Workplace Injury and Safety: MHR711 Midterm Notes PDF

WEEK 1: WORKPLACE INJURY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE Opening case - Lakeland Sawmill Explosion Incident 2012 ​ Explosion and fire in Prince George, BC April 2012 ​ The explosion kills 2 workers and injured 20+ others -> they were severely burned, injured, and some with missing fingers and cl...

WEEK 1: WORKPLACE INJURY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE Opening case - Lakeland Sawmill Explosion Incident 2012 ​ Explosion and fire in Prince George, BC April 2012 ​ The explosion kills 2 workers and injured 20+ others -> they were severely burned, injured, and some with missing fingers and clothes ​ Explosion Cause ○​ The sawmill processed large amounts of dry wood which turns into highly fine + combustible dust ○​ There were previous complaints to the ER about dust issues (by EEs) + 5 dust-related fires in the months prior to the explosion but did nothing to fix the issue ○​ An overheated fan shaft ignited in dust-laden hair ○​ Overheated fan shaft with dust-laden air -> caused explosion Occupational injuries and illnesses ​ Workplace injury: any form of ill health that arises due to employment (i.e. physical or mental injury or illness) ○​ Note that they’re not just acute physical injuries due to obvious physical causes ○​ TYPES OF INJURIES ​ Minor and temporary -> i.e. slight burn ​ Permanent -> i.e. amputation ​ Life threatening -> i.e. cancer ​ Acute (severe) -> i.e. laceration ​ Chronic (will take years to manifest themselves) -> i.e. silicosis ​ Occupational illness: an abnormal condition/disorder caused by exposure to environmental factors associated w/ employment Types of injuries/illnesses per compensation claims 1.​ Lost time injuries: workplace injury that causes a loss of time from work, i.e. 1 shift to multiple weeks 2.​ Medical aid injuries: seeing a medical professional due to work related illness + the doctor has an obligation by law to submit it to the WSIB who will be billed for your treatment 3.​ First aid injuries: not serious at the time, i.e. put a bandaid on it ​ Ontario: the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA) is managed by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) ​ Other provinces: the law is called Workers Compensation Act (WCA), managed by the Workers Compensation Board ​ Nation wide: Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC) What causes workplace injuries/illnesses ​ Workplace hazards: any source of potential injury/illness in a workplace ○​ TYPES OF HAZARDS ​ Physical: entail a transfer of energy that results in injury, i.e. box falling off a shelf and striking a worker ​ Ergonomic: occur as a result of the interaction of work design + the human body ​ Chemical: many cause harm to human tissue or interfere w/ normal physiological functioning, i.e. chemicals causing burns or hallucinations  ​ Biological: organisms or products of organisms that harm human health, i.e. bacteria, mold, fungi ​ Psycho-social: social environment/psychological factors that affect human health & safety ​ However, work-related hazards are not always obvious ​ ER has the obligations to assess & control all forms of hazards, even if they’re not foreseeable Injury causation 1.​ Proximate causes: event that’s immediately responsible for the injury (most visible/immediate cause) 2.​ Root causes: the underlying or “real” cause of an injury (caused the proximate cause to occur) ​ Example: a worker falls in the workplace ○​ Proximate cause is that the worker lost footing due to a wet surface ○​ Root cause is that an inadequately maintained hose leaked, causing the wet surface ​ In the real world, it’s less distinct than the proximate-and-root-cause model. There’s often a chain of causality that leads to an injury ○​ Root cause of inadequate hose maintenance could’ve been inadequate staffing levels, which was caused by the ER trying to minimize costs of production -> bc they were pressured to maximize profitability to retain investment in capitalist economies Historic development of OHS ​ Ancient Egypt -> stonemasons and potters experienced respiratory problems ​ Industrial revolution -> new industries and occupations resulted in new OHS related problems, i.e. brown lung disease (caused by excessive inhalation of dust) ​ Previous perspectives of risk and