Occupational Health and Safety Midterm Study Guide PDF

**Occupational Health and Safety: Midterm** **20 -- 30 Multiple Choice; Short answer / simple sentence questions; 2-4 essay questions; 2.5 hours** **Important Terms** - **Occupational health and safety** - **Occupational health and safety (OHS) is the field dedicated to promoting and protecting the health, safety, and well-being of workers by identifying and mitigating workplace hazards and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations.** - **Occupational injury** - **Injuries that happen at work are more pronounced and out there** - **Occupational illness** - **Only illnesses that happened at work** - **Lost-time-injury (LTIs)** - **They are the things that we measure** - **There needs to be a loss of time to make it significant (loss time injury, what is the cost of the lost). Put things into place to have less cost.** - **For example, cutting yourself at work is an accident at work but if the person continues working it will not be statistically registered** - **Lost time injury (LTIs) are important because that\'s the way they measure accidents** - **High stats = more accidents being reported that lost time** - **80% of accidents haven because management failed to do their job** - **Collective liability** - **The whole industry is responsible so they are paying the bill** - **The employer pays a prim to the cnesst** - **Collective responsibility** - **Everyone has a role to play** - **Due diligence** - **You have a responsibility to exercise that certain things get done.** - **You're responsible for the means you take to safeguard the employees and not the outcome. That\'s what matters in law.** - **Ultimately the employer has the most responsibility because they are the one making the decisions, everyone else has the responsibility to comply** - **If the employer can be held liable if employees do not follow rules, but not the employees if the employer did not do his job at doing his due diligence** - **This refers to the effort that an employer is expected to make to prevent health and safety violations. It involves taking all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with safety laws and regulations.** - **Compliance (non-compliance)** - **There is a law, a way of doing things, and you comply and follow that.** - **Non-compliance = liability.** - **All employers are looking to be complying of the rules and regulations, they will give you an avis to start following the rules (do your due diligence)** - **Adherence** - **Refers to the commitment and compliance of individuals or organizations to established guidelines, protocols, regulations, and standards designed to ensure safety and protect health. This can involve following safety procedures, using protective equipment, and participating in training programs.** - **Effective adherence is crucial for preventing accidents, injuries, and health hazards in workplaces and other environments.** - **Internal responsibility system (IRS)** - **Basis for most health and safety legislation** - **Everyone in the workplace has a role to play in keeping workplaces safe and healthy.** - **Each stakeholder takes personal responsibility for safety** - **Individuals in the workplace are in the best position to ensure health and safety** - **Primary responsibility for health and safety resides in the workplace (should not be dependant of regulatory legislation)** - **Safety is not an add-on** - **Based on people in the system interacting & self-correcting** - **Assumption of risk** - **You knew your job had risks (old way of thinking).** - **Now, there is more accountability and expectation that employer to do their due diligence.** - **Accident proneness** - **Blame the victim mentality. You blame the person for not being adequate to do the job (old way of thinking, how they used to accept accidents in the workplace).** - **Occupational vs Workplace** - **Culture of safety** - **Safety mentality** - **Patterns-repeat over time** - **The moral, social and behavioral norms of an organization** - **Based on shared belief, ideas, values, attitudes, habits, and traditions of health and safety** - **Give meaning to an organization's employees** - **Provides employees with the accepted health and safety behaviors with the organization** - **Management establishes the culture** - **Leaders have a profound impact on culture** - **Can change the culture of an organization by changing the leadership** - **Drives safety performance** - **Predicts improvements in safety performance** **How to boost health and safety culture:** 1. **CEO not top health and safety ** 2. **Presence ** 3. **Feedback ** 4. **Stick to rules ** 5. **Positive reinforcement ** 6. **Health and safety communication ** 7. **Involves others and all ** 8. **Training and orientation ** 9. **Put more emphasis on whats most important in the workplace in the health and safety program (like agression and violence hazards in the clsc) ** - **Climate of safety** - **How are you feeling? Are you feeling safe?** - **Subjective in nature** - **How it is applied in every day activities?** - **The prevailing atmosphere of the organization** - **The socio-psychological environment that influences behavior** - **Typically measured by employee's perceptions** - **Associated with low levels of injury or illness rates, cost** ***Culture is deeply seated whereas Climate is superficial and a snapshot of what is occurring*** - **CNESST** - **They only cover work-related illnesses and injuries** - **Inspections (below)** - **Compensation Board** - **Work Accident** - **Jurisdictions** - **Legal prescriptive** - **Regulations** - **How we are supposed to do something, referring to laws** - **(2) Regulation: This is how to do what is expected from you** - **Acts** - **The legislation, the law that is approved, what we are supposed to do** - **(1) Law: this is what we expect from you** - **Guidelines and policies** - **A set of rules coming from given employer that are not set in law.** - **The employers\' interpretation of the regulations, what is expected from the employer.** - **The \`how\' related to the organization** - **Standards** - **Canadian Standards Association (CSA): expectations that have been tested to be efficient, they are the standards** - **International Organization for Standardization (ISO standards): grouping in given industry that have identified best practices** - **The users of the products or service would like to see that they follow the standards** - **The buyers need to see that you follow best practices** - **They need to be spoken in the law to be an obligation, they can require the standards are met according to the law** - **The union has the responsibility to ensure that the employer met the standards and codes to keep the employees safe** - **Codes** - **Typically refer to established guidelines, standards, or regulations designed to ensure safe working environments and practices** - **These codes play a vital role in establishing a framework for maintaining safety and health in various settings, ensuring that both employers and employees understand their responsibilities and adhere to best practices.** - **No-fault insurance** - **No-fault insurance in the context of health and safety, particularly in workers\' compensation, refers to a system where employees receive benefits for work-related injuries or illnesses without needing to prove that their employer was at fault.** - **No-fault insurance in health and safety creates a framework that supports injured workers by providing them with necessary benefits without the complications of proving fault. This approach fosters a more supportive environment for recovery and encourages proactive safety measures in the workplace** - **Exclusive jurisdiction** - **It refers to the legal authority granted to a specific agency, organization, or level of government to regulate and enforce health and safety standards within a defined area or subject matter.** - **The CNESST has exclusive jurisdiction in Quebec over occupational health and safety matters, overseeing regulations and enforcement to protect workers and ensure safe working conditions.** - **Independent administration** - **The board does not subject itself to the government but go to their interpretation of the health and safety law** - **The defence of due diligence** - **The defense of due diligence is a legal principle that applies in occupational health and safety cases, where an employer may be held liable for violations of health and safety regulations.** - **To successfully use the defense of due diligence, an employer must provide evidence that they were actively working to comply with health and safety regulations at the time of the incident.** - **General duty clauses** - **General duty clauses serve as a foundational element of health and safety legislation, emphasizing the responsibility of employers to create and maintain safe working conditions for their employees. They establish a standard of care that employers must uphold to protect the health and safety of their workforce.** - **Here's what they entail: employer responsibility to ensure safety, proactive and preventive measures, compliance with regulations, protect workers rights, legal implications (liability)** - **Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)** - **Westray C-45** - **If it can be proven that the employer and those directly under are willfully negligent, they can be held liable criminally as well as by the cnesst. You hold the individual in charge liable.** - **Bill C-45 is federal legislation that amended the Canadian Criminal Code and became law on March 31, 2004. The Bill established new legal duties for workplace health and safety and imposed serious penalties for violations that result in injuries or death.** - **Bill C-45 attributes criminal liability to organizations, including corporations, their representatives and those who direct the work of others.** - **New Sections of the Criminal Code: Bill C-45 added Section 217.1 to the Criminal Code** - **\"Everyone who undertakes, or has the authority, to direct how another person does work or performs a task is under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person, or any other person, arising from that work or task.\"** - **Corporations can be criminally liable for negligence and other offences** - **This legislation makes a company responsible for:** - **The actions of those who oversee day-to-day operations (supervisors and mid-level managers)** - **Managers (executive or operational) who intentionally commit, or have employees commit, crimes to benefit the organization** - **Principle rights** - **The principle rights in occupational health and safety refer to the fundamental rights granted to workers to ensure their safety and well-being in the workplace. These rights are typically recognized in various health and safety legislations, including those in Quebec. The three main principle rights are: right to know, right to participate, right to refuse unsafe work.** - **Bill 59 was adopted on June 10, 2021. It came into effect on April 1, 2022. This legislation aims to strengthen occupational health and safety measures and improve workers\' rights in Quebec.** **Bill 59, known as the Act to amend the Act respecting occupational health and safety and the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases, was introduced in Quebec to enhance workplace safety and improve the rights of workers.** **Key Features of Bill 59:** - **Strengthened Rights of Workers:** - **The bill aims to enhance the rights of workers, particularly in terms of their health and safety in the workplace.