Workplace Success Stories
- Best Practices 2003
Maximizing Employee Input in Managerial Decision-Making
| Practice Name:
Health, Safety, and Security Committee |
Workplace
Issues Addressed: |
Description of the practice
University Health Services (UHS) has a mandated and ethical
responsibility to provide a healthy and safe environment for staff,
clients, and visitors to the Tang Center. To simplify their efforts
toward meeting this responsibility, UHS has established a Health,
Safety, and Security Committee. The nine-person committee, composed
of diverse staff throughout the organization, meets regularly to work
on relevant issues. The committee is advisory to UHS administration
and to the Assistant Vice Chancellor-University Health and Counseling
Services, who is ultimately responsible for these issues.
Benefits of adopting the practice
UHS has benefited in multiple ways from this practice. Two
examples include: 1) As a result of the committee's work, UHS began
integrating health and safety trainings into its employee fall orientation
held the first week of each academic year. The trainings serve as
"refreshers" for returning staff and help to convey the
organizational commitment to employee health and safety to newer staff.
2) The committee was responsible for developing a workplace ergonomics
policy for the department, which was ultimately adopted by UHS administration
and communicated to all of the supervisors. The policy has been helpful
with translating departmental values for health and safety into actions
that supervisors and others can take.
How this practice works
The committee has yearly work plans and evaluates its progress
annually. Employees can send issues and complaints to the committee
through the UHS suggestion box, "Take Note," and "Report
of Unsafe Conditions or Hazard" forms. The committee reviews
annual injury rates to identify injury trends that need to be addressed.
The committee reports regularly to the UHS managers and supervisors
group to provide reports and get feedback.
What you need in place to replicate this practice
Organizational commitment to health and safety, a clear charge
for the committee, and release time for committee members to participate
and carry out committee work are the key ingredients needed to replicate
this practice in other departments.
Tangible improvements to the department as a result of adopting
this practice
The committee has been hugely successful in meeting its charge
and in simplifying how health and safety issues are addressed at UHS.
This committee has brought order and leadership to issues that were
previously addressed by various departmental units without much coordination.
The coordination has been extremely beneficial to the department during
times of extreme budget constraints. These issues, unfortunately,
all too often get placed on the "back-burner" by campus
departments. This committee model shows that departments can proactively
address health and safety issues in an efficient and effective way.
The committee was successful with moving forward the remodeling of
several reception areas where the workstations were contributing to
numerous ergonomic injuries. It also updated the department's Health,
Safety, and Emergency Preparedness handbook to make it more user-friendly
for staff. The committee has been instrumental in helping develop
an organizational response to health and safety issues. Health and
safety now has a "home" with cross-departmental representation
and administrative leadership.
Why this practice was so successful and is worth replicating
When health and safety issues are addressed in a timely manner,
the results have a positive affect on injury prevention, employee
morale and on how people generally feel when they come to the Tang
Center. Management support, release time, organizational values, an
annual work plan developed by the committee, and staff feedback have
all contributed to the committee's success.