(Revision 2)
Reference Guide
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Canadian Centre for
Occupational Health and Safety
Summary
A health and safety committee is a joint worker-management
team that assists the employer in creating and maintaining a
safe workplace. In most Canadian jurisdictions a health and
safety committee is mandatory. Even in workplaces where
a committee is not required by the law, the benefits of a
joint committee in addressing workplace health and safety
needs are widely recognized. As a result, there is a trend
toward establishing a committee on a voluntary basis even
where one is not mandatory.
The health and safety committee is an advisory committee
to ensure a healthy and safe workplace and not as a body
responsible for enforcing legislation. The committee
recommends actions to management who has the authority
to make changes to meet goals and objectives. The
following list illustrates some important activities of
the committee :
Hold regular meetings (at least as many meetings as
required by the law)
Identify workplace hazards and recommend remedial
action(s)
Respond to employee concerns regarding health and
safety
Assist management in the development and
implementation of safe work practices and emergency
procedures
Participate in the development, implementation and
monitoring of health and safety policies and programs
Participate in workplace inspections
Participate in accident/incident investigations
Participate in resolving work refusals
Promote health and safety education and training
This guide will assist committee members, managers, and
health and safety professionals to establish an efficient
and effectively functioning committee.
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Table of Contents
Section I Health and Safety Committee Basic Facts
1. What is a Health and Safety Committee? . 2
2. Responsibilities of the Health and Safety
Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Section II Establishing a Health and Safety Committee
1. Who is Responsible for Establishing a
Committee? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2. Guidelines for Forming a Health and
Safety Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Section III Making the Committee Effective and Efficient
1. Demonstrating Management Commitment 22
2. Defining Roles, Responsibilities and
Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3. Establishing Procedures and Guidelines
for Committee Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4. Measuring the Effectiveness and
Efficiency of a Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Section IV Recognizing Workplace Hazards
1. The Committee鈥檚 Responsibilities . . . . . . . 46
2. Types of Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
3. Methods of Hazard Recognition . . . . . . . . 60
4. Hazard Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5. Workplace Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Section V Accident Investigation
1. What Types of Accidents are to be
Investigated? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
2. Purpose of Accident Investigation . . . . . . 91
3. The Accident Investigation Process . . . . . 93
4. Determining the Root Cause . . . . . . . . . . . 97
5. Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
6. The Written Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
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Section VI Controlling Workplace Hazards
1. Setting Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
2. Hazard Control Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
3. Hazard Control Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4. Fire Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
5. First Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
6. Employee Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
7. Exposure Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Section VII Health and Safety Legislation
1. Canadian OH&S Legislation . . . . . . . . . 128
2. Workplace Hazardous Materials
Information System (WHMIS) . . . . . . . . 133
3. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) . . 140
4. US OH&S Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Section VIII Information Sources
1. Canadian Government Departments
with Responsibility for Occupational
Health and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
2. US Federal Safety and Health Agencies . 154
Appendices
A1. OSH Program Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
A2. Selecting a Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
A3. Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
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HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE ESTABLISHMENT CRITERIA
(as required by OH&S law)
WHEN DO I NEED ONE? COMMITTEE SIZE REPRESENTATION
Mandatory 鈥? 20 or more employees At least 2 At least half to represent
Canada: Federal
employees
Mandatory 鈥? when there are 20 or Not less than 4 At least half must
British Columbia
more employees or when "required be worker representatives
by order"
As directed by the Minister At least 3 and not At least two employees and
Alberta
more than 12 and one employer or at
least half employees
Mandatory 鈥? when 10 employees At least 2 and not At least half to represent
Saskatchewan
or more more than 12 employees
Mandatory 鈥? 20 or more employees At least 4 and not At least half to represent
Manitoba
or as designated by Lt Governor more than 12 employees
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WHEN DO I NEED ONE? COMMITTEE SIZE REPRESENTATION
2. Defining Roles, Responsibilities
and Procedures
State Purpose and Objectives
The purpose and objectives of the committee should be
declared in the company鈥檚 safety policy statement. As
well, the committee may establish its own mission
statement specifying its purpose and goals. It helps to
define the committee's duties and responsibilities more
specifically than those which are only broadly stated in
the health and safety legislation.
The following are examples of committee objectives:
Create and maintain active interest in health
and safety, and accident prevention.
Recommend effective action about accident
causing conditions.
Promote awareness about health and safety issues.
Promote cooperation between management and
employees in dealing with health and safety
issues.
Help identify problems, evaluate risks, and
recommend control measures.
Assist employer in implementation of control
measures and evaluation of their effectiveness.
Cooperate with the employer in formulating
policy and procedures.
Monitor and improve workplace health and
safety.
The committee should have only a limited number of
objectives in the policy statement; having too many
objectives can lead to members having different priorities
and spreading their energy in too many directions.
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Sample
JOB SAFETY ANALYSIS (JSA) WORKSHEET
Industry: Construction
Operation: Road repair Job: Pavement repair
Who How to prevent
Task Hazards
does it injury/accident
Operating a Joe Doe - noise - ear protectors
jack-hammer - vibration - vibration-
absorbing gloves
Applicable Legislation: OH&S Act and Regulations (refer to the
act and regulations in your jurisdiction)
Date:
Developed by:
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5. Workplace Inspections
Health and safety committees plan, conduct, report and
monitor workplace inspections which are an important
part of the overall occupational health and safety program.
Purpose
Inspections allow committee members to:
hear the concerns of employees and supervisors
gain further understanding of jobs and tasks
identify existing and potential hazards
determine underlying causes of hazards
monitor hazard controls (personal protective equipment,
engineering controls, policies, procedures)
recommend corrective action
Aspects to Examine
Every inspection must examine the who, what, where,
when and how. Pay particular attention to items most
likely to develop into unsafe or unhealthy conditions
because of stress, wear, impact, vibration, heat, corrosion,
chemical reaction, or misuse. Inspect the entire workplace
area each time including areas where there is less activity
such as parking lots, rest areas, office storage areas, and
locker rooms.
Different inspection teams can examine different aspects
of the workplace. Teams can divide their areas of respons-
ibility in two ways:
by location (yard, warehouse, maintenance facility,
office, production line), or
by class of items (tools, buildings, utilities, materials,
mobile equipment)
This division results in a separate inspection report from
each team based on location or hazard category. Teams
should alternate areas of responsibility from month to month.
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3. Hazard Control Practices
Ventilation
The purpose of ventilation is to control air contaminants,
temperature and humidity in the work environment and
provide fresh air. Two kinds of ventilation are used:
Local Exhaust Ventilation
Local exhaust systems trap and remove contaminants near
the generating source.
Local ventilation is used when :
contaminants released are toxic,
sources of contaminants are localized (released in a
small area), and
direct exposure of employees is possible.
Local exhaust ventilation is typically used for abrasive
blasting, grinding, polishing, buffing, spray painting,
open solvent baths, and toxic chemical storage areas.
General or Dilution Ventilation
The dilution ventilation removes the contaminated air
and brings in outside air to dilute the concentration of
airborne contaminants in the work environment.
Dilution ventilation is appropriate when:
contaminants released are relatively non-toxic,
quantity of contaminant is not excessive,
contaminant is released at a substantial distance from
the breathing zone of employees, and
emission sources are widely distributed in the area.
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