A little planning goes a long way when your goal is to hold regular, productive safety meetings. Worker participation on safety committees or in safety meetings can strengthen your safety culture and help you prevent costly workplace injuries.
Rules
If your company falls under general industry safety requirements (i.e, not construction or agriculture), follow the criteria in WAC 296-800-130 and learn which requirements apply to you.
| If you have | then: |
|---|---|
| 10 or fewer employees | You may choose to have Safety Meetings instead of having a Safety Committee. |
| 11 or more employees on the same shift at the same location | You must have a Safety Committee. |
| 11 or more employees, but they work on different shifts and there are 10 or fewer on each shift | You may choose to have Safety Meetings instead of having a Safety Committee. |
| 11 or more employees, but they work in widely separate locations and there are 10 or fewer at each location. | You may choose to have Safety Meetings instead of having a Safety Committee. |
If your company does construction work, crew leader-crew safety meetings must be held at the beginning of each job, and at least weekly thereafter, per WAC 296-155-110 (5)(a)
If you are in the agricultural industry, you are required to hold foreman-crew safety meetings at least monthly or whenever there are significant changes in job assignments, per WAC 296-307-033
For further details on what’s required (e.g, how to conduct and document meetings):