The Safety Committee

According to local labor law, each workplace must have a committee established to promote safety and, inter alia, investigate serious accidents. When asked by the CEO why we didn t have such a committee I rummaged through unsigned and unfinished safety system documents that my two predecessors had left and found the proposal from one of them to Mohamed to form such a committee, and a handwritten reply from Mohamed stating that he didn t feel it was necessary.  

I handed this to the CEO, who apparently reprimanded Mohamed, who was aspiring, by the way, to become the next CEO. 

That sealed my fate as SHE manager and as far as the implementation of the safety systan was concerned. I didn t realize it at the time, but Mohamed was smoldering after being reprimanded by the CEO, and he was angry with me. 

Erom that moment on Mohamed was intent on blocking all of my initiatives to improve safety at the company. He was influential in the executive meetings, everybody was frightened of him, and he managed to dissuade the rest of the executive managers on a number of safety proposals and innovations on which I needed their 

---

Safe handling practices are essential at all stages of production, from the laboratory to the manufacturing operations. The safety committee should inspect and advise on processing equipment and be responsible for providing personal protection, eye wash fountains, safety showers, etc. 

CIA 1990. A Approach to the Categorization of Process Plant Hazard and Control Building Design. Prepared by Working Group 3 of the Major Hazards Steering Group. Issued by the Safety Committee of the Chemical Industry Safety and Health Council of the Chemical Industries Association, Eondon. 

Use it as a deskside book on safety. Dip into it at odd moments or pick a subject for the staff meeting, the safety committee or bulletin, or the plant inspection. 

The implementation of safety guidelines is the responsibility of radiation safety officer and the radiation safety committee. The radiation safety officer is required to conduct periodic inspection of the locations and areas containing radioactive materials and to present a report of inspection to the safety committee for information and implementation of the recommendations. 

Progress in drug delivery systems and new proteins/ peptides being developed for parenteral administration has created a need to expand the list of excipients that can be safely used. An informational chapter included in the USP 24, presents a scientifically based approach for safety assessment of new pharmaceutical excipi-ents.f This chapter is based on the excipient safety evaluation guidelines prepared by The Safety Committee of the International Pharmaceutical Excipient Council, with appropriate reaction. Table 14 summarizes the approach in developing a new excipient. 

Housekeeping as used here includes indoor and outdoor plant care and maintenance. It extends to every part of the plant (offices, processing areas, laboratories, etc.) a fire that starts in an office area may be equally as serious as one that starts in the plant area. These topics are considered in great detail in the NFPA Fire Protection Handbook All personnel should be familiar with the material applicable to their operations. In addition, the safety committee should consider housekeeping practices in its inspection procedures. Of particular interest are building and plant care and maintenance, indoor and outdoor storage (manner of storage compatibility and... 

Safety committees are also an exceptional opportunity by which to express the need for employees ideas and creativity to address specific safety, health, and loss prevention issues and to acquire their ideas. Additionally, the safety committee members or representatives should be provided the appropriate education and training through which to acquire the ideas properly from the employees and to transfer or communicate these ideas to the committee members. 

It is vitally important that the employees who originally bring ideas are provided feedback as to the status of their ideas. This can be done through the minutes of the safety committee meeting, individual notices, verbal communications through safety committee representatives, or by other methods. 

It is a valuable point to remember that what is in front of the operator on the assembly line is probably less of a hazard than what is on one side (loose powder) or on the other (accumulated, open, half-finished units). On the really large production line, the flow of processed items may obviate this condition, but not always. And while we have the picture of the production line before us, it is the duty of the supervisor and the safety committee members to see that every worker is located so that he can instantaneously back away from his work area and leave the room or building without interference from objects or persons. 

Safety committees provide a formal channel through which management and the employees can communicate with regard to process safety issues and overall company culture. There are many references to the involvement of employee representatives in the OSHA standard. These would usually be on the safety committee. If the facility is nonunion, it is essential that the employees representative is selected by the employees, not appointed by management. But it is important to ensure that the committee is not isolated the effective implementation of this element requires that everyone participate in the process safety program. 

The station Operating Rules are the instructions from the Board (CEGB and SSEB) to the Station Manager. They can be altered only after the endorsement of the Nuclear Safety Committee and the formal approval of the Nil The Safety Committee, which is again a requirement of the Site Licence,... 

Obviously many people can be engaged in a safety program with the use of subteams. If a company does not want to develop and engage their employees in safety improvement, they can hire a safety director to accomplish all that is noted above. A single lean champion cannot build a lean culture nor can a safety director build world-class safety alone. It will take a team or a committee. The team can be composed of new volunteers and a few staff members who are committed to developing the volunteers. Another option is that the committee can be composed of some current staff members who will tell others they were voluntold by their bosses to be part of the safety committee. Who is going to get your plant to world-class safety ... 

Participating at the safety committee level, steering the activities that lead to the achievement of safety objectives, and maintaining the safety momentum are prime, but often neglected, functions of management. 

Example of a Safety System Standard Defining the Safety Committee Structure... 

Safety coordinators will provide all necessary secretarial support to the safety committee and act as committee secretary, where no other support exists. 

Make representations to the management, or the safety committee, concerning hazards and threats to employees safety and health. 

Figure 1.1 is a simplified organizational chart that embodies the concepts discussed in this section. Some duties and layers of responsibility might be combined in a small firm or academic institution,while in very large organizations additional functions or layers might be needed. Note that the safety committees are appointed by a senior executive and have direct access to him. 

The chain of command both for operations and for safety of nuclear facilities is the same. The safety chain has provisions for advisory safety committees. This group is comprised of persons who are knowledgeable of both the operational and administrative requirements for hot cell operations. The chairman and the majority of the committee are not directly associated with HCF operations. The safety committees act in an advisory capacity to line management. 

The safety committee consists of individuals selected from a variety of positions within the motor carrier, each representing different departments. It gives managers, drivers, mechanics, dispatchers, and the like a chance to brainstorm and tackle safety issues. This is a meeting in which ... 

One of the most important vehicles for joint consultation is the safety committee. 

Note that it is not the function of the safety committee to bypass line management. Any safety hazard or dangerous occurrence identified must be reported to supervisors for them to initiate corrective action. This is their responsibility for which they have been given authority. No matter should be taken to the safety committee before the supervisor concerned has been given an opportunity to correct it. Only if no action results may the matter be referred to the committee. 

The ASHP recommends that pharmacies develop and implement a safety management program. Pharmacy representation on the safety committee is important not only to the department but also to the effectiveness of the safety committee. Concern over safe handhng of medication errors and hazardous drug safety has increased the pharmacy s presence on the committee. The pharmacy director must ensure that the department conducts an effective orientation and on-the-job training program to address... 

Obtain approval from the Safety Committee when necessary ... 

Arrange for immediate first aid and report any accident to the Safety Committee or the supervisor. 

Ensure that the Safety Committee understands its functions and has every freedom to propose and impose improved conditions of work. 

---