Safety Committees in the workplace are important for establishing programs, procedures, and training that will prevent injuries. In addition to demonstrating management commitment and support, safety committees provide leadership and direction for improving the overall safety culture and awareness of all employees.

Everybody needs to know who their Safety Committee members are. You should have a convenient way to contact members of the Safety Committee if you need to seek advice, additional information, or to discuss safety related issues. Do you know who to contact and how to contact them?

Incident Reporting should happen in a timely and accurate manner, is a vital exercise to help create a safety culture that will prevent injuries and to implement changes that will eliminate future incidents. Incidents are described as any unplanned event that results in:

• Personal injury. Conduct root cause analysis to identify hazards so that future injuries can be prevented.
• Near miss. The report you make today could very well prevent an injury tomorrow.
• Property damage. Report non-injury vehicle accidents and incidents involving damaged equipment or loss of production.
• Security issue. Report unlocked doors, open files, or unauthorized persons.
• Ergonomic risk (factory or office). Report at first symptoms before an actual injury occurs.

There should be a clear and convenient method of Incident Reporting so that hazards can be analyzed and eliminated to prevent future occurrences. Do you know how to file an Incident Report?