Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 1 Effective Safety Meetings ©

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky1

Effective Safety Meetings©


Presented by

Dr. Brian Shmaefsky

Shmaefsky Consulting &

Professor of Biology

Kingwood College


What is a meeting?

A purposeful gathering of people A goal oriented work session A productive use of communal time A cooperative group effort


What is a safety meeting?

A time to educate all parties about safety issues

A time to discuss pertinent safety concerns A time for two-way communication A time to resolve problem issues A time to instill a safety ethic


What a safety meeting is not!

A waste of everybody’s time An open time for other than safety discussions A gripe session about working conditions A formality because it is required A finger-pointing session An arena to embarrass or shame people A safety statistics session


Meetings 101

Meetings require a:– Structure– Plan– Goal– Strategy

Meeting members have roles:– Managers– Contributors– Consumers


Meetings 101 -

Structure– Organized– Follows an agenda– Is rehearsed

Plan– Have a target

audience– Have a philosophy or

mission

Goals– Has delineated objectives

for that meeting– Has measurable

outcomes

Strategy– Has a designated leader– Follows the structure– Sticks to the plan– Meets the goals


Meetings 101 - Roles

•Manager – Safety officer•Plans meeting•Organizes meeting•Sets goal of meeting

•Contributor – Management or employee reps•Identifies issues•Sets goal of meeting

•Consumer – Management and employees•Object of goals•Beneficiary of goals


Meeting TQM

TQM – Total Quality Management– Designing a flexible format into meetings that meet

the current and emerging goals of the organization Define the rules of the meeting Define goals and needs of the organization Delineate immediate goals of each meeting Define individual and team roles of members Define committee structures (purposes & deadlines) Evaluate measurable outcomes and success of meeting Solicit feedback to improve future meetings


Practical elements of a meeting

Effective meeting checklist

Guidelines or Order Agenda (topics) Meeting manager Recorder Documentation Follow-up


Guidelines or Order

Rules for running the meeting– Keep control over the rules and plan– Maintain integrity of the goals and strategy– Limit the types of discussions to those related to the

goals of the meeting– Maintain an order of speaking– Provide a set format for discussion and arguments

(Guidelines and rules must be effective & be followed)


Agenda

Hand it out a reasonable time before meeting Have start and stop times Provide all topics and points of discussion Stick to the agenda Only change agenda with approval mechanism

(A good agenda provides direction and meets the group’s goals)


Meeting manager

Have a designated meeting manager– Must have authority over other members– Duties may be distributed between two people– There must be defined roles for manager(s)

Keeps a list of alternates that cannot be argued Keeps meeting on agenda Keeps track of guidelines Makes decisions Manages members


Recorder

A designated person Takes accurate notes Keeps notes that follow agenda format Keeps track of all conversation at meeting Collects and archives documentation Keeps track of time for discussions Prepares & distributes timely draft copies for review Prepares final copy after getting input from review


Documentation

Distribute in advance any documents discussed in a meeting

Use printed charts, graphs, & tables for information to members

Hand out hard copies of audiovisual presentations for members and records

Handle documents with any needed confidentiality


Follow-up

Review how the guidelines, rules, and agenda were adhered to for each meeting

Evaluate whether the guidelines,rules, and agenda were effective for each meeting

Solicit member response for their perceptions of each meeting:– Did the meeting flow smoothly?– Did the meeting meet the intended goals?– Was the meeting completed on time?


Meeting Dos & Don’ts


Dos

Keep the meeting time and location convenient for all members

Keep the meeting time to less than 2 hours Hand out agenda and documents at least one week in

advance Stay on agenda and avoid diversions Have adequate space for seating and presentations Monitor the meeting to stay on agenda and on time Solicit input from all members Clean up meeting room so others can use it later


Don’ts

Have committees run by more than 5 lead people Wait for late members Use meetings “just to meet” or maintain status quo Allow members to speak off agenda or ramble on

about a topic Let more than one speaker talk at a time Assign too much committee work after one meeting Run past the designated stop time of the meeting


Effective safety meeting features

Is rehearsed and reviewed Has an introduction given a stated goal Solicits orderly audience responses Uses real cases or statistics Does not place blame or intimidate Leaves time for questions and answers Allows room for critique to evaluate

effectiveness


A point to remember

People learn best by interacting with information:– Through discussion– Through hands-on experience

People remember:– 20% of what they hear– 30% of what they see– 50% of what the hear & see– 80% of what they hear, see, & experience


Another point to remember

People learn best when safety meetings:– Are upbeat– Are organized– State accurate information– Provide valuable information– Give ample opportunities for people to absorb the

information and relate it to their jobs or lives


Dr. S’ Safety & Meetings Organization Background

Lead production chemist in chemical industry Workforce trainer – Biotechnology & Industrial Hygiene University department head & college administrator Professional organization chair NGO chair Civic organization chair Political action group lobbyist – environmental issues Journalist – did stories on a variety of safety issues Given over 100 professional presentations


The End

A good meeting should not leave you dog tired from stress!

Documents

Dr. Brian R. Shmaefsky 1 Effective Safety Meetings ©