Safety Committees and Worker Participation
How to build and run voluntary safety committees and safety representatives that change things, followed through the invented Harrowgate Foods at its plants, distribution center and warehouse in Georgia: why worker participation matters, federal OSHA, state committee requirements and NLRA section 8(a)(2) limits, forming a committee with co-chairs and a charter, training members, planning and conducting inspections and ranking hazards, the committee's role in investigations, worker complaints, refusals, retaliation protection and OSHA inspections, writing recommendations and tracking responses, running meetings and minutes, measuring effectiveness, and representatives in small workplaces, with a capstone committee review.
HSE-405 12 lessons · 4 h 8 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Safety Training
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Explain why worker participation improves safety and how committees support shared responsibility for safety.
- Describe federal OSHA's position on safety committees, state requirements and the limits set by section 8(a)(2) of the NLRA.
- Form a committee with balanced membership, co-chairs, alternates, quorum and clear terms of reference.
- Design and track a training program for committee members, alternates and representatives.
- Plan a risk-based inspection schedule that covers every zone and every shift.
- Conduct an inspection, record findings clearly and rank hazards by severity and likelihood.
- Describe the committee's role in incident investigations and use trend reviews to find patterns.
- Explain the federal right to refuse imminent danger, OSHA complaints, retaliation protection and the committee's role in stop-work events and inspections.
- Write specific, evidence-based recommendations and track them through written response to verified closure.
- Run effective committee meetings and keep minutes that record decisions and actions.
- Measure committee effectiveness with leading measures, worker surveys and quality reviews.
- Support representatives in small workplaces and carry out a full review of a committee.
Course content
12 lessons · 4 h 8 min total · final exam
- 1 Why worker participation matters 22 min · quiz
- 2 Federal OSHA and state requirements for safety committees 21 min · quiz
- 3 Forming the committee: membership, co-chairs and terms of reference 21 min · quiz
- 4 Training committee members and representatives 21 min · quiz
- 5 Planning workplace inspections 21 min · quiz
- 6 Conducting inspections and ranking hazards 21 min · quiz
- 7 The committee's role in incident investigation 20 min · quiz
- 8 Worker complaints, refusals and OSHA inspections 21 min · quiz
- 9 Making recommendations and getting responses 20 min · quiz
- 10 Running effective meetings and minutes 20 min · quiz
- 11 Measuring committee effectiveness 20 min · quiz
- 12 Small workplaces, representatives and a capstone committee review 20 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
How to build and run voluntary safety committees and safety representatives that change things, followed through the invented Harrowgate Foods at its plants, distribution center and warehouse in Georgia: why worker participation matters, federal OSHA, state committee requirements and NLRA section 8(a)(2) limits, forming a committee with co-chairs and a charter, training members, planning and conducting inspections and ranking hazards, the committee's role in investigations, worker complaints, refusals, retaliation protection and OSHA inspections, writing recommendations and tracking responses, running meetings and minutes, measuring effectiveness, and representatives in small workplaces, with a capstone committee review.