Title Page

  • For the purpose of this assessment the evaluators may be the employer, the Committee co-chairs or designate(s), or a person retained by the employer. The evaluators should be knowledgeable about the duties, functions and effective administration of a Committee.

  • Document No.

  • Audit Title

  • Client / Site

  • Conducted on

  • Prepared by

  • Location
  • Personnel

Terms of reference

  • Are all of the following included within your terms of Reference?

  • Name of Health and Safety Committee

  • Constituency

  • Statement of committee purpose

  • Duties and Functions

  • Meetings

  • Records

  • Agendas and meeting reports

  • Composition

  • Co-chairs selection and duties

  • Terms of Office

  • Assistance in resolving disagreements

  • Amendments

  • Are rules of the Committee developed collaboratively with the participation of Committee members?

  • Provisions for how to make recommendations to the employer

  • Do the committee members know the role of the committee and the extent of it's authority?

  • A process for completing annual Committee Effectiveness Evaluations

  • Based on your responses to the questions above, rate your committee's effectiveness for this section on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being very ineffective and 10 being very effective. Add any additional comments below on how you may improve committee effectiveness in this section that hasn't already been captured above.

Membership

  • Are the following included within the membership? Check for "Yes", leave blank for "No".

  • There are a minimum of 4 members

  • At least 50% of members are worker representatives

  • Worker representatives have selected 1 Co-chair

  • Employer representatives have selected 1 Co-chair

  • Are the following characteristics of an effective committee followed? Check for "Yes", leave blank for "No".

  • Agenda is used at meetings to guide discussions and keep the meeting on time

  • Alternates are selected in case of member absence

  • Alternates are used when a member is absent

  • Do all members participate regularly in activities outside of the regular meeting day

  • Employer and Worker Co-chairs take turns running the meeting

  • Committee members are engaged and participate in discussions

  • Based on your responses to the questions above, rate your committee's effectiveness for this section on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being very ineffective and 10 being very effective. Add any additional comments below on how you may improve committee effectiveness in this section that hasn't already been captured above.

Duties and Functions

  • Does the Committee consult with workers and employer on issues related to OH&S and work environment?

  • Are you ensuring you are identifying unsafe or unhealthy workplace situations?

  • If an unsafe situation is identified, are you advising on effective systems for responding to those situations?

  • Describe how you monitor the effectiveness of changes made based on your recommendations

  • Do you consider and quickly deal with complaints relating to the health and safety of workers?

  • Please describe the process

  • Do you advise employer on workplace programs and policies required under the OH&S Regulations?

  • Do you monitor effectiveness of those recommendations?

  • Please describe how

  • Do you make recommendations to the employer on educational programs promoting health and safety of workers in compliance with the OH&S Regulation

  • Do you monitor effectiveness?

  • If so, please describe how?

  • Are there any Committee members that started within the past 12 months?

  • Did the new committee member receive the required training for new committee members within the first 6 months?

  • Have all committee members received training in the following? Check for "Yes", leave blank for "No".

  • Workplace inspections

  • Duties and Functions of a Safety Committee

  • Incident Investigations

  • Refusal of Unsafe Work

  • Has the committee been made aware of any refusals of unsafe work in the past 12 months?

  • Is the committee informed of refusals of unsafe work even when the matter is resolved by the worker and the supervisor?

  • Has there been a refusal of unsafe work in the past 12 months that was not able to be resolved between the worker and supervisor or employer?

  • Based on your responses to the questions above, rate your committee's effectiveness for this section on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being very ineffective and 10 being very effective. Add any additional comments below on how you may improve committee effectiveness in this section that hasn't already been captured above.

  • Does the committee confirm that workers who conduct workplace inspections are trained to do so?

  • Do committee members interact with a representative sample of workers when conducting inspections?

  • Does the committee ensure a cross section of equipment, work methods and work practices are inspected when conducting workplace inspections?

  • Do the inspections consider hazards of the occupational environment? (This may include risk assessment related to specific tasks or work procedures)

  • Are inspections tailored to workplace inspection hazards?

  • Are workplace inspections done at various times and without advance notice?

  • When hazards are identified and corrected are they reviewed at the next meeting?

  • Is information from workplace inspection reports reviewed by committee members to identify any trends that may be developing?

  • What are the most significant risks to worker Health and safety, who might be harmed? How?

  • Have controls been put in place? Are they reducing the risks?

Meeting Activities

  • Does the Committee do the following? Check for "Yes", leave blank for "No".

  • Meet at least once as month,

  • Use OH&S regulation and standards as guidance for issues discussed at at least one meeting every month

  • Is an agenda used to guide discussions and keep meetings on time?

  • Is the agenda distributed and reviewed prior to meetings?

  • Are relevant documents distributed and reviewed prior to meetings?

  • Are committee members given time that is reasonably necessary to prepare for committee meetings as per section 134 of "the Act"?

  • Consider employee OH&S suggestions,

  • Prepare a report for each meeting and provide a report for employer,

  • Are monthly meeting reports kept for at least 2 years and readily accessible?

  • Does the committee have a plan to ensure each member receives a minimum of 8 hours education and training annually.

