Hazmat 101 News -December 2003

The Dos and Don'ts of Safety Meetings

By Brian R. Shmaefsky, PhD

"The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise." Publius Cornelius Tacitus

Many years ago safety meetings were commonly viewed as a "formality" or a "necessary evil" to keep insurance companies and regulatory agencies content that something was being done about worker safety. OSHA was viewed with consternation and complied with usually with many complaints. As in the quote above, many industry officials looked at OSHA guidelines as an impediment to production and R&D. Today, safety meetings are an essential component of improving workplace conditions. The three most important benefits--for employers and employees--are improved work performance, better morale, and fewer workdays lost from illness or injury.

Just the accomplishment of having safety meetings does not reduce workplace accidents. Safety can only be instilled through effective safety meetings as a component of a comprehensive safety plan. However, even the best safety plan can be thwarted by conscientious but ineffective safety meetings. Safety meetings must have a set of components that ensure success at conveying a safety work ethic. Good safety meetings have the following characteristics:

• Meeting attendees are comfortable in the meeting room.
• The seating arrangement allows the whole audience to see  the central presentation area.
• The meeting has a focused agenda.
• All participants know the agenda at the beginning of the meeting.
• The meeting is structured to stay on agenda.
• The meeting begins and ends on time while covering the whole agenda.
• The meeting is comes off businesslike, organized and rehearsed.
• The meeting has measurable goals and outcomes.
• The meeting goals are consistent with the safety program philosophy.
• Safety strategies are taught appropriately to the particular audience.
• The meeting is positive and entertaining as well as informative to keep audience interest.
• The safety information is relevant to audience.
• The information is backed by precise and simplified facts or statistics.
• Audience interaction and participation is encouraged.
• The meeting allows feedback in which everyone can express their views.
• The meeting presents information to all styles of learners, using visual aids and hands-on demonstrations if appropriate.
• The meeting organizers assess the effectiveness of the meeting using a feedback instrument.

Safety meetings are most effective when the audience takes the meeting seriously and is able to participate in a productive way. Plus, people learn best when the information is relevant and put into everyday applications. Unfortunately, working safely is not always a common sense activity that is fully learned at safety meetings. Safety meetings should be relegated to introducing and reinforcing a safety ethic. Safety behaviors must be identified, modeled, reinforced, and awarded on the job as well as in safety meetings.

A agenda for a productive safety meeting should effect the following:

• Reinforce existing safety program.
• Introduce safety prevention projects.
• Increase health and safety awareness.
• Address management concerns.
• Address employee concerns.
• Seek root causes of accidents and incidents.
• Dissimnate inspection reports and incident statistics.
• Review incentive programs.

Good safety programs and effective safety meetings can be rendered useless if certain negative components are introduced into the meetings. The following should not be part of safety meetings:

• Blaming accidents on particular people or groups.
• Embarrassing those involved in safety infractions.
• Giving penalties for accidents or faults in compliance.
• Setting a threatening tone to safety enforcement.
• Reciting loads of statistics and giving detailed accident reports.
• Showing films or demonstrations without follow-up or discussion.

In summary, a safety meeting should be an arena where sound decisions about the safety training needs of workers are fulfilled. Contrary to Tacitus' quote given at the beginning of this article, following an effective safety plan does go against the operations of the workplace. Safety complements the workplace by providing a place for all employees to work without fear of injury or death. A safe work environment contributes to the well-being of a the workplace by increasing morale and productivity. People work better when they know that they are secure and are within in organization that cares for them.

More Tools

Powerpoint presentation: "Effective Safety Meetings" 

About the Author

Brian R. Shmaefsky is a professor of biology at Kingwood College in Texas. He spent four years in industry as a production chemist serving on safety training committee. He has performed safety and hazardous materials training at the college level and as an independent consultant. He has written various publications on safety training and industrial hygiene. Phone: USA (281) 312-1609. Organization: Kingwood College, 20,000 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood, TX 77339-3801.