Title: Fundamentals of Workplace Health and Safety
1Fundamentals of Workplace Health and Safety
2Why is workplace safety an issue?
- Every year, many Canadians are injured or killed
at work. - Workplace injuries are obviously a problem for
workers, costing them time and sometimes money - Workplace injuries also cause problems for
employers, from fines to shutdowns to lawsuits
3How much does it cost an employer if a fatality
happens at work?
- Paid shutdown of 3.5 shifts - 24 563
- Equipment removal by staff - 3 119
- Court fine, victim surcharge - 72 500
- The above is just a sample of the costs
associated with a fatalityalong with other
costs, this employer would lose a total of 134
239.
4Hazards vs. Risks
- A hazard is any thing that has the potential to
cause harm. (e.g. crossing the road is a hazard) - Risk is a measurement of how likely an activity
is to cause harm. (e.g. crossing a side street is
a lower risk activity than crossing the highway)
5Categories of workplace hazards
- There are two major categories of workplace
hazards - health hazards hazards that can cause
- illness
- safety hazards hazards that cause
- injuries other
than - illness
6Other ways to categorize hazards
- Hazards can also be categorized as
- Physical Hazards (e.g. sound)
- Chemical Hazards (e.g. acids)
- Biological Hazards (e.g. bacteria)
- Psychological Hazards (e.g. stress)
7Three main sources of hazards
- Hazards can come from three sources
- Equipment (e.g. tools, machines)
- People (e.g. co-workers)
- Environment (e.g. smog, acid rain)
8Ways to deal with hazards
- There are three major ways to deal with hazards
- Engineering controls controls that eliminate
the potential hazard - Administrative controls controls that deal with
training or procedures - Personal Protective Equipment controls that
focus on safety equipment that the employee wears
9Employer (bosses) safety responsibilities
- Employers are required by law (The Occupational
Health and Safety Act) to do certain things to
protect employees. - Employers who do not do these things can be fined
and/or charged criminally.
10Employer responsibilities under the OHS Act
- Provide and maintain equipment with proper safety
devices - Train employees, and supervise them effectively
in order to maintain safety - Making sure that employees know how to use
personal protective equipment, and making sure
that they use it - Establishing a Joint Occupational Health and
Safety Committee - continued
11Employer responsibilities under the OHS Act
(continued)
- Co-operating with the Joint Occupational Health
and Safety Committee and with the department of
labour safety officers - Preparing and maintaining a health and safety
policy or program - Providing a list of hazardous chemicals in the
workplace - Following the Occupational Health and Safety Act,
and making sure that employees also follow it.
12Employee (worker) responsibilities under the OHS
Act
- Workers must follow the OHS Act as well. Their
main responsibilities are - Reporting anything in the workplace that may be
dangerous - Co-operating with the employer and employees to
protect health and safety - Wearing personal protective equipment and
following safety procedures - Co-operating with the Joint Occupational Health
and Safety Committee and with department of
labour officials
13Employee rights under the OHS Act
- All employees have the right to
- Participate in the Joint Occupational Health and
Safety Committee (JOHSC) - Know about workplace hazards
- Refuse unsafe work