Before I delve into details about the significance of a Joint Health and Safety Committee in developing a positive health and safety culture, let us start of by defining what culture is.
A culture, by definition, is the ideas, customs, traditions, and general social behavior of a specific group of individuals.
Now that we have a brief understanding about what culture is, let us get into details about a health and safety culture of an organization.
According to HSG56, the safety culture of an organization is the product of individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies, and patterns of behavior that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency off , an organization’s health and safety management.
There are certain elements that make a positive health and safety culture and these include:
If an organization adheres to these elements, then a basis for a good performance in health and safety will have been established. However, to achieve this levels of performance, sufficient financial and human resources should be made available for the health and safety function at all levels of the organization.
There are several factors that can compromise health and safety culture at work. These include human factors such as the organization, the job, and individual factors. All 3 factors tend to influence the behavior at work. I’ll provide a brief summary of these factors shortly, since it is important to highlight these in order to overcome the challenges.
Besides the human human factors, there are also errors and violations that could affect the health and safety at work. Errors are unintentional deviation from an accepted standard, whereas violations are deliberate deviation from the standard.
Now that I’ve covered all the necessary information, let’s get into detail on how a joint health and safety committee can help improve health and safety culture at work. Below is an outline on how the committee can improve OHS standards:
- Demonstrating management commitment.
- Promoting OHS standards.
- Developing competence.
- Keeping up to date with OHS laws.
- Communicating effectively.
- Consulting with the workforce.
- Training in health and safety.
The committee demonstrates management commitment through active involvement of employees in health and safety. Continual improvement of health and safety standards. Reduction in accident rates. Review status of health and safety. Ensure appropriate health and safety actions are taken.
It promotes OHS standards by controlling work activities, competence, maintenance, and supervision. Involves the managers and implements the use of PPE as well as comprehensive accident reporting.
It develops competence by implementing competence training programs. Provide training to all participants at no cost and appointing health and safety advisors.
The committee keeps up-to-date by regularly checking OHS organization, as well as international sources of information. It also checks OHS wold websites and health and safety periodicals.
The committee uses 3 basic methods to communicate effectively with the workforce. These include verbal, written, and graphic. Verbal is the most common method of communication. Written includes memos and emails written in a straightforward manner and a clear language. Finally, graphic method includes the use of drawings, photos, or videos.
The committee represents the whole organization and includes members form both workforce and management. It also dictates two chair positions, one representing the workforce, while the other represents the managers.
The joint health and safety committee can improve health and safety through range of trainings such as : induction, job specific, supervisory and management, and lastly specialist training.
In summary, a joint health and safety committee can improve the health and safety culture through specific duties. It looks at the negative points of the organization and makes changes in order to improve the OHS standards.
Reflecting back on the meeting, we somewhat followed the same procedure that a professional committee does. We discussed several topics which included accidents in the workplace, statistics, and proper management. We all voiced our opinions and made recommendations about improving OHS standards.
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