Best Practices j Safety Committees Line Ownership & The SH&E Professional By Richard J. Horan Jr. An SH&E committee that is wellorganized will consistently demonstrate good leadership, effec- tive facilitation by committee chairs and engagement of all members. The best SH&E committee will prove that there is one transformation that separates it from the rest: Line ownership of the committee with SH&E professional support. This truly is the qualifier for a top-tier SH&E committee that can have a positive effect on changing a safety culture. To achieve success through line ownership, all members must understand the committee's purpose and processes. ,̂ Leadership Involvement An effective SH&E committee must have certain traits that will contribute to accomplishing actions identified by its members, and it begins with leadership involvement. Effective committees have the support of senior leadership, which endorses the purpose and is involved at some level in the committee structure. At large corporations, a top-down/ bottom-up approach is a great way for information to flow, especially when several tiers of SH&E committees exist. Once endorsed, top leaders need to "walk the talk" and practice what they preach. Senior leaders also need to be visible not only at the top-tier commit- tee, but in the organization's operations. To have a strong, effective safety culture, senior management must support all as- pects of safety programs, which include committees. Having a streamlined, com- prehensive structure for SH&E commit- tees can increase communications and employee participation, which can lead to improved environmental, safety and human performance. Middle management plays a key role in ensuring line ownership of these committees. Many organizations have either a director or manager lead an SH&E committee with SH&E profes- sional support. The committee chair must show that s/he is not only the lead for the committee, but an effective facili- tator during the meeting. Leading and facilitating in this environment go hand- in-hand. To succeed in line ownership of the committee, the chair sees the SH&E professional as another member of the committee, not the owner of most action items generated during meetings. As a member, the SH&E professional is viewed as a solid resource for SH&E concerns and as a strong advocate for the committee's purpose and processes. The SH&E professional helps keep the topic on track with implementation strategies; keeping members focused on SH&E while not deviating to other corporate issues of the day (e.g., over- time, pay grades, etc.); and ensuring collaboration and that all committee members participate and contribute. With a direct line to senior manage- ment and support, this keeps the com- mittee focused and on track. Choose employees already committed to the cause. This stimulates committee involvement. Supervisors are essentially the gate- keepers of SH&E concerns before they are elevated to an SH&E c ...

1. Best Practices j
Safety Committees
Line Ownership & The SH&E Professional
By Richard J. Horan Jr.
An SH&E committee that is wellorganized will consistently
demonstrate good leadership, effec-
tive facilitation by committee chairs
and engagement of all members.
The best SH&E committee will prove
that there is one transformation
that separates it from the rest: Line
ownership of the committee with
SH&E professional support. This
truly is the qualifier for a top-tier
SH&E committee that can have a
positive effect on changing a safety
culture. To achieve success through
line ownership, all members must
understand the committee's purpose
and processes. ,̂
Leadership Involvement
An effective SH&E committee must
have certain traits that will contribute to
accomplishing actions identified by its
members, and it begins with leadership
involvement. Effective committees have
the support of senior leadership, which
endorses the purpose and is involved at
some level in the committee structure.

2. At large corporations, a top-down/
bottom-up approach is a great way for
information to flow, especially when
several tiers of SH&E committees exist.
Once endorsed, top leaders need to
"walk the talk" and practice what they
preach. Senior leaders also need to be
visible not only at the top-tier commit-
tee, but in the organization's operations.
To have a strong, effective safety culture,
senior management must support all as-
pects of safety programs, which include
committees. Having a streamlined, com-
prehensive structure for SH&E commit-
tees can increase communications and
employee participation, which can lead
to improved environmental, safety and
human performance.
Middle management plays a key role
in ensuring line ownership of these
committees. Many organizations have
either a director or manager lead an
SH&E committee with SH&E profes-
sional support. The committee chair
must show that s/he is not only the lead
for the committee, but an effective facili-
tator during the meeting. Leading and
facilitating in this environment go hand-
in-hand. To succeed in line ownership of
the committee, the chair sees the SH&E
professional as another member of the
committee, not the owner of most action
items generated during meetings.