** - **Preventive Measures:** - **It emphasizes the importance of preventive measures and requires employers to take more proactive steps in identifying and mitigating risks.** - **Improved Reporting Requirements:** - **Bill 59 introduces clearer reporting obligations for workplace accidents and illnesses, enhancing transparency and accountability.** - **Support for Victims:** - **The legislation provides additional support for workers who are victims of workplace accidents or occupational diseases, aiming to streamline processes for accessing benefits and support.** - **Enhanced Penalties for Non-Compliance:** - **The bill includes increased penalties for employers who fail to comply with health and safety regulations, reinforcing the importance of maintaining a safe work environment.** - **Training and Awareness:** - **It places a greater emphasis on training and awareness programs to ensure that both employers and employees understand their rights and responsibilities regarding occupational health and safety.** **Objectives of Bill 59:** - **To create a safer work environment for all employees in Quebec.** - **To encourage a culture of prevention and safety within organizations.** - **To improve the overall health and well-being of workers, reducing the incidence of workplace accidents and illnesses.** - **Hazard** - **Something with the potential to cause harm. This might be a hazardous substance, machinery or an exposed edge.** - **Any object, action, or condition that can be a source of potential adverse health effect, damage, or harm to people, processes, or equipment within the workplace.** Une image contenant texte, intérieur, écriture manuscrite, tableau blanc Description générée automatiquement - **Job Hazards Assessment ** - Ideally workers that are familiar with the tasks need to be involved - Sometimes they outsource who does the assessment, no real added value to doing that (unless you outsource to experts in industry) - Important to have dates on things (when verified, when audited) - Why joint health and safety committee? Always goes back to the legal, moral and economic aspects - When? Depends on the OHS program: Authors, participation, audits, date of creation - RTOK : right to know - **Risk** - **The probability or the extent to which a hazard is likely to cause harm to people, processes, or equipment** - **Probability that the problem will occur, high or low probability** - **The likelihood or potential for harm from a hazard being realised. Risk is a construct of two components, the *likelihood of harm* and the *consequence of harm*. For instance, a risk could be of low-likelihood but high consequence (think plane crash), but it could also be high-likelihood and low-consequence (think a paper cut working in the mail room).** - **Risk = threat X vulnerability X impact** - **Threat (hazard) vulnerability (probability that worker can be hurt) and impact (how severe is the hazard to the worker? Will they die, or get sick but recover?** - **Grading system to describe or rate risk -- description (low, moderate, high) value (1, 2, 3) color green, yellow, red** - **Residual risk** - **The subjective amount of remaining risk after considering any risk control measures that have been implemented.** - **Probability** - **Consequence** - **Exposure** - **Risk assessment** - **The process of hazard and risk identification, analysis, and control** - **A systematic look at hazards in the work and identifying which hazards may cause harm, and then an assessment (and usually grading) of the potential for harm and the consequence of that harm.** - **The purpose of the risk assessment is to identify things in the workplace which may cause us harm which should then lead to the implementation of risk control measures designed to eliminate or reduce the risk to an acceptable level.** - **Identify, assess, control** - **Why a risk assessment -- go back to why we do anything in health and safety?** - **Legal, financial, moral** - **You need a joint health and safety committee to quantify the probability that something will happen (like a nurse being pricked with a needle) in order to calculte risk using the formula. Everyone needs to agree. What does a lot meet to us?** - **Quantitative R/M** - **C x E x P = Risk** - **C = consequence -- words = value** - **E = exposure -- how often, frequency** - **P = probability - likelihood** - **Risk perception** - **An individual's interpretation of the potential for harm and their concern for the consequences (based on social, physical, political, cultural, and psychological factors), which influences how they behave in response to that hazard** **\*** **Hazards and risk are NOT the same -- work hazards pose a risk to those within the work environment -- goal is to manage the risk. To do so need to understand the what the hazards are at work and the potential of each hazard to cause harm to workers. Hazard then needs to be properly understood, assessed, and controlled. -- to do this we use hazard identification, risk assessment and then hazard controls.** **To do a risk evaluation you need to have identified the hazards** **Risks and hazards are very subjective** **You can go large in the list of hazards, because risk assessment will allow you to narrow down which hazards to focus on** **Hazards pose risks but risks do not pose hazards** **Employees have the right to know what the hazards are so it\'s written in law that organizations have to do this process** **Why to do it?** 1. **Compliance with legislation** 2. **One of the three basic right of workers in Canada** 3. **Enhances safety culture** 4. **Boosts productivity, people work better when they feel safe** - **5 categories of hazard recognition (identification)** - **What creates the hazard? This is the question to ask ourselves to identify the type of hazard** - **People: something employees do or don't do** - **Processes** - **Equipment** - **Materials** - **Environment** - Some hazards can fall into two categories (someone forgot to turn on the light vs the low light) - Unsafe act (pushing heavy trolly) vs unsafe conditions (heavy trolly) - Unsafe conditions is what employers failed to do (don\'t put x number of boxes on trolly) - You have to train the employees to do it correctly, make sure everyone is aware of the measure - **Hazard identification program** - **Positive tree** - **The \"positive tree\" in health and safety is a concept that emphasizes a proactive and constructive approach to managing workplace safety and health. It focuses on fostering a culture of safety rather than merely reacting to incidents. Here's an outline of the key elements of the positive tree:** - **Identify and address the underlying causes of safety issues, rather than just the symptoms or immediate problems. This involves analyzing incidents to understand what led to them and implementing systemic changes.** - **Develop strategies to prevent accidents and injuries before they occur. This includes risk assessments, safety training, and the implementation of safety protocols.** - **Encourage and reward safe behaviors among employees. Acknowledging and reinforcing positive actions can motivate workers to prioritize safety.** - **Engage employees at all levels in safety discussions and decision-making processes. Empowering workers to voice concerns and contribute to safety practices fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility.** - **Provide ongoing training and resources to ensure that all employees are knowledgeable about safety practices and procedures. Regular training helps maintain awareness and competence.** - **Foster open communication about safety issues and concerns. Creating a culture where employees feel comfortable reporting hazards or near misses is essential for continuous improvement.** - **Implement a system for regularly reviewing and updating safety policies and practices based on feedback, incident reports, and changing conditions. A commitment to continuous improvement helps adapt to new challenges.** - **Enhanced Safety Culture: Promotes a positive work environment where safety is prioritized and valued.** - **Reduced Incidents: Proactive measures lead to fewer accidents and injuries, ultimately improving overall productivity.** - **Increased Morale: Employees feel safer and more valued, contributing to higher job satisfaction and retention.** - **The positive tree in health and safety represents a holistic approach to creating and maintaining a safe workplace. By focusing on prevention, employee engagement, and continuous improvement, organizations can cultivate a culture of safety that benefits everyone involved.** - **Fault tree (bow-tie analysis)** - **Fault tree analysis is a type of failure analysis in which an undesired state of a system is examined.** - **Fault tree analysis maps the relationship between faults, subsystems, and redundant safety design elements by creating a logic diagram of the overall system. The undesired outcome is taken as the root (\'top event\') of a tree of logic.** - **Health and safety inspectors** - **Incident** - **Accident** - **Hazard control measures** - **Initiatives, they control for risk** - **Hierarchy of controls** - **Source-path-human (below)** - **Traumatic injuries (below)** - **Over exertion injuries (below)** - **Risk management communications (below)** - **Repetitive strain** - **Awkward Working Positions** - **Strains and sprains can result from:** - **bending, twisting, and working in a variety of awkward positions** - **Should not reach below the knees or raise arms above shoulder for any length of time** - **Design of workstations and work procedures so that individuals work in a comfortable position** - **Adjustable equipment and machinery to accommodate differences in body size** - **Accident theory** - **Root causes (below)** ** ** **Learning Outcomes** **Explain the notion of Occupational Health & Safety** - **Identifying what are the hazards and risks for your employees** - **Assessment of those hazards for consequences, severity and probability of occurrence** - **Put measures to eliminate or mitigate the effects** - **What is the potential to cause harm to the employee?** **Explain the importance of health and safety** ***Economic reasons*** - **We focus a lot on economic reasons, the money we spend has translated value, then you are able to sell your idea in health and safety.** - **You have to address how the spending will save you on the long run** - **Important to understand numbers** - **Economic message: amount of money put in versus the amount of money put out is worth it. The CEO needs to know how much they will save by putting money into a good health and safety program.