It's all about vision

You don't have to climb a mountain and sit on a big rock for six days to gain a vision about the role and mission of the safety committee. It might take a little more thought for you to understand how you can help the safety committee perform an effective role and fulfill its mission. So, let's first take a look at the concept of "role" and how it applies to the safety committee.

Look up the definition of "role" in the dictionary and you'll find something like:

• The characteristic and expected social behavior of an individual;
• A position or title.

Roles are labels that help define who we are, how we should personally behave, and what we should be doing as an individual or as a member of a group.

I'm sure the position you occupy as a worker or manager in your company has some sort of formal title that helps you and others identify your role and associated duties. Along with that role come responsibilities and a certain level of status. Attached to every role you "play" are a set of expected behaviors and activities that are considered appropriate for that position.

Take a look at the following list of common roles. The odds are you play one or more of these roles.

• At home: mother, wife, father, husband, son, daughter, aunt, uncle;
• In the community: youth group leader, coach, club officer;
• At work: receptionist, supervisor, welder, trainer, nurse.

This is important, so read it twice! What we do depends on who we think we are. If safety committee members think they are consultants to others, they will do and say things the send a message that they can be trusted. Employees will seek their help and appreciate their work. If safety committee members think they are cops, they will do and say things in a manner that is likely to result in mistrust. An effective safety culture can not exist in a climate of mistrust.

One way of looking at the role of the safety committee is to think of it as an internal consultant group with expectations and responsibilities similar to that of a consultant hired by the company. Such a consultant would be asked to:

• Survey and interview employees to find out what they are thinking and feeling;
• Observe employees to analyze behaviors;
• Inspect the workplace to uncover hazardous conditions;
• Audit safety programs;
• Uncover the surface and root causes of safety problems;
• Develop and submit written recommendations;
• Monitor the progress of corrective actions and system improvements;
• Evaluate the long-term quality of the safety culture.

It's important to note that none of these responsibilities requires the safety committee to actually control safety programs or "police" employees. When the safety committee assumes the role of a consultant group within a company, it need not, and should not, be expected to control a budget, purchase equipment, or correct hazards. Writing "tickets" for violating safety rules can be especially disastrous to the success of the safety committee's effectiveness. No, these responsibilities are considered "doing" safety and they more properly belong to line managers, from the CEO down through first line supervisor. Ensuring safety is a line function, not a staff function.

Armed with insight into the role of the safety committee, let's take a look at what the committee's purpose might be. A quick review of our friendly dictionary once again defines purpose as:

• A desired or intended result or effect.

A company might also write a mission statement that explains what they do to support their vision. The purpose of the safety committee might also be viewed as its mission and reflects what the safety committee intentionally does to support its assigned role.

Major purposes of the safety committee

• Help protect the employer by providing useful information;
  
• Help protect the employee by responding to safety concerns;
  
• Bring labor and management together in a cooperative way to solve problems;
  
• Help the employer educate and motivate all employees about the importance of safety; and
  
• Help the employer educate and motivate all supervisors and managers to identify hazards and take corrective action.

All of these purpose statements emphasize the safety committee's responsibility to assist the employer, not to do the safety job for the employer.

The safety committee should also be communicating regularly with management, both in and out of the safety committee setting. It's vital that managers be directly involved in and participate as members of the safety committee. Safety committees generally communicate formally through written recommendations and safety committee minutes.

Purpose and function are related terms, but differ significantly in meaning. Our dictionary definition states that "function" is:

• Something closely related to another thing and dependent on it for its existence, value, or significance.

Whereas "purpose" states the intended result or effect, "function" describes the actual or unintended result or effect. The actual outcome depends on the success of the attempt to carry out the intended purpose. If the safety committee does not effectively carry out its intended purpose, it may unintentionally function to hurt the company's safety and health effort.

Function can be considered a dependent variable. It is dependent upon the effectiveness of a group to follow through with its stated purpose. The safety committee may have the best intentions, but if it cannot follow through effectively with its plans, it may actually function to harm a safety program or activity rather than help it. Without education and training, safety committee members may not have the basic knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform their responsibilities. Given proper education and training, the safety committee is more likely to function to carry out its intended purpose.

For instance, the safety committee may intend to increase interest in safety by implementing a safety incentive program, but if its members do not have the knowledge, skills, or abilities to accomplish this purpose, they may develop a totally reactive incentive program that results in dismal failure. The lesson -- It's not good enough just to do the right thing...you've got to do the right thing right!

Some important points to remember about the safety committee's "function":

• Function describes the actual result or effect of a safety committee activity, whether intended or the unintended.
  
• Function is a dependent variable: It depends on the stated purpose and the ability of the safety committee to carry out an activity.
• Given the tools, the safety committee can function to properly carry out its purposes.

So, why is it so important to understand the relationship between purpose and function? The safety committee may have wonderful goals and objectives that support its intended purposes. But, if the safety committee does not have the ability, for whatever reason, to meet those goals, it will have great difficulty in carrying out its stated purpose. The safety committee may actually (unintentionally) function to hurt, not help its safety program.

Final word

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