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JANUARY 2011
In This Issue:

The Dangers of Snow and Ice Accumulation on
Vehicles


4 Tips to Safely Navigate Unfamiliar Roadways


How to Form a Safety Committee


Loss Prevention Director Dennis Shinault Awarded DSSA


Safety Message: Truck-Involved Fatalities Drop Significatly


Resource Library


2010 Quill Index


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How to Form a Safety Committee

Creating a culture of safety and healthy behavior is increasingly important in today’s workplace. A safety committee can help your company reach this goal by reducing losses through fewer and less severe accidents and injuries, and promoting efficiency among all of your employees.

 

A successful safety committee must set clear goals, determine action strategies, provide sufficient resources and bring together committed, well-trained members. To implement a committee within your company, follow these steps:

Define the structure
Decide what the purpose and responsibilities of the committee will be. Duties may include:

  • Reporting unsafe conditions and suggesting corrective actions
  • Reviewing incidents and near misses, claim summaries and loss analyses
  • Examining all serious injuries to help prevent reoccurrences
  • Analyzing facility and equipment safety
  • Promoting and modeling safe operations through actions and examples

Establish authority
Define the committee’s authority to make changes based upon its findings. Keep in mind, however, that a safety committee cannot be involved with employee disciplinary actions; this must remain the responsibility of the department manager and human resources.

Determine the optimal size
Typically, five to ten members is an ideal group size. However, you should choose the number of representatives that will work best for your company.

Choose specific committee members
Whether you hand-pick or invite employees to participate in the committee, they must be interested in promoting safety and committed to actively working toward that goal. Include representatives from each department, with various levels of responsibility.

Involve top management
Top management participation will show employees that the company is committed to safety and values the committee’s efforts.

Conduct the initial meeting
The first meeting should be used to:

  • Review the committee’s purpose, functionality and goals
  • Train members on processes that will be used
  • Set a schedule for future meetings
  • Delegate responsibilities and nominate committee officers
  • Prioritize duties
  • Determine the need for and assign members to subcommittees

Review the progress
To provide accountability to the safety committee, the group’s progress should be reviewed at least once a year to ensure the company’s safety goals and objectives are being met.

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Looking for more safety information from Baldwin & Lyons, Inc.?
Visit our website www.quillsafety.com for online driver training, safety resources and many other loss prevention services.

Baldwin & Lyons, Inc.
1099 North Meridian Street, Suite 700 | Indianapolis, IN 46204
(800) 644-5501 | Fax: (317) 632-9444
www.baldwinandlyons.com

www.baldwinandlyons.com