** - **Any kind of economic message is valuable. Not always in dollars (hard costs), can be soft costs (branding, reputation, no tangible but goes up in your favour). Direct cost (hours lost from injury), indirect cost (having to train the person that will replace the injured person)** **Direct costs:** - **Compensation to the worker** - **Medical Expenses** - **Rehabilitation costs** - **Hiring/training cost** - **Replacement of equipment cost** - **Legal costs** **Indirect costs:** - **Training replacement employees** - **Accident investigation** - **Implementation of corrective measures** - **Lost productivity** - **Repairs of damaged equipment and property** - **Costs associated with lower employee morale and absenteeism** - **Damage to organizations image** - **Additional Supervision Time** - **Administrative Costs** ***Legal reasons*** ***Moral reasons*** - **Anything that is important to us becomes a moral imperative (environment, reputation)** - **For example, the environment is a big topic now so an organization can use that to attract the** - **population, show their morals** **These are the three ways to sell your health and safety ideas** **Define *Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Program*** **A health and safety program is a definite plan of action designed to prevent incidents and occupational diseases. Some form of a program is required under occupational health and safety legislation in most Canadian jurisdictions. A health and safety program must include the elements required by the health and safety legislation as a minimum. (CCOHS, The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety)** - **Strong commitment** - **Encouragement of a culture of safety** - **Foster's collective responsibility for OHS (prevention)** - **Ensures workers know about** - **Able to work safely (equipped)** - **Motivated to work safely** - **Promotes strong manager-employee collaboration** - **Provides necessary infrastructure (resources)** - **Ensures program evaluation and CL for all** **A safety program means a co-ordinated system of procedures, processes and other measures that are designed to be implemented by organizations in order to promote continuous improvement in occupational health and safety.** **A health and safety program are a coordinated system of procedures and processes used to improve occupational health and safety and prevent injury and illness in the workplace.** **Slides definition: An Action plan designed to prevent incidents (accidents) and occupational diseases.** - **Generally required by law (in some form)** - **Must include elements that are compliant with applicable H&S legislation** - **Not transferable from one organization to another (even in similar industries)** **What a program should do:** 1. **Identify and control hazards** 2. **Prevent injuries and disease** 3. **Limit losses from injury** 4. **Promote positive safety culture** 5. **Guidance and direction of OHS activities** **Other definition: a health and safety program are a definite plan of action designed to prevent incidents and occupational diseases.** **Why do we have these programs?** - **Law (legal compliance)** - **Economic, health and safety save money, safe and secure** - **Moral** **In the legislative context** **An OHS program is a management response to Health and Safety Legislation that upholds:** - **Employers' responsibility to provide a reasonably practicable, safe and health workplace for worker Employers\' responsibility to ensure that workers are aware of their responsibilities and duties under the OHS legislation** **The bigger your scope, the more you are talking about a management system and not a health and safety program. The management system is integrated in everything done in the organization. ** **For example, if you want to buy a computer, something is going to speak to health and safety. ** **The what and how of the program is more tailored to the hazards. ** **So, you can have multiple health and safety programs within a management system ** ** ** **OHS program work-flow ** - **OHS joint committee has to be functioning and coming up with safety policy, they are also in charge of inspecting and investigate when accidents happen (cnesst when its major) ** **The importance of H&S program** - **A workplace may need to implement an occupational health and safety program depending on how many workers are employed and the type of work they complete. A comprehensive health and safety program look at all components of worker health and safety, including their psychological health and safety as well as their physical health and safety. Regardless of the size of your organization, at a minimum, a basic health and safety program should be in place to protect workers.** **Describe each critical element of an Occupational Health and Safety Program** - **While organizations will have different needs and scope for specific elements required in their health and safety program, the following basic items should be considered in each case:** ![](media/image2.png) **Key Components of an OH&S Program (1)** 1. **Management and Leadership** 2. **Mechanisms to Identify hazards and risks** 3. **Mechanisms to identify and implement appropriate control measures** 4. **OH&S training** 5. **Communication mechanisms** 6. **OH&S Procedures and Protocols to manage identified hazards** 7. **Management Mechanisms of Incident Investigations** 8. **Mechanisms to Monitor and Evaluate Measures** 9. **Mechanisms to Monitor and Evaluate Program** 10. **Continuous Improvement opportunities** **Key Components of an OH&S Program (2)** 1. **Individual responsibility.** 2. **The establishment and role of the health and safety committee or representative.** 3. **Applicable health and safety legislation requirements, and organizational health and safety rules.** 4. **Safe work procedures.** 5. **Worker orientation.** 6. **Training and education.** 7. **Workplace inspections.** 8. **Hazard identification, assessment, and control** 9. **Reporting and investigating incidents.** 10. **Emergency planning.** 11. **Medical and first aid.** 12. **Health and safety promotion, including psychological health and prevention of harassment and violence.** 13. **Workplace specific items.** 14. **Review of the health and safety program.** **Understand the difference between policy and programs** - **The program:** - **Help identify, assess, and control hazards, and respond to emergencies.** - **Will describe the steps needed to meet the goals specified in the policy.** - **Lays out responsibilities, resources, and procedures for keeping the workplace safe and healthy.** - **Is a living document.** - **Includes many elements to address various hazards or situations in the workplace and should be reviewed and updated regularly.** - **The policy:** - **Will provide the overall approach to health and safety and give your program clear direction** - **Is a statement of principles and general rules that serve as a guide for action.** - **Senior management must be committed to ensuring that the policy is carried out with no exceptions.** - **Should have the same importance as the other policies of the organization.** - ***Every program will start with an overall policy*** - **Policy Statement as part of Health and Safety Program:** - **An organization\'s occupational health and safety policy is a statement of principles and general rules that guides action. Senior (or top) management must be committed to ensuring that the policy is carried out with no exceptions. The health and safety policy should have the same importance as the other policies of the organization.** - **The policy statement can be brief, but it should mention:** - **Management\'s commitment to protecting and promoting the safety and health of workers and preventing injuries and illnesses.** - **The objectives of the program.** - **The organization\'s health and safety philosophy.** - **Who is accountable for the health and safety programs.** - **The general responsibilities of all managers and workers.** - **That health and safety shall not be sacrificed for convenience or expediency.** - **That unacceptable performance of health and safety duties will not be tolerated.** **OHS Program Work-Flow** - **Because organizations differ, a program developed for one organization will not necessarily meet the needs of another. Be sure to identify and assess the hazards present and address the specific needs of your workplace:** **Identify various costs associated to work-related injuries and illnesses/disease** - **Illness** - **Physical and mental conditions resulting from hazards** - **Can affect the physical and mental health of workers** - **Need special attention given they develop over time, thereby making them much more difficult to identify and manage** **Identify and describe the roles of key stakeholders in Health and Safety activities** **Stakeholders Include:** - **Government: CNESST, they put into place the laws and make sure they are respected** - **Employers: MOST IMPORTANT! because they have the ownership of responsibility** - **The government will hold the employer accountable for putting into place measure and that they are monitored, evaluated, complied. They are responsible to ensure that everything is working in concerted effort to keep employees safe. If something happens, the employer will be asked what they put into place to prevent that accident from happening.** - **Employees: we are trying to safeguard them, key role** - **Organized Labour (Unions): they fight and advocate on the behalf of their members so that health and safety rules are followed. It\'s important to bargain good health and safety conditions in the collective agreement** - **There could also be an external support like an association that helps strengthen the health and safety program.** **Define Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) System vs Program** - **System is an umbrella term and then under that there are components: The OHS program is a component at occupational health and safety** - **Structured process to manage H&S at the same level of other key process/systems** **Explain the connection to Health and Safety and Human Resources Management** - **HR can have competing interests with health and safety (interacting systems)** **Identify Health and Safety activities in your work setting** - **Active shooter confinement practice** - **Fire alarm evacuation practice** **Identify various key historical points that shaped current health and safety structures** ***Ancient Egypt*** - **Economic and health issues of the times overshadowed efforts to ameliorate workplace practices** - **People did get injured, sometimes using tools or respiratory issues** - **Prevention efforts were non-existent** - **Work-related illnesses; stonemasons and potters experienced respiratory problems** - **By 1800s some societal issues (substance abuse) on workplace health and safety began to be noticed** - **Notions of [Accident Proneness] rationale of the era (accident blamed on employee)** - **Military chain of command principle -- chain of command (follow the rules) mentality in work environments** - **90% of accidents were human error** ***Industrial Revolution*** - **Increased rural work activities** - **Increased mechanical devices using, chemical, oils, coal** - **Industrialized skills transformed basic manipulation of work product to skilled Labour and laborer** - **Unskilled Labour working on more complex machinery = increase in injury** - **Poor maintenance in work environments** - **Poor hygiene on part of workers** - **Increased more complex worked related illnesses** - **Doctrine of Assumption of Risk rationale of the era** ***Up to this point - major problems were:*** - **Workers had little recourse for replacement income for workers** - **Employers felt no responsibility for workers' wellbeing** - **To resolve disputes, all parties use the cumbersome legal system** - **Employees and Employers often ran out of money prior to decisions** - **Employees' seldom won lawsuits; WHY? Employer was not responsible if** - **The employee contributed to the incident or event** - **If a co-worker contributed in any way to the incident or event** - **When accepting the job, an employee also accepted the risks of the job so should plan for them** ***Between late 1800s and 1900s*** - **Concept of Worker's Compensation (WC) began in Germany, Great Britain, United States** - **Germany -- compulsory state-run WC (1884-86)** - **Britain -- compensation development to respond to sheer volume of workers and injury lawsuits** - **USA -- several states introduce WC (1908-1915)** - **Collective liability: lets stop blaming the person that got hurt but lets come together so that things are put into place that will help** - **WCBs (Worker's compensation boards)** - **State Jurisdictions to enforce** - **And in CANADA?