The Effectiveness of Health and Safety Committees: Results of a Survey of Public‐Sector Workplaces The Effectiveness of Health and Safety Committees

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of occupational safety and health committees within the public sector of New Jersey. Survey data collected from work-site representatives were matched with state-collected reports of injury and illnesses. While there remain methodological problems with this approach, the results indicate that committee scope and training play a positive role in perceptions of committee effectiveness and that committees with more worker involvement are associated with fewer reported illnesses and injuries.

Competency of Safety and Health Committees: Current Realities and the Way Forward

“…Both competency and scope of OSHCs have a significant positive effect on perceived effectiveness of OSHCs consistent with past research (Eaton & Nocerino, 2000). The scope of…”

“…proactive, reactive, educative, productivity and change). The perceptual measures used in Eaton & Nocerino (2000) capture the ends of an OSHC as opposed to the latter study that capture the means towards their ends.…”

“…The variable competency of OSHCs was measured using a multi-item scale comprising 6 items adapted from Eaton and Nocerino (2000) that measured competency of OSHCs in terms of their legal, technical and committee process knowledge. The respondents were asked to rate their provision of training in those areas in the past 12 months on a Likert scale of 1 to 5 (from 1=none to 5= always).…”

“…The variable scope of OSHCs was measured using a multi-item scale comprising 12 items adapted from Eaton and Nocerino (2000). The scale measured scope of OSHCs in terms of their operational, information gathering, review and educative functions.…”

Competency of Safety and Health Committees: Current Realities and the Way Forward

“…As for perceptual measures their utilisation can be varied. Eaton and Nocerino's (2000) perceptual measures of effective OSHCs, in contrast to Boden, Hall, Levenstein, and Punnett (1984) wherein perceptual measures focused on the internal dynamics of the committee (e.g. perceived group cohesiveness and commitment of committee members), considered the abilities of an effective committee along five areas to improve workplace safety and health (e.g.…”