Between November 2001 and March 2002, the Occupational Safety and Health Council conducted a postal questionnaire survey of the performance of safety committees in Hong Kong. A total of 3,000 organizations (1000 for each of the three categories by employment size) were recruited by random sampling from data supplied by the Census and Statistics Department. A structured questionnaire in a standardized format was designed and administered to the organizations by post. A total of 601 anonymous questionnaires (20% response rate) from 14 different types of industry were returned and analyzed. The survey focused on aspects of the performance of safety committees such as the establishment of safety committees in different types and sizes of industry, commitment from top management, terms of reference, membership, and ratio of the representatives to employees, and so on.
This survey provides the first benchmark measurement of the establishment and performance of safety committees in Hong Kong business organizations. The results of the survey serve as baseline data for further study of establishment of safety committee in industries or the whole territory and the outcomes of the study will also be used as a reference for the formulation of policy for the Council of Government to promote the safety management in the Hong Kong