Meaning of a Safety Program

Why Safety Program?

Ideally every company is required to have a Safety program (policy) of some kind. Such safety programs are usually designed by the company itself as per their requirements. As an employer you are in the best position to gage the risks involved at the workplace. Such a Safety program is developed as per the OHSA regulations and to reduce the possibility of any hazards in the work area. It is also meant to answer the basic question of as to what is safety at workplace. To have an effective safety program it is necessary for the safety program to comply with OHSA regulations.

The safety program may include issues like how to handle a fire extinguisher or ladder in the correct manner. But this is being very generic and is something that applies to every workplace. What is the health and safety program for every profession? Is it the same?. For example that of a construction company is likely to include factors like how to handle heavy equipment like crane and hoists in the right manner. Besides it will include all the correct practices to follow while on the construction site premises.

The content of a Safety Program:

OHSA has developed a guide for the safety and health programs which is a very good start for any company. However these guides are not specific to any industry and are more generic guidelines that apply to all kinds of businesses (big and small). The safety program for your company needs to be to the point, such that it covers all the unique hazard issues in your workplace beside which it should be designed such that the employees can relate to it and utilize and implement it on a daily basis.

As a professional safety consulting firm, Safety First has been involved in advising several companies regarding the relevant topics to include. Some of the more common topics to include are mentioned here:

• The main of any aim of any Safety program should be to keep the two important objective in mind and they are a safety program that provides maximum protection to the workers and at the same time causes a minimum amount of downtime.

• It is also necessary that the safety program being developed complies with the OHSA regulations that are relevant to the scope of your work place.

• An important point to remember that the safety program is a practical program that is intended to be used for the daily activities and work procedure. Hence it should also be simple, easy to understand and something that easily integrates into the daily work routine of the workers.

Where to start from:

In order to build a framework for a performance driven health and safety program, there are a few basic points to remember:

• Strategic Planning: The strategic planning should be strong enough for you to be able to build measurable goals.

• Written Policy: A formal written policy statement pertaining to health and safety of your organization can go a long way. What is better still, is to incorporate them into the operations manual.

• Performance Measure: It is necessary to keep records of forms and EMR ratings but to keep tabs and to measure the health and safety key performance indicators is going the extra mile.

Assigning Roles and Responsibilities:

The safety program should ideally be developed in such a way all the people involved understand their tasks and responsibilities without any ambiguity. Here are a few role and responsibilities that need to be clearly defined:

• Leadership: As a leader the responsibility is higher. The leader not only needs to remain safe himself, but he also needs to guide the fellow employees and provide the necessary support. Thus it is imperative that the guidelines for the leader be quite exhaustive.

• Employees: The safety program is essentially for the employees though it will include the safety of all personnel on the premises. The program can go on and on about what the employees should or shouldn’t do and the correct method of operating equipment. It will also contain the action required to take during emergency situations. But what is of utmost importance is to make sure that the employees understand that for the safety program to be successful I is necessary that every single employee has understood their responsibilities and adheres to them.

• Safety Committee: At the end of the day this committee needs to assess how effective their safety program is and also make sure that the employees feel sufficiently motivated towards maintaining safety at the workplace. Besides which it also important to establish a decision making framework that has the ability address any safety concern, however small it may be.

The Process Assessment:

A workplace constitutes of the employees who are going about their tasks. But what are these tasks. For example in case of a construction site, the main objective is to construct the building. But this is the main task and it is divided into several sub tasks and further sub tasks as well. There is right way of performing each sub task and this is something that requires assessment. It is necessary to make sure that you are completely aware of the tasks being performed by the employees on a daily basis to be able to make sure that it is being carried out with all the necessary precautions and safety guidelines.

The quick and easy method of doing so is to make sure you possess the resources to perform correct information gathering in order to gather information. Perform an assessment of the current workplace on a department basis. And lastly it is also necessary to document all the processes at every step of the way.

The OSHA Safety topics that are considered:

The safety program being developed needs to be comprehensive and at the same time make sure it includes the following factors:

• Administrative Safety: The safety program should also include administrative safety procedures, besides which they should also be enforced.

• Exposure Control: In case an employee is exposed to any hazardous substance or involved in an accident the safety program should be able to cover the steps that are need to be taken to keep the damage to the minimum.

• Personal Protection: The workplace environment and activities should be correctly assessed to make a comprehensive list of personal protective equipment that is required.

• Facility Safety: The safety features need to be extended to all the management systems as well.

• Tools & Equipment: It is very important that the employees are using the correct tools and equipment for the tasks and that they are using it correctly. This topic requires extra attention since doing so has the potential of preventing most of the accidents from occurring.

• Behavioral & Attitude: A proper workplace environment is required to be maintained at all times. If it is a healthy environment that promotes safety, it will make sure safety is always the primary objective of all the personnel involved.

Addressing the Hazards:

All workplace are different and have a varying hazard level. Some workplaces are more risky than others. In general the construction sites are considered to high risk workplace. As per the statistics published in 2012 approximately 4606 construction workers lost their lives while on the job. This is a staggering figure which is way too high for comfort. In an even more recent incident that occurred in May 2014 at a mine in Turkey more than 250 workers lost their lives in a mining accident. These were workers from all round the world besides Turkey.

Thus the hazards of every workplace are different and need to be addressed in a unique method. All the tools, equipment and work procedure need to be analysed in detail. It is only after the analysis process that the proper workplace guidelines can be established that are in keeping with the OHSA regulations.

