Establishing a safety committee for your housing authority is a critical step in providing a safe living environment for residents and a safe workplace for housing authority employees. Housing Authority Insurance Group considers a Safety Committee an important part of any loss control program.

Here are a few general rules in developing and operating a Safety Committee:

Keep the committee size manageable.

• If it’s too large, it becomes a forum where only the bold speak out
• If it’s too small, it may appear to some employees the committee is for only a chosen few who don’t represent their department or section
• Committee members should include personnel from all major areas of the organization
• A chair or leader should be appointed to develop agendas and facilitate meetings

Keep the length or the meeting down to a reasonable time.

• One hour works well
• When the meeting lasts too long, members lose interest or feel pressure to return to work

Adjust the frequency of meetings to meet the requirements of the committee.

• Weekly meetings are too frequent and won’t allow committee objectives to progress before the next meeting
• Semiannual or annual meetings allow too much time to pass between meetings and imply a lack of importance on what the committee must accomplish
• HAI Group recommends a minimum of four meetings per year spread out over four quarters

Set an agenda in advance and send it to those invited.

• This will keep the meeting on track and reduce the potential for the meeting to drag on and lose focus
• The agenda lets members know about topics to be discussed and allows them time to prepare
• Include past meeting minutes and standard agenda items such as inspection results, recommendation status, and training done or needed

Direct the meeting to maximize available time.

• Maintain control, stay on point. Discuss non-agenda issues briefly and set a timetable for future discussion
• Provide positive reinforcement for those who present good ideas
• Allow and appreciate differences of opinion
• Avoid interruptions such as telephone calls, etc.
• Come to a conclusion on topics, then move on

Make a written record of what occurs during the meeting and who was present.

• What was tabled to be discussed at a later time
• What was discussed and agreed upon so it does not come up again unless the agreed-upon plan is not working
• Minutes should not be verbatim but a recap of key discussion points and conclusions made

Many safety committees have been set up in response to OSHA Regulations, specific state requirements, or worker’s compensation insurance carriers. The Safety Committee should have a broad scope beyond employee safety. Certainly that is an important goal, but the big picture is to make your Housing Authority Properties safe for residents, visitors and employees.

What if the committee has too many tasks to complete?

Large authorities may consider having separate subcommittees to address specific areas of their safety initiative – a fleet safety program, worker-employee safety, or a special ad hoc committee to address a particular issue. The guidelines above pertain to these committees as well.

A functional safety committee will have a positive impact on the loss control program your authority has in place. The committee will become the eyes and ears for identification of hazardous situations and can be a forum where these risks are evaluated, measured, and ultimately controlled. The result is a housing authority that can stay on track with its mission to provide safe housing for its residents.