** - **Started in Ontario** - **Adopted Britain WC system (1886)** - **1897 -- New compensation laws (based on no-fault principles): You don't have to look for blame to determine whether or not you get payed if you live an accident. You get payed right away** - **1910 -- Justice William Meredith (esteemed lawyer and politician that studied compensation systems around the world to make suggestions on how to improve conditions in Canada) -- (Royal Commission created) Meredith Report (1913)** - **Protect workers and employers** - **Under his plan, workers would be eligible for medical and wage loss benefits from a system founded entirely by employers. In exchange, employers would be freed from legal liability (this is called The Historic Compromise)** - **After that, jurisdictions across Canada adopted his model** - **Right to refuse, right to know** - **Collective liability** - **No fault system** - **Payment insurance** - **Exclusive jurisdiction** - **Independent board** ***Historical Perspective in QC*** - **1885 Quebec Manufactures Act** - **1888 1st inspectors in work sites in QC** - **1910 1st Work Accident indemnity law in QC** - **1931 Adoption of the Loi sur les accidents du travail et création de la commission des accidents du travail** - **1940 Adoption of the Act regarding Minimum wage** - **1979 Adoption of the Act Respecting health and safety at work** - **1980 Creation of the commission de la santé et de la securité du travail** - **1985 Loi sur les accidents du travail et les maladies professionelles** - **1996 Loi sur l'equite salarial et creation commisssion de l'equite salariale created** - **2015 Merge of 3 commissions** - **2016 CNESST (entry door for all work-related matters) -- this is the board in Quebec** **Explain the Quebec health and safety basic structure, functioning and key components** **Quebec\'s health and safety framework is primarily governed by the Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety (AROHS), along with several key components and institutions designed to protect workers. Here\'s an overview of its basic structure, functioning, and key components:** ***Basic Structure*** 1. **Legal Framework: The AROHS establishes the rights and responsibilities of both employers and workers. It sets the foundation for health and safety regulations in workplaces across Quebec.** 2. **Regulatory Agencies:** - **Commission des normes, de l\'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST): This is the main regulatory body responsible for enforcing health and safety laws, providing guidance, and offering training and resources to employers and employees.** ***Key Components*** 1. **Rights and Responsibilities:** - **Workers\' Rights: Workers have the right to work in a safe environment, to receive information about workplace hazards, and to refuse unsafe work.** - **Employers\' Responsibilities: Employers must ensure a safe workplace, implement preventive measures, and train employees on safety practices.** 2. **Preventive Measures:** - **Employers are required to assess risks and implement measures to eliminate or mitigate hazards, including engineering controls, administrative changes, and personal protective equipment (PPE).** 3. **Training and Education:** - **The CNESST provides training programs and resources to educate both employers and workers about their rights, responsibilities, and best practices in health and safety.** 4. **Inspections and Compliance:** - **The CNESST conducts workplace inspections to ensure compliance with safety regulations. They can issue fines and orders to correct violations.** 5. **Incident Reporting and Investigation:** - **Employers must report work-related injuries and accidents to the CNESST. Investigations are conducted to determine causes and prevent future incidents.** 6. **Health and Safety Committees:** - **Workplaces with 20 or more employees must establish health and safety committees to promote safety, monitor conditions, and facilitate communication between management and workers.** 7. **Promotion of Occupational Health:** - **The framework emphasizes not just physical safety but also the overall health and well-being of workers, addressing mental health and ergonomics.** ***Functioning*** **The system operates through collaboration between various stakeholders, including government agencies, employers, workers, and unions. Regular training, inspections, and compliance measures ensure ongoing improvement in workplace safety standards. The CNESST also plays a role in promoting a culture of safety through campaigns and educational initiatives.** **This structured approach aims to create a safer working environment, reduce workplace accidents, and promote overall worker health in Quebec.** **Identify the similarities between WCB and CNESST** 1. ***Purpose*: Both the Workers\' Compensation Board (WCB) and the Commission des normes, de l\'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) aim to protect workers\' rights and ensure workplace safety.** 2. ***Compensation*: Both organizations provide compensation to workers who are injured or become ill due to work-related incidents.** 3. ***Prevention*: Both focus on prevention strategies to reduce workplace accidents and health risks.** 4. ***Legislative Framework:* Each operates under specific provincial legislation that outlines their roles, responsibilities, and the rights of workers.** 5. ***Employer Contributions:* Both systems are funded through employer premiums based on their payroll and claims history.** **Explain principal functions of CNESST system** 1. ***Worker Compensation:* Provides financial support and medical care to workers who suffer from work-related injuries or illnesses.** 2. ***Workplace Safety Regulation*: Develops and enforces health and safety regulations to protect workers.** 3. ***Prevention Programs*: Implements programs and training to promote safe work environments and reduce workplace accidents.** 4. ***Rights Protection*: Ensures the rights of workers regarding labor standards and workplace equality.** 5. ***Claims Management*: Manages claims for benefits, including assessment and appeals processes.** **Describe the basic components of CNESST system** 1. ***Compensation Program*: Provides benefits for lost wages, medical expenses, and rehabilitation services.** 2. ***Prevention Services*: Offers tools, resources, and training to help employers and workers implement safety measures.** 3. ***Enforcement*: Inspects workplaces to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations and investigates incidents.** 4. ***Education and Training:* Provides educational resources and training sessions to raise awareness about workplace safety.** 5. ***Research and Development:* Conducts research to improve safety practices and develop new prevention strategies.** **Describe how CNESST costs are covered?** 1. ***Employer Premiums:* Employers are required to pay premiums based on their payroll and the level of risk associated with their industry. These premiums fund the compensation system.** 2. ***Assessment of Risks*: Premium rates are determined by evaluating the specific risks of different industries and the claims history of employers.** 3. ***Government Funding:* While primarily funded through employer contributions, the provincial government may also provide funding to support specific initiatives or programs.** 4. ***Claims Management:* Effective claims management helps control costs, as proper assessment and prevention can reduce the number of claims and associated expenses.** **This structured system helps ensure that workers are protected while also promoting a safe working environment in Quebec.** **Legislation in Canada** - **There are fourteen jurisdictions in Canada - one federal, ten provincial and three territorial each having its own workplace health and safety legislation. For most people in Canada, the agency that you would contact is the provincial or territorial agency in the area where you work. There are some exceptions to this. Federal legislation covers employees of the federal government including Crown agencies and corporations across Canada.** - **Every province is its own jurisdiction** - **You have recourse only when you work in your jurisdiction** - **Workplace health and safety (OH&S) legislation in Canada outlines:** - **The general rights and responsibilities of the employer, the supervisor and the worker through an Act or statute and related regulations.** - **Regulations made under an Act define the application and enforcement of an Act.** - **There is special [\"right-to-know\" legislation that applies to hazardous products]. It comprises of a series of complimentary federal, provincial and territorial laws and regulations collectively called WHMIS - the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System.** - **Some jobs are transversal, federally based (like working on a boat)** - **There are agreements between the federal and provincial governments** **In Canada, approximately 90% of workers are covered by Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) legislation. This includes workers in various sectors, as each province and territory has its own regulations to ensure workplace safety. However, there may be some exceptions, particularly for certain industries or self-employed individuals.** **Identify the three health and safety rights granted to workers in Canada.** 1. **Right to refuse work that you believe to be dangerous to yourself or your co-workers** - **Right to refuse a job that judge dangerous without reprisal, it\'s subjective** 2. **Right to know what hazards are present in the workplace** - **HR and employer have the responsibility to name hazards regarding to each job** 3. **Right to participate in keeping your workplace healthy and safe** - **First, we try to eliminate by law the risk if not mitigate the risk** - **I must engage you in making sure you are safe, you can be apart of the solutions through a joint healthy and safety committee which are apart of the law** **Are you able to identify examples of the 3 principle rights granted to workers in Canada within the Quebec Occupational legislation?** **Yes, the three principal rights granted to workers in Canada, including within Quebec\'s occupational health and safety legislation, are:** 1. **The Right to Know:** - **Workers have the right to be informed about hazards in the workplace. This includes receiving information about potential risks, safety data sheets for hazardous materials, and details about safety protocols and procedures.** 2. **The Right to Participate:** - **Workers have the right to participate in the health and safety decision-making processes. This includes the formation of health and safety committees, involvement in identifying hazards, and contributing to the development of safety policies and practices.** 3. **The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work:** - **Workers have the right to refuse work that they believe poses an imminent danger to their health and safety. If a worker feels that a task is unsafe, they can report it, and an investigation will take place to determine whether the work should continue.** **These rights are enshrined in the Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety (AROHS) in Quebec, reflecting a commitment to worker safety and empowerment in the workplace.** **Describe the regulatory framework surrounding OH&S within Quebec** - **Regulations in An Act respecting occupational health and safety regulations** - **It has everything related to prevention** - **An Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (different but complimentary)** - **What to do to set off the cnesst compensation process** - **What do I have to do once the accident happens even though we tried to prevent it.