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The safety committee is tasked with one of the most important responsibilities in the workplace: ensuring that everyone can work safely and get through their shift without being injured.
They do this by drafting a safety program, monitoring workplace conditions, and verifying that the organization is in compliance with all applicable health and safety regulations.
It’s an essential job – and a big one.
It’s an employer’s responsibility to form the safety committee and appoint some of its members. But how many people should be on the committee, exactly?
At Least Two
Let’s start with the obvious. You need at least two people on the committee.
Otherwise, well, it’s not actually a committee.
But also, this ensures that there is representation from all levels of the organization. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) requires that at least half the committee members be representatives of the employees rather than management, ensuring a balanced perspective in workplace safety discussions.
In the United States, however, federal OSHA does not require employers to have safety committees or specify rules for their composition. Some states, like Pennsylvania, offer incentives for having a certified safety committee that includes both management and non-management representatives. For example, Pennsylvania employers can qualify for a 5% discount on workers’ compensation premiums if their committee meets specific requirements.
More if Your Workforce Is Large
Once you move beyond your first two members, the right size for your committee becomes less obvious.
But as a rule of thumb, the bigger your workforce, the bigger your safety committee should be.
For a small facility with 30 to 35 employees, two committee members might be sufficient. With 50 employees, you might be better off with four. With a staff of 200, you might need a safety committee that takes every seat in the conference room.
There’s no hard and fast rule here. But the more people you have on site, the harder it is to keep them all safe. Your safety committee’s size should reflect that.
Even More if Your Workplace Is Sprawling or High Risk
Large facilities might also require a larger safety committee, since there’s more ground to cover – literally.
Inspections can take longer and be more complex. And when you have more space, that typically means more areas where workers and hazards can come in contact with one another. Increasing the size of your safety committee can help you deal with al
l of it.
But Not Too Many!
There are some important advantages to having a bigger safety committee.
It can mean more diversity among the members. It allows you to have representatives from different departments, each of whom might have different insights into the safety risks found on the worksite and the needs of the employees. And of course, it keeps the committee from having to shoulder more than it can handle.
But that doesn’t mean you should fill the safety committee with as many people as you can.
In theory, a large safety committee should make the workplace safer. In reality, it can often make the committee far less effective.
Overpopulated committees can struggle to get things done. The meetings can drag on, discussions can get pulled in too many directions, and the team could have a difficult time getting on the same page.
There’s no official upper limit on the number of members your safety committee can have. Depending on who you ask, you might be told to cap your committee at 10 members, or 12, or 15.
But even if not every safety professional agrees on the exact cap on membership in the safety committee, they basically all agree that there should be one. So, try to keep your safety committee lean.
Start Small – Then Grow as Needed
The best approach is to start with as few people as you need and then see how it goes.
Form a committee of two – or maybe a few more if your workforce or your site are large enough. Then assess the committee’s ability to handle its responsibilities. If they’re struggling, add another member and see if that improves things.
Check in with the chairs of the committee after six months to see if they feel like there’s anything missing from their team. Would they benefit from someone with a specific expertise? Are they familiar enough with the operations in the workplace or would adding someone from a different department help?
If there’s a need to grow the committee, do it. But if things are going well, you should leave it be until it’s time to check in with them again.
Having a safety committee that’s too small or too big can cause problems. By growing it slowly and as needed, you can avoid the issues that come from having a committee that’s the wrong size.
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