Training for an Effective Health and Safety Committee in a Small Business Setting

Health and safety committees are often heralded as a key element of successful health and safety programs, and are thought to represent a means of engaging workers in health and safety efforts. While the understanding of the factors that make these committees effective is growing, there are few reso...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New solutions 2013-11, Vol.23 (3), p.485-503
Main Authors: Crollard, Allison, Neitzel, Richard L., Dominguez, Carlos F., Seixas, Noah S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advisory Committees - organization & administration
Humans
Job Satisfaction
Occupational Health - education
Occupational Injuries - prevention & control
Program Development
Program Evaluation
Qualitative Research
Questionnaires
Small business
Small Business - organization & administration
Success
Surveys and Questionnaires
Teaching - methods
Workplaces
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Summary:Health and safety committees are often heralded as a key element of successful health and safety programs, and are thought to represent a means of engaging workers in health and safety efforts. While the understanding of the factors that make these committees effective is growing, there are few resources for how to assist committees in developing these characteristics. This paper describes one approach to creating and implementing a training intervention aimed at improving health and safety committee function at one multilingual worksite. Short-term impacts were evaluated via questionnaire and qualitative observations of committee function. Results indicated high satisfaction with the training as well as modest increases in participation, cooperation, role clarity, and comfort with health and safety skills among committee members. The committee also made considerable achievements in establishing new processes for effective function. Similar interventions may be useful in other workplaces to increase health and safety committee success.
ISSN:1048-2911
1541-3772
DOI:10.2190/NS.23.3.d