Health and Safety Committee

Presentation

The composition, organisation and operation of the C.H.S. in Higher Education and Research establishments are defined by the decree dated 24 April 1995.

It is a body which includes administrative and personnel representatives. The C.H.S. meets at least twice a year, it is chaired by the Head of the establishment or its representative. However, extraordinary meetings may take place in case of accident or hazardous situations.

The C.H.S. is approached for its opinion and advice on any document connected with its mission, and notably on the annual risk prevention programme and the annual medical report.
It looks into the projects concerning the improvement, construction and maintenance of the premises.

The role of the C.H.S. (extracted from the decree dated 24 April 1995) :

• The C.H.S. is in charge of putting forward any appropriate proposals to the Administration Council of each establishment involved in order to promote safety training and to contribute to the improvement of health and safety conditions in the establishement.
• The committee analyses possible hazards to personnel and users of the establishment, notably professional hazards.
• The committee is approached on the contents of any document regarding its mission, and notably regulations and instructions which may be adopted by the administration in terms of health and safety. (…) Moreover, the committee analyses comments and suggestions related to the prevention of professional hazards, hazards to users and the improvement of working conditions recorded in the health and safety log which should be made available to personnel and users.
  Working groups from the C.H.S. may be set up on specific issues such as smoking, training, etc.
  C.H.S. representatives (contact them on membres.chs@univ-reims.fr)

The 5 administration representatives are appointed by the University President.
Personnel representatives are appointed by the organisations representing the personnel. The seats depend on the results of the elections of the Technical Committee. 4 seats are given to teacher representatives, 4 seats to Admin and technical personnel representatives and 2 seats to students’ representatives.
Besides the 2 annual meetings, C.H.S. representatives may be requested to take part in working meetings or visits of premises connected with their functions and missions
Links:

• Work of the Higher Education C.H.S (in french) : http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid4259/hygiene-et-securite.html
• C.H.S. reports and minutes may be viewed on intranet from section Comités et Conseils thumbnail "Comité Hygiène et Sécurité".