We dont have a H&S Committee. Instead having an Safety Advocates group. They dont have objectives. Their purpose is to be a communication conduit on safety issues.

Hey, we have a slight different approach as well. All of our staff make up our committee. We firmly believe each and every one of us needs to be a safety advocate in order to truely be engaged and have any hope building a bright productive and safe future.

Our main objective/focus is proactive reporting... Whether it's an opportunity for improvement, hazard observation observation or even a near miss. We need to get ahead of the bus and away from the cliff.

Hi Rebecca,

We have a committee which has one meeting per month of approx. 1.5 hours. The committee has been running for 2 years. It's been an amazing process and really made a difference. We have just recently set KPI's as it's quite a journey to get everyone onboard. The key benefits have been knowledge sharing and creating HSW champions within each team. The KPI's we have set are around; running a certain number of Toolbox talks (instead of the manager or 2IC), identifying an initiative to improve safety or wellbeing within their team and developing it, attending another site to peer review a site inspection, completion of 2 Rep training courses within 18months. We use these members to work on SOP development and other initiatives and they provide a good voice for "work as done".

Good luck.

Michelle

Hi Rebecca,

If you are looking for some themes, have a look at
OSPRI's health and safety, security and environment strategy
https://ospri.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Documents/OSPRI-Health-Safety-Strategy-2020.pdf

And,

Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy 2017-2022, And Health, Safety and Wellbeing Annual Plan
2017-2018
https://www.wel.co.nz/every-day-home-safe/best-in-safety/

And,

Download Sodexo's 'Better Together' eBook = comprehensive guide to sustainable safety culture.
https://safetyculture.sodexo.com/ (This site also has some awesome blog posts worth reading).

Best,

SB

Great share Sarah. Pragmatic inspiration for many.

thanks heaps for those..

hi Michelle thanks for your comments.

Hi, I think a key success for energising our H&S committees (called something else but branding is a separate issue) has been to ask them to look at the larger picture of work as a whole. Not just one piece of the pie but the recipe itself. We also record how many actions are closed by out H&S committees by region in the monthly report. So progress is trackable and tangible. We also give them some flex on what they want to do for training rather than just Rep 123

hi Rebecca,
last year we had a major focus on reducing manual handling injuries, whereas this year its more about developing and promoting expected behaviours and education around bullying and harassment. What it is and isn't.
In addition reviewing our controls and where necessary developing additional ones for managing challenging and aggressive behaviours.

OBJECTIVE: Improve employee participation in H&S management PLAN Implement site based H&S Committees.
OBJECTIVE: High level of expertise for staff who deal with spill controls PLAN: Provide training where necessary and ensure all spill kits are checked and re-stocked when necessary.
OBJECTIVE: Clean and tidy workshops PLAN: Ensure techs and foremen instill pride by promoting safe work practices

It's hard work getting traction at times, but we are getting there.

Hi Rebecca,

I'm unsure if your work place has values that they have developed, but this year our H&S Committee is looking at our workplace values and seeing how we can apply H&S values and goals to align to these.

I know it's not an out there, bold idea but potentially something a bit different.

We have assigned portfolios to each person so that they have something to focus on and be seen as the subject leader in their area.

We also give Health & Safety Reps the opportunity to put forward Injury Prevention Initiatives that they would like to lead. This is a new thing this year but I already have a few that we will be going ahead with.

As for objectives. We have based these around actions such as site inspections, team meeting talks etc.

I suggest that routine reviews should be the main source of objectives. If we can't find actually useful enhancements of our systems and processes, don't bother. Most of this thread sounds like we are choosing the flavour of our next ice cream just for fun.

Given that an in-depth review of performance, contexts, stakeholders, compliance, failures, developments, indicators etc etc must always reveal opportunities and gaps, why look any further? If we can't look at an objective and see it leading to an actually better safety world, and that it's relevant to our own work site, what box-ticking game are we playing?

I was talking with the H&S Manager of a large construction company who informed me that they did not have H&S Reps (as no one asked to be one), and just used their H&S Committee for H&S matters. I would be interested to know if others do the same thing. My concern about this is if an issue was identified (that required a PIN for the organisation to take notice) would the Committee have the power/influence to get the organisation to rectify the H&S concern?

Please find attached H&S Objectives our team has developed for 2019.

H&S performance, based on Lead and Lag Indicators, tracked through our H&S Dashboard a copy of which is also attached.

thanks for sharing that.

Suggest adding this resource to your thinking about what to measure and monitor. https://www.zeroharm.org.nz/resources/monitoring/

Thanks for that Tony - some great information in link provided.

Useful information - appreciated. I work for a group of trucking companies, mostly rural. One of my lead measures is to have a set number of safety conversations with our professional drivers. Keep a spreadsheet. Ask:
What's your number 1 risk?
Do you think that our H & S is fit for purpose?
Any suggestions for improvement?
Once we get past the good-natured banter, get some great responses.