** - **What do I have to pay** **Outline the duties and responsibilities of the major stakeholders under OH&S legislation in Quebec** **Employer's responsibilities are extensive and include:** - **ensuring equipment is provided and properly maintained** - **appointing a competent supervisor** - **providing information (including confidential information) in medical emergency** - **informing supervisors and workers of possible hazards** - **posting OHS Act in the workplace** - **preparing, and maintaining health and safety policy and reviewing it annually (see OHS Today 2.1)** **Supervisor's duties include:** - **ensuring workers comply with OHS Act and regulations** - **ensuring workers use or wear safety equipment, devices, or clothing** - **advising workers of possible hazards** - **providing written instructions if applicable** - **taking every reasonable precaution to ensure protection of workers** **Worker's duties include:** - **complying with OH&S Act and regulations** - **properly using safety equipment and clothes provided** - **reporting hazards, such as defective equipment, to supervisor** - **reporting any contraventions of the act or regulationsthe employer has the right to ensure compliance to duties and responsibilities** - **they are responsible for the monitoring and compliances** **Discuss the nature of and limits placed on work refusals and work stoppages** ***Work refusals*** - **Workers have right to refuse unsafe work without fear of reprisals** - **Professionals granted limited right of refusal:** - **police** - **firefighters** - **teachers** - **health care workers** - **On being informed, the supervisor or, as the case may be, the employer or his agent shall convoke the safety representative to examine the matter and the corrective measures he intends to apply. If there is no safety representative or if he is not available, the safety representative is replaced by a representative of the worker's certified association, if any, and if he is available, or if none is available, by any other worker designated by the worker who refuses to perform his work.** - **After the situation has been examined, the intervention of an inspector may be required by** - **the worker, if he maintains his refusal to perform the work** - **the safety representative or the person replacing him if he believes that the performance of the work exposes the worker to danger to his health, safety or physical well-being or exposes another person to similar danger** - **the employer or his agent, if he believes that the performance of the work does not expose the worker to danger to his health, safety or physical well-being or does not expose another person to such danger, or that the corrective measures taken have dissipated the danger** - **An employer may require a worker who has exercised his right to refuse to work to remain at the workplace and assign him temporarily to other duties that he is reasonably capable of performing.** - **No employer may dismiss, suspend or transfer a worker, practise discrimination or take reprisals against him or impose any other penalty on him on the ground that the worker exercised the right to refuse work. However, the employer may, within the 10 days following a final decision, dismiss, suspend or transfer the worker or impose another penalty on him if the worker abused his right.** - **Same thing applies for the safety representative** - ***Limits*** - **Essentially, a worker does not have right to refuse unsafe work if:** - **That work is a normal condition of employment** - **The refusal places another person's life in jeopardy** - **Some jurisdictions specify certain professions in its legislation on limited rights to refuse** - **For example, Ontario legislation specifically identifies professions including police officers, firefighters, and health care workers** **1. You MUST say to employer, at any line, that you are concerned about X therefore you not going to do the task** **2. You hold, you can\'t go home. You might stay on site because the employer can give you something else to do, call CNESST, perform task** **3. Employer has obligations: evaluate concern, put correctives in place if they agree or share what they think about their concern if not** **4. The employee can say yes or no they go to work** - **if no: the cnesst gets involved, an inspector will come out. The union gets involved and employee or employer needs to call them** - **code 1: it becomes a priority for the cnesst, they will evaluate, their power is executory, whatever they say\...goes (they can tell the employee to get back to work because there is no real danger, they can tell the employer to make this and that change).** - **more often than not the employer calls, depends on the environment** - **the employer needs to have the time to evaluate before the union acts and calls the cnesst** **key points: (1) employees have to stay on site, if the process is slowed down, (2) the employer has the right to do something like sending another employee but that can cause a group concern, job categories that cannot exercise droit de refuse: firemen, police, etc.** **Describe the structure and role of joint health and safety committees (JHSC)** - **it's required by law** - **Provide non-adversarial atmosphere in which labor and management can work to create a healthier workplace** - **Train and certify at least one management member and one worker member (often unionized or union representative)** - **Certified members may be involved in inspections, work refusals, and bilateral work stoppages** - **Internal responsibility system (IRS) work and safety are linked and all parties in workplace have responsibility to improve health and safety** - **crystalized the notion that everyone is involved and held responsible** - **everyone works together to improve health and safety** - **one opportunity for all these people to work together so you want them to be able to come up with common solutions** - **organizations with 20-26 employees and more require a committee** - **they need to meet at least once every three months** - **The workers' representatives as a whole and the employer's representatives as a whole are entitled to only one vote, respectively, on a committee.** - **OH&S acts regulate the formation, composition, training and certification requirements for the JHSC** - **Duties of the JHSC:** - **Hazard recognition** - **Risk assessments** - **Record keeping** - **Responding to employee concerns** - to choose the physician in charge of health services in the establishment - to approve the health program prepared by the physician in charge - to establish, within the prevention program, training and information programs in matters of occupational health and safety - to select the individual protective devices and equipment which, while complying with the regulations, are best adapted to the needs of the workers of the establishment - to take cognizance of the other components of the prevention program and to make recommendations to the employer - to participate in the identification and assessment of the risks connected with certain jobs and certain kinds of work, and the identification of contaminants and dangerous substances connected with certain jobs - to keep registers of work accidents, occupational diseases and incidents that could have caused them - to send to the Commission the information required by it and an annual report of activities, in accordance with the regulations - to receive copy of notices of accident and to inquire into incidents that have caused or could have caused a work accident or an occupational disease and to submit the appropriate recommendations to the employer and the Commission - to receive suggestions and complaints from the workers, the certified association and the employer relating to occupational health and safety, and to examine, record, and answer these suggestions and complaints - to receive and study the reports of inspections made in the establishment - to receive and study the statistical data produced by the physician in charge, the agency and the Commission - to carry out any other task the employer and the workers or their certified association entrust to it under an agreement. **Describe the role of Health and Safety Inspectors** **an inspector has executory power, you have to do what they tell you. If you are not happy with the judgement, you can go see the judge after 10 days (not in their best interest because they will keep** **sending inspector because you are identified as a risk). You need to see them as a partner.** **they have the right to enforce what they told you do you, they don't need to go see a judge.** **An inspector, in the performance of his duties, may, at any reasonable hour of the day or night, enter a place where activities are carried on in the fields contemplated in this Act and the regulations, and inspect that place. An inspector acting under this section has access to all the books, registers and records of any employer, principal contractor, supplier or other person carrying on an activity in the fields contemplated by this Act the regulations. A person having custody, possession or control of these books, registers or records shall give communication of them to the inspector and facilitate his examination of them. An inspector shall, on demand, produce a certificate of his office.** **The inspector may, in addition to his general powers:** - **investigate any matter within his competence** - **require the employer or principal contractor, whichever is the case, to produce the plan of the installations and of the layout of the equipment** - **take, free of charge, samples of any kind, particularly of objects used by the workers, for analysis; he must then inform the employer and, if possible, return the samples to him after analysis** - **conduct tests and make photographs or recordings at a workplace** - **in order to ensure that a building, a structure or civil engineering works are stable, require the employer, principal contractor or owner to produce an attestation of solidity signed by an engineer or architect** - **in such cases as he may determine, install a measuring device at a workplace, or cause it to be worn by a worker with the worker's written consent, or order the employer to install it or cause it to be worn at the time and place the inspector indicates, and require the employer to transmit the data on the terms and conditions the inspector determines** - **be accompanied by one or more persons of his choice while performing his duties** **An inspector may order the suspension of work or the complete or partial shutdown of a workplace and, if necessary, affix seals, if he considers a worker's health, safety or physical well-being to be endangered. The inspector shall substantiate his decision in writing as soon as possible and indicate the steps to be taken to eliminate the danger.** - **During a suspension of work or a shut-down, the workers are deemed to be at work and therefore entitled to the wages and social benefits related to their work.** **A person to whom an inspector has given a remedial order shall carry it out in the appointed time, and inform the certified association, the health and safety committee, the safety representative and the inspector, as soon as possible, of the specific measures the person intends to take.** **Safety representative: the human resources grouping, someone that has a pulse on the health and safety of organization and make sure everyone adheres to it.