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Mersey  
#1 Posted : 18 August 2020 08:31:40(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Mersey

What is your expectation of a safety rep's responsibilities? I'm curious to know how other EHS managers interact with their safety reps. What frequency do you meet up with them? Are they offered external training? How many hours per week would you expect them to work on safety issues in their areas? Are these hours formally agreed with their managers?

How do you get the best out of your limited time with them? With covid there has been a lull in all meetings but now I wan't to kick them off again, I'm look for some inspiration because past meetings have seemed close to pointless.

Due to the amount of actions at a particular I could really do with them helping to drive open actions forward in their department but is that their managers responsibilty to allocate the resource

I'm looking for inspiration to get the most out of these meetings and I'm curious to know what other companies do

CptBeaky  
#2 Posted : 18 August 2020 08:56:44(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
CptBeaky

I work for a medium sized manufacturing business, un-unionised, and around 90 employees. We have 4 "Respresentatives of employee safety". Don't forget they have slightly different roles and responsibilities than union appointed "Health and Safety representatives" - best set out here https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg232.pdf    )

We allow them sufficient time to consult with employees without ever writing down a number, I expect around 5 hours each per month is about normal. Basically we let them manage the time and trust them not to abuse the priviledge. We hold a meeting with them, the supervisor, and management once per month. This is minuted and made public to the enire workforce (sensitive information is redacted), either by email or display on the H&S notice board. In this meeting we discuss

  • Significant findings of any risk assessments
  • Changes to HSE guidelines/legislation
  • Upcoming training requirments
  • Site safety improvements and suggestions
  • Near misses and accident
  • Changes to the work place

etc. We should also be discussing the enviroment and quality, but this rarely comes up.

Whilst we don't have them on specific training, they do receive guidance etc. from myself and have access to the web should they need it. If they requested better training, we would probably allow it. They tend to also be the fire marshalls, first aiders etc.

I am sure we could do more, and the meetings can become a slog at times. Often they decend into production issues and other general complaints, and I spend a lot of the time getting the meeting back on course. I also welcome any suggestions to shaking this up a bit.

thanks 1 user thanked CptBeaky for this useful post.
Mersey on 18/08/2020(UTC)
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