You've been tasked with creating a safety committee at your workplace and you are ready to take on this challenge. The purpose of a workplace safety committee is to establish workplace health and safety guidelines, review these guidelines, and make sure the guidelines and understood and followed. Organizing a workplace safety committee is critical, but it can be tricky if you don't know where to begin.

Here are a few simple tips to help you create a successful and effective workplace safety committee.

Encourage Diversity

Recruit members from every level and facet of the organization. For example, if you work in the shipping industry, encourage management, salaried workers, and floor workers to all participate in creating and supporting the workplace safety committee. Inform employees exactly what their role will entail and what the company's expectations will be.

Not all employees will be willing to participate, so consider employees who have a stellar safety record or have been instrumental in creating and implementing safety and health procedures. Previous experience at another job with health and safety committees is a plus. If several employees show an interest in joining the committee, consider creating terms or time limits on an employee's involvement on the committee. Creating term limits will allow more employees to participate and help keep the ideas fresh.

Ask Employees to Speak Up During Meetings

Once the committee is established, schedule your first meeting. The meeting should be convenient for all members. For example, if you have members for two shifts, schedule the meetings between the end of the first shift and the beginning of the second shift. Ask each member to create a topic before each meeting. For instance, one committee member could focus on handling hazardous waste spills while another could compile a list of hidden dangers in the workplace.

Establish Clear Rules and Guidelines

Finally, prior to the first meeting, create a set of rules to help the meeting run more smoothly and be more productive. For example, encourage every member to get to the meeting on time with their safety topic presentation ready. Each employee is given a set amount of time to discuss their topic, such as five minutes, to ensure the meeting stays on track. There should be no talking during each presentation and questions can be asked at the end. Once the presentations are over, provide a set amount of time to discuss the meeting topics and determine if any safety and health policies should be created or altered.

A productive, successful health and safety committee can help minimize accidents and ensure your workplace is a safe, effective environment. Make sure that you contact a company where you can get a health and safety committee certification and learn more today.