Description
One of the things we take great pride in is our ability to take the mystery out of Health & Safety Compliance in Ontario. It can be difficult for a business to decipher what the legislation says and what it means! We are here to help you better understand what safety and compliance may look like for your business. Industrial Safety Trainers offers a wide range of consulting services to meet the needs of your business.
Health & Safety Program Development
Under section 25(2)(j) of the Occupational Health & Safety Act, it states that “an employer shall (section j) prepare and review at least annually a written occupational health and safety policy and develop and maintain a program to implement that policy”. This means that employers shall develop something that defines how the company will manage health and safety in their workplace. Most refer to this as the company’s Health & Safety Policies and Procedures (manual).
The OHSA further defines a “health and safety management system” means a coordinated system of procedures, processes and other measures that are designed to be implemented by employers to promote continuous improvement in occupational health and safety. This means that in its simplest terms, that businesses in Ontario must have policies and procedures in place that describes how your company will manage the safety of its workforce.
This only applies to companies that employ more than five workers.
The real question that is asked is, “how comprehensive does this program have to be?” The quick answer is nothing spells out what policies and procedures your company must have in place. It’s up to the company to decide how in-depth they want to get when developing Health & Safety policies and procedures. As a rule, the more people you employ and the scope of work you do should dictate how comprehensive your program should be.
The good news is that a new piece of safety legislation is in place that promotes those companies that put health and safety as a high priority to its operations. This new section to our Health and Safety Act is titled “Recognition of Employers” (section 7.6.2). It describes that if a business implements a managed safety program that meets a standard set out by the MLTSD, and that company attains an accreditation from a qualified auditor indicating that the company is meeting the requirements of that standard. If this is accomplished, the MLTSD will recognize that accomplishment. Click here to read more on this program.
CPO-Accredited Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems
As of November 2019, the CPO has accredited the following standards:
- ISO 45001:2018: Occupational health and safety management systems
- CSA Z45001-19: Occupational health and safety management systems
- BS OHSAS 18001: 2007: Occupational health and safety management system Requirements
- IHSA COR™ 2020 – IHSA Certificate of Recognition 2020-Health and Safety Management System-Standard
Click Here to review the guidelines businesses need to follow to have your company recognized by the Chief Prevention Officer. It describes what steps that need to be taken/ followed for accreditation.
There are many ways we can assist companies in developing managed safety programs; we can do as much or as little as you need. Options include:
- Our expert consultants can develop all of your policies and procedures that align with the standard you want to meet. This would include ISO 45001 or COR 2020 or a program that meets CPO accreditation requirements. This is an option for those companies that want someone to develop a program that meets a standard and instead implement the program as defined rather than writing it.
- We can assist your company in writing specific policies and procedures to fill any gaps you may have. This is an excellent option if you already have a program in place and need it to align with the standard you are trying to achieve.
- We can conduct an audit of your current safety program to determine if it would satisfy the requirements of an accredited standard.
Health & Safety Program Management Software
Industrial Safety Trainers has partnered with the team at Site Docs to help business in putting their entire safety program online. This software will inventory all of your policies, procedures and records. It is designed to manage all of the activities that your safety program requires, such as:
- Schedules monthly safety meetings and workplace inspections
- Tracks any safety issues that have been identified, who is responsible for resolving them and the progress in getting issues resolved.
- Tracks changes to policy and procedures
- It reminds you when things need to get done, such as “acting on a recommendation.”
- Allows JHSC members to document safety inspections and sends copies to those that need to know, the same for JHSC safety meeting minutes. Sets reminders for follow-up.
- Track all accidents and incidents and recommendations
- Tracks safety audits and follow-up needs.
- Tracks safety training that is required and completed.
- Plus many more things that make managing your safety program easier. Contact our office to get a demonstration of how this fantastic software is applied and used.
Click here to learn more about Site Docs or to schedule a demonstration on how this program will save you time and money.