** **The functions of a safety representative are:** - **to inspect workplaces** - **to receive copies of accident notices and investigate incidents that have caused or could have caused an accident** - **to identify situations that may be a source of danger to workers** - **to make such recommendations to the health and safety committee as he deems appropriate or, if there is no such committee, to the workers or their certified association and the employer** - **to assist workers in the exercise of their rights under this Act and the regulations** - **to accompany the inspector on visits of inspection** - **to intervene in the cases where a worker exercises his right of refusal** - **to submit complaints to the Commission** - **to participate in the identification and assessment of risks connected with certain jobs and with the kinds of work performed by the workers, and the identification of contaminants and dangerous substances connected with certain kinds of work** **Discuss WHMIS 2015 as it applies to the right to know about chemical hazards in the workplace** - **WHMIS legislation (1988) promoted workers' right to know about chemical hazards in the workplace using:** - **Labels to alert the worker that a container contains a potentially hazardous product** - **Material safety data sheets outlining a product's potentially hazardous ingredient(s) and safe handling procedures** - **Employee training** - **Globally Harmonized System (GHS): An international standard for the classification and labelling of chemicals being adopted by countries around the world** - **GHS system elements reflected in WHMIS 2015 ease global trade and business interactions** **Explain how OH&S fits into the Criminal Code (see C-45 definition)** **Express how environment and transportation of dangerous goods legislation interacts with occupational health and safety** **The interaction between environmental legislation, transportation of dangerous goods legislation, and occupational health and safety (OHS) is crucial for ensuring the safety of workers, the public, and the environment. Here's how these areas intersect:** **1. *Worker Protection*** - **Hazard Identification: Both OHS and dangerous goods regulations require the identification and assessment of hazards associated with the handling, storage, and transport of hazardous materials. This helps protect workers from exposure to harmful substances.** - **Training and Education: Regulations mandate that workers receive training on the safe handling and transportation of dangerous goods, which is essential for their safety and compliance with OHS standards.** **2. *Preventive Measures*** - **Safety Protocols: Environmental and transportation regulations often set standards for the safe packaging, labeling, and transport of dangerous goods. These measures align with OHS requirements to ensure that workplaces are equipped to handle such materials safely.** - **Emergency Preparedness: Both sets of legislation emphasize the need for emergency response plans, ensuring that workers know how to respond in case of spills or accidents involving hazardous materials.** **3. *Compliance and Enforcement*** - **Interagency Cooperation: Regulatory bodies overseeing OHS and environmental protection often collaborate to enforce compliance, share information, and conduct inspections. This ensures a comprehensive approach to safety.** - **Incident Reporting: In the event of an accident involving dangerous goods, both environmental and OHS regulations may require reporting to different agencies, facilitating a coordinated response and investigation.** **4. *Environmental Impact on Workplace Safety*** - **Impact Assessments: Environmental regulations may require assessments that consider how hazardous materials affect local ecosystems and communities, which indirectly impacts workplace safety, particularly for industries near sensitive environments.** - **Sustainability Practices: OHS frameworks increasingly integrate sustainability practices, encouraging workplaces to reduce the use of hazardous substances, thereby minimizing risks to workers and the environment.** **5. *Public Health Considerations*** - **Community Safety: Legislation governing the transportation of dangerous goods often considers the impact on surrounding communities, linking public health with workplace safety. Ensuring safe transportation reduces risks not only for workers but also for the public.** **The intersection of environmental legislation, transportation of dangerous goods regulations, and occupational health and safety creates a comprehensive framework aimed at protecting workers, the public, and the environment. By fostering collaboration between these areas, organizations can enhance safety practices and ensure compliance with all relevant regulations.** **Outline the key legislative articles in the Quebec Health and Safety laws** ***Other important legislation*** - **First Aid Act** - **Canadian Electrical Safety Regulatory System** - **National Fire Code of Canada** - **Building Codes and Regulations** - **Highway safety traffic Acts and accompanying regulations** - **Environmental Legislation (CEPA 1999)** - **Human Rights Legislation (re-discriminatory practices)** - **Duties to Accommodate Legislation** - **Human Rights and Substance Abuse (Policies)** - **Offer of assistance** - **Time off for treatment** - **Modified work hours** - **Bearing cost of monitoring compliance** - **Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Acts** **Identify the sources of workplace hazards** - **People** - **Human factor: when a person causes an accident by:** - **Commission (doing something)** - **Poor judgment, or** - **Omission (failing to do something)** - **Unsafe act** - **A deviation from standard job procedures or practices that increases a worker's exposure to a hazard** - **A human action that may cause an immediate event of any type, and over which the person has control, is considered a direct, unsafe act (sometimes referred to as a *substandard practice*). An example would be improper modifications to a respirator used in a paint booth to allow a cigarette to be smoked through the filter cassette. An indirect, unsafe act is one in which the human action is only indirectly involved. Proper training, administration, leadership and supervision are required to ensure that employees engage in the appropriate workplace behaviors. Direct unsafe acts vs indirect unsafe acts.** - **Direct -- a human action that may cause an immediate event of any type and over which the person has control is considered a direct unsafe act.** - **Indirect -- an unsafe act where the human action is only indirectly involved (overlap between the unsafe act and the unsafe condition)** - **Unsafe acts are observable behaviours that the direct outcome of a decision made by an individual.** - **Unsafe acts contribute to or cause an incident = human factor hazards. When a worker causes an incident through doing something or failing to do something -- the cause is labelled a human factor. -- ex. Dr. or Nurse not engaging in right hand hygiene.** - **Equipment** - **Under certain conditions or situations, the tools, machines, or equipment people use and work near can be hazardous** - **Examples of equipment that can be hazardous:** - **Defective tools (broken ladder) and unguarded moving machinery (unguarded saw blades in a butcher shop)** - **Need to carefully consider WHAT is workplace equipment to ensure the everyday equipment like office or kitchen equipment does not get overlooked** - **Under certain conditions or situations, the tools machines or equipment workers use can be hazardous. Ex. Broken equipment (ladder, machinery), faulty machinery (too loud), poorly maintained ventilation system** - **Environment** - **Improper illumination---Too dark or too much glare** - [**[https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/lighting\_survey.html\#light]**](https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/lighting_survey.html#light) - **Poor exhaust or ventilation systems---The toxic vapours from a process hang in the air rather than being removed** - [**[https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/prevention/ventilation/introduction.html]**](https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/prevention/ventilation/introduction.html) - **Adverse temperature conditions---Working around a furnace on a hot summer day** - [**[https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys\_agents/hot\_cold.html]**](https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/hot_cold.html) - **Poor indoor air quality---Odours and stuffiness** - [**[https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/iaq\_intro.html]**](https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/iaq_intro.html) - **Some hazards can be created by the work environment and can be either naturally occurring (e.g., weather in outdoor work environments) or the result of an unsafe condition caused by poorly maintained equipment, tools, or facilities.** - **Environmental factors, which encompass sources of hazards like physical, chemical, biological factors, and ergonomic factors, can play a direct *or* indirect role in incidents. For example, physical factors such as noise, vibration, illumination, and temperature extremes have an obvious relation to safety and exist within certain work environments.** - **Materials** - **Any workplace substance, matter, or provisions used for production that have the potential to cause harm or loss especially if handled** - **For instance, certain cleaning materials such as ammonia and bleach should never be mixed because the mixture results in a toxic chemical reaction** - **Examples of materials include supplies and raw materials such as wood within a carpentry shop, dry-cleaning chemicals, paint, or cleaning chemicals, dust, oil, grease** - **When materials are improperly handled or misused, or if the wrong materials are used during production, they can become a hazard or create hazardous conditions.** - **Ensuring the proper handling and use of workplace materials is very important and requires training (e.g., WHMIS training).** - **Processes** - **A process is involved when combining people, equipment, environment, and materials with the purpose of producing a good or service.** - **They involve the flow of work and include factors such as design, pace, and organization of the various types of work via policies, procedures, and work processes.** - **Work processes can result in various hazardous by-products when combined with people, equipment, environment, and materials. While the objects and equipment in and of themselves are types of hazards, when combined with using a poor process or procedure, then the process or procedure itself is a hazard.** ![](media/image4.png) **Explain methods of hazard identification program** - **Components of the Hazard Identification Program** - **Identifying hazards in the workplace** - **Visible inspection of the workplace** - **Taking air samples to test for suspected contaminants** - **Walk-through surveys** - **Safety sampling: you take the product and dissect it to see if it has any hazards** - **Job and task inventory** - **Audits and reports** - **Hazard analysis** - **The hazard identification process can be as simple as a visible inspection of the workplace (passive) or as complex as taking air samples to test for suspected contaminants. There are various methodologies available for conducting a hazard identification; however, it is critical that a sequential and systematic process is used to ensure that no hazard is overlooked.