Why You Should Have A Joint Health And Safety Committee At Your Construction Company

Construction companies who are successful in keeping their employees safe and keeping their insurance premiums low, accomplish that by creating safety policies and then putting them into action.

These companies go above and beyond local and federal regulations to ensure their workers make it home every day. These additional measures are referred to as industry best practices.

In the United States, one of the most common best practices is the creation and operation of a Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC). In Canada, it is mandated in most provinces for companies with 20 or more employees and/or projects that last more than three months.

What is a Joint Health and Safety Committee?

A JHSC is a group of employees with varying roles and responsibilities within the company who meet on a regular basis to discuss internal health and safety matters.

The committee should be comprised of an equal number of worker representatives and management representatives who work together with the same goal of making the workplace safer for everyone. A minimum of two designated people from each side is ideal.

The workers on the committee bring an in-depth knowledge of job-related tasks and hazards, while the management representatives have a strong understanding of the company as a whole.

Structuring the committee in this way also lends itself to better communication with the worker group as a whole. Employees are more likely to address safety concerns with their peer, who is also the committee rep, as there is no fear of repercussion.

Roles on the committee are usually filled via nomination and vote by the workforce as a whole. It’s a good idea for the company to provide successful candidates with some additional safety training.

What Are The Responsibilities of a Joint Health and Safety Committee?

A JHSC acts as a resource of health and safety matters and a form of communication between employer and employee. They advocate for the implementation of the company’s health and safety policy and program. A JHSC has four main responsibilities:

1. Identify hazards and other unsafe situations through their job site inspections and collecting them from other employees.
2. Conduct investigations when incidents occur, including a near miss.
3. Make recommendations on appropriate control measures to the employer, and hold them accountable to follow through on their decisions.
4. Keep records of all meetings, inspections, investigations, and recommendations.

What Are the Benefits of a Joint Health and Safety Committee?

An improvement on the health and safety record of the company as a whole is the number one goal of a JHSC, but there are other benefits, including:

• Creates a culture of safety within the company
• Aids in worker retention (less likely to leave when they feel empowered and engaged)
• Committee itself conducts tasks required by OSHA, keeping the company compliant in many ways
• Can reduce language barriers when a committee member is bilingual
• Builds connections between workers and management
• Puts advocates of your safety policy and program on the front lines

How Technology Can Help Your JHSC Run Smoothly

Every member of your JHSC has other roles and responsibilities within the company. When provided with tools such as a safety management system, the committee will be able to better communicate and keep themselves organized.

An ideal situation would be to have a customized hazard notification form available electronically to your workforce which would be automatically sent to the committee upon submission.

Having one central database for the committee to conduct inspections, investigations and store the findings would make their job easier and faster.

Having access to all their findings also creates an opportunity for them to view analytics, so they may better determine trends and can focus their attention where it is most valuable.

Find out how SafetyHQ can help in all these ways and more by booking a customized demo.