liability ○​ Volenti non fit injuria - “voluntary assumption of risk” ○​ Accident proneness - inherent likelihood to be involved in accidents Historic legislative development ​ Late 19th century: Ontario legislation established safety standards (machine guards) ​ Early 20th century: Canadian jurisdictions passed factory laws to regulate heating, lighting, ventilation, hygiene, fire safety, and accident reporting ​ Royal Commission on Relations of Capital & Labour in Canada (1889) ○​ Improving H&S by establishing standards and mandating regular inspections ○​ System for compensating victims of industrial accidents, regardless of fault ○​ Labour bureau to be created to oversee these activities ​ Royal Commission on the health and safety of Workers in Mines ○​ In 1974, the 3 principal rights of workers first articulated: 1.​ Right to know about hazards in the workplace 2.​ Right to refuse dangerous work without penalty 3.​ Right to participate in identifying + correcting H&S problems +​ JHSC - reps of the ER + EE that meet and discuss how to keep the workplace safe ​ WHMIS legislation was passed in 1988; revised in 2018 ​ Changes to the Criminal Code to allow for charges for some OH&S violations in 2004 ​ OH&S incorporates physical and mental health Considerations for OH&S ​ Economic - cost benefit analysis (shareholder’s interest) ​ Legal - due diligence (a defence to OHS charges)  ​ Moral/social - conscience, what the society can accept Cost benefit analysis of injuries ​ Since perfect safety is unattainable, ER adopts a cost-benefit approach to safety ○​ “Safety should only be improved when it costs less to prevent” ○​ I.e. only fix things when the injury costs more than injury prevention ○​ This doesn’t suggest ERs wish to see their workers injured or don’t take it seriously ​ Risk of injury can be classified as ○​ Minimal ○​ Unavoidable ○​ Acceptable Cost benefit analysis justification ​ Every workplace activity involves some level of risk, and reducing risk is expensive ○​ Workers—who are most often injured or killed—see workplace risk differently ​ Workplace injury is not inevitable or uncontrollable; it results from ER decisions about production (how, what, when, and where goods/services are produced) ○​ ERs make these decisions to maximize profitability, shifting the cost of workplace injuries onto EEs ​ Workers understand that ER decisions regarding risk can lead to injury or death ​ The primary goal of health and safety measures is to reduce injury, disease, and death ​ Workplace injuries have broader societal costs—injured workers require medical treatment, lose income, and may even lose their homes ○​ Meanwhile, ERs continue to profit from dangerous working conditions ​ These economic consequences are secondary effects of employer choices that expose workers to risk + is a political choice by government by letting ERs do this OHS stakeholders ​ Government ○​ Legislation - OHSA, WSIA ○​ Federally for OHS - Canada labour Code II (Section 91 for federal companies + section 92 for provincial companies under the 1867 Constitution Act) ​ ERs - policies, safe equipment, supervision ​ Workers - work safely, use PPE, report defects ​ Organizational labour - JHSC, collective agreements that affect safety Internal responsibility system (IRS): system of shared responsibility over health and safety that is the basis for most Canadian OH&S legislation ​ Primary responsibility rests with workplace stakeholders, not government regulations Barriers to OHS/accident prevention ​ ERs who value production over safety ​ ER who focus on safety only when they feel like they should (i.e. for upcoming safety inspections) ​ ER may be uninformed/lack confidence about safety concerns ​ The role of OHS professionals ​ Broad array of backgrounds suitable for OHS careers, i.e. industrial hygiene, occupational medicine ​ Safety certifications (CRSP) help firms identify individuals with relevant OHS training ​ Companies may delegate OHS responsibilities to HR generalist or contract out services to third parties ​ Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (CRSP) are recognized experts ○​ Many organizations require individuals in the field to hold this designation ○​ CRSPs​have training in: hazard identification and analysis; incident severity evaluation; development and communication of hazard control policies