** - **A safety professional can enter a worksite and, by walking through, note hazards. The utility of a walkthrough survey is increased when the supervisor and a worker member of the JHSC accompany the safety expert. Safety sampling, often referred to as *behaviour sampling* or *activity sampling,* is a systematic survey procedure undertaken by safety personnel, who record their observations of unsafe practices on a sampling document.** - **Hazard Analysis** - **Orderly, analytical technique that examines a system for most probable hazards having the severest consequences** - **Establish corrective or control mechanisms** - **Positive Tree** - **Illustration of how job should be done** - **Positive fall tree is better, can be used in training after** - **You have multiple people in that process** - **Fault Tree** - **Illustration of things that can go wrong** **Describe methods for systematically identifying workplace hazards and risk** - **risk is very subjective** - **Negative risk -- Down side** - **Threat (to the worker, environment)** - **Vulnerability** - **Potential impacts (there has to be an impact for something to be considered a risk)** - **Positive risk -- Upside risk** - **Opportunity (productivity goes up)** - **Exposure** - **Potential impacts** **Pre-Event Factors (threats and vulnerabilities) Event Post-Event Factors (impacts on organisations objectives)** - **The most time should be spent in the pre-event factors, which are things we can do in advance so that the risk does not have a big impact on workers, mitigate** - **If an accident happens, you need to have stuff to reduce impact** **Understand the importance of risk assessment processes** - **Once hazards have been identified, the risk of an incident, accident, or injury must be determined** - **Risk** - **Probability of an injury expressed as a percentage** - **Risk = Consequences X Exposure X Probability Risk** - **Probability: Chance or likelihood that an event will occur and will result in harm or loss** - **Consequences: The results or severity of the injury** - **Exposure: How often an employee is exposed to the hazard (amount of times, length of time, etc.)** - **If I'm exposed to something that has high consequences during my shift every day, there is higher risk than someone that is exposed to it here and there or once** ![](media/image6.png) **Describe the types of injuries caused by workplace hazards when we fail to control hazards** - **Injury: Any trauma, physical or mental, direct or indirect, acute or chronic, experienced by a human being** - **Overt traumatic injuries** - **Injuries resulting from coming into contact with an energy source** - **Energy Source = objects and equipment that transmits energy that creates the accident (for example, a ball that hits head)** - **Examples:** - **Struck by overhead falling objects** - **Drop materials on themselves, resulting in crush injuries** - **Caught in, under, or between (CIUB) machinery** - **Falls** - **Contact with sources of energy such as electricity, chemicals, and heat** - **One of the most common causes of workplace accidents is individuals coming into contact with objects and equipment (energy sources). For example, individuals may be struck by objects that fall from overhead or may drop materials on themselves, resulting in crush injuries. Material may fly through the air because of grinding or cutting operations. Stream of compressed air may cause small particles of material to accelerate rapidly through the work environment. Individuals may also be struck by moving equipment (e.g., vehicles, forklifts). Another form of contact with equipment occurs when individuals become caught in, under, or between (CIUB) machinery. Ex. conveyer belts and other power transmission systems (e.g., belts, pulleys) may have "pinch points" in which individuals can become entangled. Coming into contact with sources of energy like electricity, chemicals, heat, abrasives. In all injuries -- prevention = Recognition of the hazard -- elimination the hazard -- protecting workers from exposure.** - **Overexertion injuries** - **Injuries resulting from excessive physical effort, repetitive motions, and, possibly, awkward working positions** - **Basic causes:** - **Lifting** - **Working in an awkward position** - **Repetition** - **Materials handling, which involves lifting, carrying, and lowering, is an often-performed operation in many organizations that can result in high-risk injuries through overexertion and poor posture, both of which are the primary cause of low back pain.** - **Lifting tolerances can be estimated using formulae developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the United States. Back injuries---from stabbing pain to total disability---can have far-reaching effects for the worker, the worker's family, and the company. Low back pain, often associated with materials handling, accounts for more than 50% of all musculoskeletal complaints and is the fastest-growing category of disability.** - **Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI)** - **Becoming the most common occupational injury** - **Origins of RSI:** - **Unnatural joint position or posture** - **Force application to hinge joints** - **Activity repetition** - **Pre-existing conditions** - **Tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, telephone operator's elbow, writer's cramp, and postal worker's shoulder are well-known examples of what is known as repetitive strain injury (RSI).** - **More recently named conditions include carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, and white fingers disease or Raynaud's ssyndrome)** - **Joints are forced to flex or carry loads of (poor distribution)- causes excessive stress in a small area of the joint.** - **Awkward Working Positions** - **Strains and sprains can result from:** - **bending, twisting, and working in a variety of awkward positions** - **Should not reach below the knees or raise arms above shoulder for any length of time** - **Design of workstations and work procedures so that individuals work in a comfortable position** - **Adjustable equipment and machinery to accommodate differences in body size** **Identify risk analysis models (domino theory, Swiss cheese theory, Bow ties)** **Domino Theory: the theory that every incident result from a series of events** - **developed by H.W. Heinrich based on a set of five dominos** - **Oldest, most fall back on this approach** - **Common factors that put people in danger at work** - **Factor in unsafe acts (hazards)** - **You look at accidents that occurred, injuries** - **Pull out and eliminate possibilities to remove the domino process** - **Change one of the domino pieces to stop the possibility of accident happening** ![](media/image8.png) **Swiss Cheese Model: The theory that every incident result from a series of events** - **Updated version of domino model by James Reason** - **Series of dominoes with holes demonstrate that a series of events must occur for an incident to occur** - **Each slide of cheese is a protective factor which can reduce the likelihood of an incident occurring and the holes in the cheese are the errors or gaps in expected practice** - **If you lign up all the hazards and what puts workers at risk, you are gonna have an accident** - **You shift the holes out of the line or block the holes to eliminate risk** - **Change the way you do things** - **Often used in hospital setting** - **Unsafe acts are a product of:** - **Organizational culture** - **Level of supervision** - **Variety of other contextual factors** - **Specifies four levels of defense:** **1. Organizational influences** **2. Local working conditions** **3. Unsafe acts** **4. Defenses, barriers, and safeguards** ![](media/image10.png) **Video Summary** **Ensuring patient safety involves recognizing risks, managing workloads, effective communication, and consistently applying good practices.** **Highlights** - **🧀 Swiss Cheese Model: A framework illustrating how protective factors can prevent incidents.** - **⚖️ Workload Management: Effective management is crucial to maintain patient safety.** - **📝 Communication: Timely and accurate communication is vital for care continuity.** - **📋 Care Planning: Sound care planning relies on thorough assessments and collaborative decision-making.** - **🕵️‍♂️ Risk Formulation: Comprehensive risk analysis is essential for identifying potential issues.** - **🚨 Serious Incident Prevention: Small incremental changes can significantly reduce errors.** - **🤝 Team Collaboration: Engaging with families and carers enhances patient safety.** **Key Insights** - **🧀 Swiss Cheese Model: This model emphasizes the importance of protective factors in preventing serious incidents. Each layer represents a safeguard; when aligned correctly, they can block potential errors from leading to harm.** - **⚖️ Workload Management: Properly managing workload is essential in a high-pressure environment. It helps practitioners maintain focus, reduce burnout, and ultimately provide safer care to patients.** - **📝 Communication: Effective verbal and written communication ensures that all team members understand patient needs, care plans, and any changes, reducing the risk of mismanagement during transitions.** - **📋 Care Planning: Care plans should stem from thorough assessments and involve the service user's perspectives. This collaborative approach ensures that all relevant factors are considered, leading to safer outcomes.** - **🕵️‍♂️ Risk Formulation: Understanding the interplay of risks and protective factors through detailed formulation helps anticipate and mitigate potential crises before they escalate.** - **🚨 Serious Incident Prevention: By focusing on small, manageable changes to practice, teams can establish a culture of safety, significantly lowering the likelihood of serious incidents occurring.** - **🤝 Team Collaboration: Involving families and carers in the care process builds a support network that enhances patient safety and ensures that all relevant information is shared and acted upon.** **Bow-Tie Analysis** - **Combines a fault tree with an event tree** - **More complicated because it involves mitigation** - **On the left of diagram is a listing of potential hazards and measures to control those hazards** - **On the right are the measures to mitigate the consequences of an event** - **The "knot" in the bow-tie is the event or incident to be prevented** - **[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwLkZirSwFU]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwLkZirSwFU)** ![](media/image12.png) **Identify, describe, and apply control measures and the processes for controlling hazards and managing risk** - **Various methods of risk control** - **All involve a systematic process for determining where and when a control is necessary** - **Determine what types of control(s) would be best** - **Source--path--human is one such model** - **Hazards can be controlled or eliminated by identifying and attacking the:** - **Source of the hazard** - **Path it travels** - **Employee or recipient of the hazard** - **Important to have thorough understanding that hazard control is necessary and possible** - **Managing at their source** - **Change the route to avoid what can put them at harms way** - **How to safeguard the human, get the human to do something to protect themselves** - **For example: a noisy printing machine** ![](media/image14.png) - **Pre-contact Control** - **addressing issues before an incident or accident occurs** - **Contact Control** - **identifying ways in which a hazardous situation can be prevented from becoming worse and harming workers** - **Post-contact Control** - **putting in place medical and cleanup operations and ensuring that the event cannot be repeated** **Hierarchy of Control** - **Program or process used to establish preventive and corrective measures** **1. *Elimination*: process of removing a hazard** **2. *Substitution*: Replacing or changing equipment, materials, or work processes for less hazardous ones** **3. *Engineering Controls*: Modification of work processes, Equipment** **materials, Installation of auxiliary equipment, such as physical barriers and ventilation systems (redesign so its safer)** **4. *Administrative*: Management involvement, Training of employees, Rotation of employees, Environmental sampling, Medical surveillance (protocols)** **5. Personal Protective Equipment -- this should come with other controls, like measures, training and other admin controls** **Describe key elements to Risk Management Communication** - **You have to avoid making it sound like it\'s all for money** - **Align yourself with whatever is important for them to demonstrate that you care for them** - **Don\'t make assumptions** - **You want your stakeholders to be engaged, to ask you questions, add their opinions.