Is Your JHSC Effective and Efficient?

Having an effective Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) can have a positive impact on your organization’s bottom line.

Is your JHSC part of your organization’s strategic plan for meeting goals and objectives?  If it’s not, it should be!

In this article, we cover:

• 4 factors that contribute to an effective JHSC 
• How the JHSC can contribute to your company's long-term success
• JHSC training requirements in Ontario

An effective JHSC is engaged.

What Makes a JHSC Effective?

An effective JHSC is engaged. How do you ensure that the JHSC is effective and efficient?  

Train All Members
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​It’s recommended that all members receive JHSC certification training – not just the minimum number required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. JHSC members who know what to do, know their rights and responsibilities as certified JHSC members, and have a solid understanding of the basic foundations of workplace safety will naturally function more efficiently than those who never received proper training.

Learn more about JHSC Training

Make the Most of Meetings

​Make JHSC meetings dynamic! Set agendas and ensure that all members have adequate preparation time. Use the time in the meetings to go over recommendations and then brainstorm potential solutions, recommendations, and controls. Inviting new ideas will increase the JHSC’s ability to innovate, and it will result in more efficient hazard recognition and better controls. 

Act on Recommendations

​A JHSC is only as effective as its ability to drive change. A JHSC that is making the same recommendations over and over with no results is not effective. An effective JHSC inspires positive change in the workplace; change that is easily identified and recognized by the workers the JHSC represents. 

Support the JHSC

​The JHSC needs support to be effective. Support can be shown through leadership by example. When top management implements and follows the JHSC’s recommendations, workers follow the example. A good attitude toward safety results in a positive safety culture. 

How the JHSC Contributes to Success

Having an effective and trained JHSC needs to be part of your company’s long-term success strategy because workplaces with effective JHSCs experience fewer workplace accidents and illnesses, which results in:

• Saving money on insurance premiums
• Reducing or eliminating the cost of having to replace/repair damaged equipment and/or property

• Reducing the loss of revenue associated with lost productivity due to lost-time injuries
• Reducing the cost of lost productivity resulting from decreased morale caused by having to work in an unsafe workplace

• Healthier, more engaged workers
• Stronger safety culture

Trust MidSouthWest Training and Consulting

Training is key when it comes to having an effective and efficient JHSC. When all members are trained, they have a basic health and safety foundation of knowledge and are better equipped to make decisions that benefit workers and the organization. 

MidSouthWest Training and Consulting provides JHSC training in association with Langlois Safety Training and Consulting Services, an approved CPO Provider. We offer in-house and on-site JHSC Part One, Part Two, and Refresher training. You can trust MidSouthWest Training and Consulting to provide you with cost-effective training solutions tailored to meet your organization’s unique health and safety needs. 

To learn more, contact us online or call 289.309.1143. Visit us 24/7 on the web at midsouthwest.ca.

​Last updated January 16, 2024