MHR 523 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Organizational Culture, Rishi, Fire Extinguisher
28 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 9: Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
Occupational Health & Safety
- All provinces, territories and the federal jurisdiction have OHS legislation based on the
principle of joint responsibility
- Occupational health and safety basics?
- What causes accidents?
- How to prevent accidents?
- Occupational health safety challenges in Canada?
- Examines how to protect the health and safety of workers by minimizing work-related
accidents and illnesses
- Focuses on reduction of accidents
Strategic Importance of Ontario Health and Safety
- Investment in health and safety programs create bottom-line returns
- In 2013 there were 902 deaths and 241,934 injuries resulting from accidents at work
- Workplace accidents can be prevented
- If you’re going to fix a problem before it happens or fix problem as it goes and pay a
large sum of money
- Preventative maintenance
Changing Perspectives on Risk and Liability
- Who is at fault?
- Modern health and safety programs recognize that enhancing Ontario Health and Safety
requires cooperation among multiple stakeholders
- Multiple people play a role in helping to reduce future accidents
Basic facts Occupational Health and Safety
- Based on principle of joint responsibility between workers and employers
- Intended to minimize work-related accidents and illnesses
- Laws fall into three categories:
General health and safety rules
Rules for specific industries (e.g. mining)
Rules related to specific hazards (e.g. asbestos)
- Wear protective clothing
- Do all due diligence beforehand (employers responsibility for taking every reasonable
precaution to ensure the health and safety of their workers)
Employer Responsibilities
- Take every precaution to ensure the health and safety of workers (due diligence)
- Specific duties include:
Filing government accident reports
Maintaining record
Ensuring that safety rules are enforced
Posting safety notices and legislative information
- On each employee to ensure safety of themselves and others
- Includes wearing protective clothing
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- Supervisors have to advise and instruct workers about safety
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
- WHMIS legislation is based on three elements
1. Labels designed to alert the worker that the container contains a potentially
hazardous product
2. Material safety data sheets (MSDSs) outlining a product’s potentially hazardous
ingredient(s) and procedures for safe handling of the product
3. Employee training to ensure employees can identify WHMIS hazard symbols
Employees Responsibilities and Rights
- Take reasonable care to protect their own health and safety, and that of co-workers
- Includes wearing protective clothing and equipment, and reporting contravention of the
law
- Basic rights:
To know about workplace safety hazards
To participate in OHS process
To refuse unsafe work if they have a reasonable cause to believe work is dangerous
Joint Health and Safety Committees
- Non-adversarial atmosphere where management and labour can work together to ensure a
safe and healthy workplace
- Usually consists of between 2 and 12 members, at least half of whom represents workers
- In small workplaces, one health and safety representative may be required
- All about workers of organizations
- How can we make workers more aware etc.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- Helps give a voice to employees
- Committee is responsible for making regular inspections of the workplace to identify
potential health and safety hazards, evaluate the hazards, and implement solutions
- Responsible for investigating employee complaints, accident investigations, development
and promotion of measures to protect health and safety laws and regulations
The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work
- Workers cannot be punished for refusing unsafe work
- Refusal of unsafe work has some limitations (i.e. conditions)
- Not all professions have this right
- Professions who cannot refuse unsafe work are policemen, fire fighters and drug lords
etc.
Reduce unsafe conditions
-job design, remove physical hazards, ensure safety precautions are taken
Reduce unsafe acts
-selection testing- screen out accident prone individuals before hiring them
-leadership commitment- senior managers being personally involved in safety activities,
giving safety matters high priority in company meetings and safety training
-training and education- all employees should be required to participate in OHS training
programs, safety postures,
-positive reinforcement- establish and communicate a reasonable goal, positive
reinforcement for performing safely
Enforcement of OHS Laws
- Periodic government inspection of workplace- food inspectors, health and safety
inspectors, liquor licence
- Safety inspectors may order employees to stop work or using tools, install first aid
equipment and stop emission of contaminants
- Penalties consist of fines and/or jail terms
- “corporate killing”: a criminal offence, failure to ensure an appropriate level of safety in
the workplace can be imprisoned or fined
- senior level people feel protected because they can pay fines but now with jail time, they
are taking penalties more seriously
- can be held liable if you’re not ensuring safety
Consequences of OHS Violations
- Bill C-45, the Westray Bill”
Criminal negligence causing death/bodily harm
2009 Christmas Eve scaffolding collapse
- Vicarious liability- mental shift in terms of who is liable for particular accident
- Negligent training- if you’re not doing a good job of explaining what needs to be done in
order to ensure proper documents are filled, consequence
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
All provinces, territories and the federal jurisdiction have ohs legislation based on the principle of joint responsibility. Examines how to protect the health and safety of workers by minimizing work-related accidents and illnesses. Investment in health and safety programs create bottom-line returns. In 2013 there were 902 deaths and 241,934 injuries resulting from accidents at work. If you"re going to fix a problem before it happens or fix problem as it goes and pay a large sum of money. Modern health and safety programs recognize that enhancing ontario health and safety requires cooperation among multiple stakeholders. Multiple people play a role in helping to reduce future accidents. Based on principle of joint responsibility between workers and employers. Do all due diligence beforehand (employers responsibility for taking every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of their workers) Take every precaution to ensure the health and safety of workers (due diligence)