** - **You are able to clarify, so that your problem-solving is clear.** - **You can evaluate what the stakeholder thinks is important for them** - **When an event happens, the population becomes a major stakeholder** - **The time and money to spend on communication could save you money later on** - **Better to inform about risks** - **Inform audience right away when situations occur, smartly with quickly** - **Technical decisions need to be made by leaders, not the technical people. They can add value though** - **The goals of advocates are the same as ours but it might feel like we don't agree** - **Tips and Techniques for communicating risk:** - **Empathy and caring** - **Competent and a technical expert** - **Honest and open** - **Dedicated and committed** - **OH&S risk communication is a science-based approach for communicating effectively in high-concern, high-stress situations emotionally charged situations and controversial situation.** - **An interactive process of exchange of information and opinion among individuals, groups, and institutions; often involves multiple messages about the nature of the risk or expressing concern, opinions, or reactions to risk messages or to legal and institutional arrangement for risk management.** - **Goal of risk communication is to increase knowledge and understanding:** - **enhance their trust** - **enhance your credibility** - **promote dialogue to resolve disagreements of opinion and belief on what needs to be done.** **Risk communication true or false (all false)** 1. **There is not enough time and resources for a risk communication program** 2. **Telling people about a risk is more likely to unduly alarm them** 3. **Communication is less important than education** 4. **Don't go to the public until solutions exist** 5. **These issues are too difficult for people to understand** 6. **Technical decisions should be made by technical people** 7. **Risk communication is not the OH&S person's job** 8. **If we give them an inch -- they will take a mile** 9. **If we listen to the public, we will devote scarce resources to issues that are not important to overall organization** 10. **Advocates are responsible for stirring up issues** **Describe the intent and steps of an incident investigation** ***Incident investigations are influenced by:*** - **Timing:** - **Time affects several types of information** - **A lot depends on what people share (witness testimonies), so a concern could be memory loss so it\'s better to investigate right away.** - **With a delay, people tend to chat about incident with others and the way you remember the incident can change (storytelling, exaggerate things in mind)** - **Changes in sights can also mess up information because that happens over time so its better to investigate right away. Things can go missing or change.** - **Over time, people can leave the organization so its important to interview them right away** - **Severity:** - **Given that investigations are time consuming, companies tend to examine only those incidents that have the most serious consequences** - **When there is more damage (death, money), you must investigate ** - **Legal requirements:** - **Events (e.g., injury requires medical aid or results in lost time) must be reported to a Workers' Compensation Board, normally within three days.** - **You have to answer to the components of laws so you need to advance fast ** ![](media/image16.png) **Describe importance of investigation and link to IRS** - **32 workers in Can. Experience an LTI claim per hour** - **Decreased from 2005** - **85% of incidents are the result of management systems failures.** - **The number of workplace-related deaths in Quebec totalled 207 in 2021, an increase of 34 compared with a year earlier, (CNESST).** - **Sixty people died in 2021 in workplace accidents, three more than in 2020,** - **while workplace-related illnesses took 147 lives, 31 more than in the previous year. (CNESST).** - **Due diligence responsibilities** - **Fact-finding = clarity of issues** - **Prevention (post-contact)** - **Information** - **Protection** **Understand the best way to gather information to analyze the human, situational, and environmental factors contributing to the accident/ incident** ***Types of information collected*** - **When investigating an incident, the HR or safety specialist should concentrate on:** - ***Who investigates:*** - **supervisor** - **technical advisers and specialists** - **safety and health officer** - **safety and health committee or representative** - **safety team** - **CNESST does investigation if something extreme happen like deaths** - **C45 (if negligence was committed) says there could be a criminal investigation, so the police can get involved** ![](media/image18.png) **1. Secure the scene** - **tape** - **personnel** - **barriers** **2. Gather evidence** - ***Human Factors*** - **Studying the worker as a source of incidents does not mean that the investigator is looking for a scapegoat** - **Intent is to collect facts, not assign blame** - **If you are doing everything step by step but the accident still happened, then your procedures are not appropriate enough.** - **Knowing their status indicates the extent of their knowledge about the procedures.** - **Questions to ask when investigating human factors:** - **What was the worker doing at the time of the incident?** - **Was the work being performed according to procedures?** - **Was a supervisor present?** - **What was the employment status of the worker?** - **How much experience did the employee have?** - **What was the posture and location of the employee?** - **Did some unsafe act contribute to the event?** - ***Situational factors*** - **Analysis of unsafe conditions that led to the incident is a critical step** - **Equipment and tools must be examined** - **Questions to ask when investigating situational factors include:** - **Was the machine operating in a satisfactory manner?** - **What tools, equipment, or objects were involved in the incident?** - **What personal protective equipment was being worn?** - **Questions to ask yourself:** - **Where did it happen** - **What equipment** - **Protective equipment** - **Right safety guards** - **What time or day** - **Was equipment replaced** - **What time of the shift** - **How many shifts were they on** - ***Environmental factors*** - **Environmental factors (e.g. light, noise) may increase likelihood that an incident will occur** - **Setting sun may blind delivery truck driver** - **Machine noise may mask approaching vehicle** - **Equipment vibration may dislodge another tool** - ***Investigative tools and methods*** - **Observations or *Walkthroughs*** - **walkthrough refers to inspection of incident scene to get a picture of the total environment** - ***Interviews;* Basic rules for conducting an interview:** - **interview witnesses on the spot as soon as possible after the event, while their memories are still fresh** - **interview witnesses separately in neutral location** - **put the witness at ease** - **let the individual recall the event in his or her own way** - **ask necessary questions at appropriate times, without interrupting the speaker's train of thought** - **give witness feedback** - **make sure that critical information is recorded in a timely fashion** - **end the interview on a positive note** - ***Re-enactment:* Simulation designed to recreate circumstances leading up to incident** - **A qualified observer is necessary.** - **Do not show. Tell.** - **Shut down energy sources and lock them out.** - **Carefully act out the events.** - **Walkthrough, interview, and re-enactment can be supplemented by:** - **photographs** - **drawings** - **computers** - **tape measures, clipboards, water-resistant pens, flashlights** - **record check** **3. Analysing data** - ***Accident theory*** - **provides the categories of causes and then links them together in an understandable manner.** - **helps distinguish between immediate and underlying root causes** - **shape the organizations thinking of its management systems** - **serves as a basis for Internal Responsibility system.** - ***Normal incident theory*** - **in [high-reliability organizations] (e.g., chemical plants, nuclear plants)** - **incidents/accidents result from the interactive complexities in the technological system.** - **no single event causes an incident/accident** - **searching for 1 direct cause is fruitless and faulty** - ***Root causes*** - **Immediate causes** - **Unsafe acts** - **Unsafe conditions** - **Contributing causes** - **Unsafe conditions** - **Management related factors** - **Environmental factors** - **Physical factors** - **Psychological factors** - **A combination of causes must converge to result in an incident** **4 & 5: Report Results and Make Recommendations Outcome of Investigation** - **Report results** - **Audits and monitoring needed** - **Effective communication** - **Implication of management in decision-making** - - **How will you monitor?** - **How will you evaluate if your recommendations are being implemented correctly?** - **How will you evaluate if they are the right corrective measures?** - **Targets** - **Indicators** - **Check-in (with employees, managers)** - **JHSC** **Complete the various types of incident, accident, and injury reports** - **Incident/accident reports must be completed** - **Reports should consider:** - **factor most closely associated with the cause of an incident, referred to as the *agency*** - ***incident type*, which attempts to categorize the nature of the incident** - ***personal factors* (e.g. lack of knowledge, fatigue, restricted vision) should also be included on the incident investigation form to assist in entry, record keeping, and analysis** **Outline the legal requirements of incident investigation results** **In Quebec, the legal requirements for incident investigation results are primarily governed by the Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety (AROHS). Here's an outline of these requirements:** **1. Reporting Obligations** - **Immediate Reporting: Employers must report serious workplace accidents, illnesses, or incidents to the Commission des normes, de l\'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) within a specific timeframe, usually 24 hours for serious incidents.** **2. Investigation Requirements** - **Conducting an Investigation: Employers are required to conduct a thorough investigation of any workplace incident that results in injury, illness, or property damage.** - **Involvement of Workers: Workers or their representatives should be involved in the investigation process to ensure that all perspectives a

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