3. As a member, the SH&E professional
is viewed as a solid resource for SH&E
concerns and as a strong advocate for
the committee's purpose and processes.
The SH&E professional helps keep the
topic on track with implementation
strategies; keeping members focused
on SH&E while not deviating to other
corporate issues of the day (e.g., over-
time, pay grades, etc.); and ensuring
collaboration and that all committee
members participate and contribute.
With a direct line to senior manage-
ment and support, this keeps the com-
mittee focused and on track.
Choose employees
already committed
to the cause.
This stimulates
committee involvement.
Supervisors are essentially the gate-
keepers of SH&E concerns before they
are elevated to an SH&E committee. To
have success in line ownership of safety
means frontline supervisors are aware of
an SH&E issue and take responsibility to
initiate its resolution. Tl̂ e issue or con-
cern should not get past the supervisor
unless additional resources are required,
such as support from other depart-
ments within the company or approval

4. of funds. If the issue is resolved at the
front line and has generic information
for others in the company, then it will be
shared at the next committee meeting.
Once the management team is fully
on board with driving the line owner-
ship charge, it is vital to achieve buy-in
and involvement from all workers.
Line ownership of safety means ac-
tive participation from management
and frontline workers. An example of
ownership and participation is when
frontline workers raise an SH&E
concern and offer a viable solution to
the concern. In general, many employ-
ees are knowledgeable on their tasks,
tools, equipment and work environ-
ment. They usually provide appropriate
solutions to an SH&E concern when
identifying an issue.
However, when they offer solu-
tions that cannot be implemented,
care should be taken not to disdain
employees. When frontline personnel
are involved in the process and open
communications are in place between
management and employees, then the
committees can expect results.
Committee Selection
When developing an SH&E com-
mittee, the first selection of members is

5. fundamental to ensure maximum effect.
Choose employees already committed
to the cause. This stimulates committee
involvement. As members rotate off in
a staggered manner, replace them us-
ing a selection process that engenders a
sense of high performance and reward.
This grows in importance as you prog-
ress from the top-tier to the lower-tier
safety committees.
Committee Structure
Large companies will usually form
three levels of SH&E committees. A
level-one committee is within the build-
ing or region of the organization and
meets monthly. A level-two commit-
tee consists of several regions meeting
together and following a similar agenda
of a level-one meeting. Select members
from level-one committees will be on
the level-two committee. A level-three
committee consists of senior leaders and
their direct reports. Several representa-
tives from level-two committees will also
be members of a level-three committee.
Organizations with a union environ-
ment will usually have a chair/cochair or
two cochairs on their committees.
The standard profile for committee
structure is equal numbers of manage-
ment and employee representatives.
Employees or their union represen-
tatives (where labor organizations

6. exist) are asked to select committee
members. Management will select
representatives based on commitment
to SH&E topics, awareness and the
skill to interact with other members to
achieve results. Committee members
will be selected for their passion and
role in leading for SH&E improvement.
They can be viewed as potential future
leaders within their organizations.
Although small committees (10 to 12
members) are normally more effec-
tive than larger ones (20+), chairs and
cochairs need to understand the im-
portance of their role and provide clear
guidance on objectives and ground
4 2 ProfessionalSafety AUGUST 2013 www.asse.org
rules. Each department in an organiza-
tion should have a representative on
the committee.
Charter for Committees
Committees need a clearly defined
charter in order to succeed and sustain.
The charter is the blueprint to suppori
the purpose and mission. It also defines
roles and responsibilities, and bounds
the committee actions and activities.
The charter facilitates the committee's
operation so that every member is

