difficult to control.

For example, when different shifts have to be represented, a time immediately before or after a shift change might be best. Conflicts with the times when many key employees are most needed at their workstation should be avoided if possible. Whatever time is chosen, it should be the same for each meeting to promote attendance and to emphasize the importance of committee activities.

Where available, a conference room equipped with appropriate training aids such as flip charts, chalk boards, and screens would be ideal. In any case, the area chosen should be one where meetings can be held under quiet, uninterrupted conditions.

Like all important, well-organized meetings, those of the committee should start promptly at the designated time. Tardy starts are another warning sign of the lack of interest or commitment by members. On the other hand, since committee members have other duties to perform, meetings should also close at the scheduled time. No matter how carefully it is planned, any meeting which is frequently interrupted by telephone calls, texts or e-mails, people popping in to discuss something with individuals, or where committee members are called out of the room will degenerate into a state of disorganization.

These disruptions may indicate that the meeting is not very important, and certainly secondary to the normal day-to-day activities in the company. An agenda serves both as a guide to members' preparation for the meeting and as an outline for the order of business at the meeting itself. Items which might be considered are:. All employees management and labour should be encouraged to submit items to their committee representatives who in turn must be given the opportunity to present the items for discussion.

However, since the committee has only a limited time to deal with all health and safety aspects, these items should be screened before the whole committee addresses them.

Priorities might be established based on incident experience, inspection reports, or events such as the introduction of new equipment or procedures. Approval of agenda items could be made by the committee as a whole, but here the danger lies in spending too much time on discussing priorities rather than on actual health and safety problems.

The decision might best be left to the discretion of the co-chair persons, as long as both labour and management are represented in the decision. One of the reasons for preparing an agenda is to allow each member to prepare for the meeting. This preparation may involve discussions with the group that member represents, study of health and safety problems noted on the agenda, or gathering information.

Each member needs to know the topics under consideration in order to contribute effectively at the meeting. Conduct productive, educational, and results-oriented meetings. Encourage active participation by everyone involved.

Focus on making health and safety a priority and identifying and controlling hazards. Bring to the meeting inspection reports, recent incident investigation reports, first aid reports and new safe work procedures. They get employees thinking about safety and encourage them to come up with ideas and suggestions for preventing accidents and minimising the hazards with which they are most familiar.

Safety meetings motivate employees to follow proper safety practices. Small group meetings are the best place to demonstrate the uses of protective equipment, proper lifting techniques and other safety procedures.

Safety meetings can help to nip safety hazards in the bud. A safety meeting is the time to pinpoint minor hazards before they result in real problems. It also presents a good opportunity to discuss hazards that are inherent in the environment and that experienced employees are likely to take for granted. Safety meetings introduce workers to new safety rules, equipment and preventive practices.