 What kinds of companies have safety committees? You might think only large well-established businesses with deep pockets maintain a committee focused on safety. But the truth is that the kind of company that has a safety committee is simply a smart one. Any company of any size, in any business, has plenty to gain from establishing an effective committee. A safety committee is that group of employees dedicated to the work of assessing risks, looking at losses, making improvements, in processes, and training a group empowered to meet the goal of creating a safer workplace. And, those efforts bring tangible results. Safety committees help increase productivity, improve operations, and lower downtime while saving on the direct and indirect costs of safety incidents. What's more, they create positive momentum and encourage teamwork which boosts morale and employee satisfaction. Good things all around so how do you establish a safety committee and set it off on the right and most effective foot? Contrary to what you might think, creating one doesn't need to be complicated or costly, but there are common pitfalls to avoid so that you can increase the impact your committee has. Start with a clear mission and vision specific to your safety committee. This should be relevant to the work and culture of your company. A strong mission helps avoid the problems of complacency and lack of motivation. Next, set clear semi-annual or annual goals. Knowing exactly what the committee is working toward helps avoid having too many to dose to get anything actually accomplished. Now build your committee at the right size. A committee that's too big suffers from too many voices and not enough accountability. One that's too small will struggle with problem solving and even having the bandwidth to make progress. Make sure your committee has a good employee mix. Include employees from all levels of the company frontline workers and senior leadership. Without this wide perspective, it's easy to overlook some of the most important safety concerns and some of the best ideas to solve them. And it's especially important to include employees from various levels if some of them work remotely or from different locations when it can. Be easy to lose sight of the different aspects of your operations. Also, consider having an executive leader from your company as a committee member. Not only does this add validity to the committee, but an executive sponsor can also help make sure the committee is funded with an adequate budget and he or she can help overcome obstacles to company changes. Any company with more than five employees has one. Most of all, safety committees are a great investment a company can make in its long-term success and in the people who make it happen.