7. aware of and understands the purpose
and processes. A charter can be viewed
as a contract between its members,
where there is an agreement on the el-
ements of fhe committee and expected
outcomes. The other key elements are
ground rules and team empowerment.
By being descriptive in each element of
the charter, an organization can weave
in where line operations would take
ownership of their committee.
Once a charter is draffed, it should be
reviewed at the first committee meet-
ing. This gives members the opportunify
to provide feedback. Once the final
version is accepted by the committee,
it is recommended that chairs/cochairs
and members sign the document. Each
member's signature represents his/her
acceptance of fhe charter. Ideally, people
designated as committee member alter-
nates would attend the meeting in which
the draft charter is initially reviewed.
The charter also provides an op-
portunity to include milestones for
continuous improvement and provides
a placeholder for performance assess-
ment that can be conducted annually.
Finally, the charter can be viewed as
the committee's mirror, so that if it
gets off track, any member has the
empowerment to hold out the charter
for a healthy check-in with the com-
mittee. Other benefits to having a

8. charter include enhancing communica-
^ tions, buüding trust and collaboration.
g It buOds alignment so members move
I together in the right direction.
0 Roles & Responsibilities
1 The safefy committee should be a
I constructive entify, providing guidance
I and leadership in matters pertain-
I ing to the company's overall SH&E
I performance. Roles and responsibilities
3 provide clear direction for members
and their functional responsibilities as
indicated in the charter. Every member
on the committee has a role, from the
chair to the minute-taker.
Although the goal is for the line to
own the processes of the committee,
the SH&E professional has several
responsibilities on the committee.
One is to communicate regulatory and
compliance changes in a timely and ef-
fecfively manner. There are always new
regulations and new tasks that require
SH&E knowledge. Obviously, line
management can do standard SH&E
activities on a day-to-day basis. In most
circumstances, it is a responsibilify as a
manager, supervisor and leader.
The role of the chairs is most vital
as the committee develops. This is
where line ownership is most visible

9. at committee meetings. By showing
interest in the committee activities and
communicating a sense of urgency, the
chairs can set the cadence for members.
Chairs are also responsible for holding
members accountable for action items
and other activities they are assigned.
Committee Empowerment
Forming an SH&E committee is
a great way to instill a sense of line
ownership and a culture of safefy
among employees. The SH&E com-
mittee should be evident to employees
and its members must be approachable
for SH&E concerns and suggestions.
Committee members must fimction as
one and be supportive of each other.
Members are more active and motivat-
ed when they are empowered to make
a difference in reducing overaü risk in
the workplace.
Empowerment gives members fhe
initiative to take action for continuous
improvement and reduce incidents.
Cochairs need to provide empowered
employees the appropriate time to
contribute to resolving action items.
Committee members will feel a sense
of ownership and be more willing to
participate. The most effective way to
achieve this is to involve them, to give
them actual responsibility in making

10. the mechanisms and processes work
(Krause, 2005). By empowering mem-
bers, SH&E committees can have an
enormous effect on safefy performance.
Conclusion
The key ingredient for any successful
SH&E committee is communication.
Without it, no committee can sustain
momentum for continuous improve-
ment. As we transform SH&E commit-
tees to line ownership and strengthen
communications from the bottom-up
and top-down approach, we must
uphold trust at every level. Trusting
each other's intention to do the right
thing and make sensible decisions
for SH&E improvements is vital for
success. Focusing on what is working
well and discussing opportunities for
a safer environment will keep leader-
ship, workers and SH&E professionals
engaged in a line-owned committee.
References
Krause, T.R. (2005). Leading with safety.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Richard J. Horan Jr., M.S., CSP, is a senior safety and health
specialist for PPL Electric Utilities
in Allentown, PA. He has 35 years' experience working at three
large corporations, mainly in the
utility sector—17 years as a front-line mechanic, 16 years as a
senior safety professional and

11. 2 years as an account executive with a professional services
company providing risk manage-
ment solutions. Horan is Vice President of ASSE's Philadelphia
Chapter and a member of AIHA.
He holds an M.S. in Safety Sciences from Indiana University of
Pennsylvania and a B.A. from
Immaculata University.
www.asse.org AUGUST 2013 ProfessionalSafety 4 3
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