  • Do committee members receive educational leave without loss of pay or other benefits?

  • Are Co-Chairs aware that they may report to Worksafe BC if the committee is unable to reach an agreement on a matter relating to the health or safety of workers?,

  • Are Co-<br>Chairs aware that they may report to Worksafe BC if the employer does not accept the committees recommendation or if the committee is not satisfied with employer's explanation for delayed response to recommendations

  • Do meeting minutes provide a full and accurate record of the meeting including the following?

  • Who attended the meeting.

  • The issues that were discussed

  • Documents reviewed such as reports and statistics

  • Any action required, the name of the person assigned to complete the action, its priority and the expected completion date?

  • Are outstanding action items tracked and monitored to completion?

  • Are minutes circulated to members promptly?

  • Are minutes adopted at the next meeting?

  • Based on your responses to the questions above, rate your committee's effectiveness for this section on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being very ineffective and 10 being very effective. Add any additional comments below on how you may improve committee effectiveness in this section that hasn't already been captured above.

Committe Recommendations

  • Has the committee sent written recommendations to the employer within the past 12 months?

  • Did the employer respond within 21 days?

  • Did the employer explain the delay?

  • Were there any written recommendations made by the committee within the past 12 months that were not accepted by the employer?

  • Did the employer provide written reasons for why the recommendations were not accepted?

  • Did the employer provide alternatives to the recommendations that were not accepted?

  • Did the committee ask WSBC to investigate and attempt to resolve the matter?

  • Does the committee provide "SMART" written recommendations to the employer that considers all of the following:

  • Specific

  • Measurable

  • Attainable

  • Realistic

  • Time Bound (asking for a response within 21 days)

  • Are written requests to the employer clearly described so that the employer does not need more information in order to make a decision?

  • Based on your responses to the questions above, rate your committee's effectiveness for this section on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being very ineffective and 10 being very effective. Add any additional comments below on how you may improve committee effectiveness in this section that hasn't already been captured above.

Support for Committee

  • Do committee members attend meetings during paid working hors?

  • Do committee members receive paid time off work that is reasonably necessary to prepare for meetings and fulfill other duties and function?

  • Does the employer provide equipment, premises and clerical personnel necessary for carrying out of the committee's duties and functions?

  • Does the employer provide information requested by the committee, including information on health and safety hazards?

  • Has the employer posted and kept posted:<br>- The names and work locations of committee members<br>- The minutes of at least the last 3 committee meetings

  • Based on your responses to the questions above, rate your committee's effectiveness for this section on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being very ineffective and 10 being very effective. Add any additional comments below on how you may improve committee effectiveness in this section that hasn't already been captured above.

Communication

  • Does the committee seek out and explore different opinions to ensure issues and concerns are fully considered?

  • Where there is a difference of opinion within the committee, can the committee generally resolve the matter?

  • Is the committee generally able to reach agreement on matters relating to health and safety relating to workers?

  • Do the co-chairs demonstrate effective communication, conflict resolution and facilitation skills?

  • Does the committee composition reflect the composition of the workplace?

  • Does the committee proactively identify possible barriers to the implementation of Health and Safety decisions and recommendations and propose solutions?

  • Do workers regularly approach committee members to make suggestions

  • Does the committee regularly interact with a cross section of employees including part time, weekends, graveyards and other shifts?

  • Is there effective communication between committee members and workers?

  • Do any of the employer representatives on the committee have decision making authority?

  • Does the employer regularly seek out the opinions of the committee on existing and potential workplace health and safety issues , including proposed changes to the workplace?

  • Does the employer share health and safety information with the committee? (This may include industrial hygiene testing results, WSBC reports or stats, other OH&S reports)

  • Based on your responses to the questions above, rate your committee's effectiveness for this section on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being very ineffective and 10 being very effective. Add any additional comments below on how you may improve committee effectiveness in this section that hasn't already been captured above.

Incident investigations

  • Do all committee members understand the purpose of preliminary and full investigation reports, including the sequence of events?

  • Does the committee ensure that incidents are investigated in accordance with sections 173 to 177 of the Act?

  • Are incident investigations focused on improving workplace Health and Safety?

  • Do worker representatives actively participate in incident investigations and is that participation reflected in the reports?

  • Does the committee receive reports of preliminary investigations in a timely manner?

  • Does the committee receive reports of preliminary corrective actions taken?

  • Does the committee receive reports of full investigations in a timely manner?

  • Does the committee receive reports of corrective actions taken as a result of a full investigation?

  • Is information from incident investigation reports reviewed by committee members to identify any trends that may be developing?

  • Based on your responses to the questions above, rate your committee's effectiveness for this section on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being very ineffective and 10 being very effective. Add any additional comments below on how you may improve committee effectiveness in this section that hasn't already been captured above.

The templates available in our Public Library have been created by our customers and employees to help get you started using SafetyCulture's solutions. The templates are intended to be used as hypothetical examples only and should not be used as a substitute for professional advice. You should seek your own professional advice to determine if the use of a template is permissible in your workplace or jurisdiction. You should independently determine whether the template is suitable for your circumstances.