Training the employees:

A safety program is very useful in any organization but it is of little use if the employees do not implement it. Hence some level of basic training is required to make sure the employees get familiar with the workplace, the hazards involved as well as the safety procedures that are clearly established in the safety program.

At time such training is performed with the help of a professional agency on the site (workplace) itself. However several agencies also have the facility to provide off site training too. Safety Frist is one Safety consulting firm that is capable of handling either situation.

Documenting your efforts:

We have already established that having a safety program is highly beneficial. Having a safety program is one thing and making sure that it is working is another. By maintaining documentation of how the program complies with the OHSA requirements it is possible to do just that. Besides which documenting facts like the employee medical history, training and incidents also help.

Trust Safety First when it comes to Safety:

Safety first is one firm that is well placed to help organizations on the subject of OHSA. In fact Safety First has several occupational health and safety courses to offer so that the company management can have a better understanding of the same. Their team consists of certified health and safety consultant and an expert team of health and safety professional consultants with experience in businesses of all sizes and a wide variety of different industries as well. They are able to make sure that their clients are completely aware of the government legislation and regulations.

The professionals at Safety First Consulting can show you how to navigate the sometimes technical and often confusing OSHA regulations with health and safety program ontario. They can help you figure out what regulations apply in your workplace and what you need to do to comply.

 

How to Execute a Safety Program at the Workplace

A systematic, prudent approach towards safety in your workplace is the best strategy to enhance effectiveness and make sure you acquire the complete reward for your safety program. For this you acknowledged by how to create a safety program. First, recognize all hazards of your workplace and apply to OSHA regulations. By this you will get an idea about what type of program is suitable for your organization. It is surveyed by one company that investing in safety, its injury rate declined to 0.5 in 2013. Another company having same improvement its sale extended 15% as compared to previous years, following safety program they lose time because of employees’ injuries decreases during the period of ten years.

When you are going to implement a safety program you should understand workplace safety program ideas. Once you have acknowledged about your requirements are under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. You go for those requirements which are essential to set up a workplace safety program. How can you make certain that your employees are properly trained and capable to operate hazards? Since you are an employer, it’s your responsibilities to know that all employees are efficient to operate tools and acquired knowledge of personal prospective tools.

All organizations have their own hazards also, for instance tripping hazards from the cord, potentially hazardous substances and so on. That is why it is essential to ensure that all employees have derived the proper training.

The procedure to build a safety program at the workplace will need inspect your workplace properly and involve your employees in creating. If you need any help in this regard, you can call on your state OSHA consultation program or appoint a private consultant.

Below analysis is required for your workplace by a proficient safety and health consultant.

• Make sure that a consultant visit to the safety area to identify the hazards and that exists in your workplace.

• Assured that consultant analyze regular all activities done at your workplace as well step by step analyzing is vital.

• Place a system of evaluating to make sure that your hazard controls have not failed.

• Absorb a plan how to make consistency in inspection when things go wrong in a case of sickness or work related injury. This will help you to avoid this situation in future.

• Build communication bridge between employer and employee so that they pull employer’s attention towards thing going wrong.

In summary, if you follow above tips in your workplace, you will acquire a safe and healthy environment in your workplace.

How safetyfirst can help you in this subject?

Safety first is a well-known consultant corporation in issues regarding workplace safety and health program. Our services help your business to synchronize with the occupational safety and health Act (OSHA). You can take benefit of our expert health and safety training Ontario. Safety-first providing services over the past eight years and have full expertise to enrich your workplace environment.

Internal Safety Consultants With Skills They Should Posses

Tips for Improved Internal Safety Consulting:

The job of an Internal Safety consultant is never easy. This is the person a business turns to when it requires to ensure the safety of the workplace and their employees. It is fine while things go right however if things go wrong the blame-game starts and the safety consultant is often scrutinized. In general the process of a safety consultant is to access the workplace and detect all the potential hazards and at the same time make sure the employees and employers are well aware of the risks involved in all the tasks. Besides which there are several safe practices that can be followed and if done so can greatly lessen the risk of injury at workplace.

There are a great many Safety consulting companies that offer safety consulting services around the globe. But Safety Consulting cannot be generalized and each situation is different. Hence it takes an trained eye and plenty of experience to get it right.

Tips for better internal Safety Consulting:

• A safety consultant may have deep knowledge of one industry and at the same time may not be very familiar with another industry. Hence it is usually a good idea for the consultant to concentrate his efforts on helping firms of the industry he is familiar with. This is beneficial for all involved since it makes sure the firm receives the best possible guidance.

• A good safety consultant is the one who asks a lot of questions. The firm will have a completely different perspective of things and will rarely be able to volunteer all the necessary information. Hence by asking the right questions the Safety Consultant can retrieve all the important information.

• Staying in focus is the key factor for a safety consultant. It pays to have the best certification and qualifications for the job along with some experience. However it is essential to remained focused on the tasks and to understand them and interpret them correctly.

• Being able to communicate effectively is very important. From important discussions conducted with the management to make sure the employees get the clear picture of the hazards involved; all require good communications skills. Because at the end of the day if the employees do not understand a thing during their training sessions regarding the work place hazards the entire purpose is defeated.

• The bigger picture is what helps to obtain more insight into the work place and hence prevent any accidents and injuries from occurring. The bigger picture should ideally include all the details like the plan, the budget available as well as the basic requirements of the business like production quantity and other technical requirements.

How Safety First can help:

Safety First is one of the few firms that has the experience and means to help organizations in the matter of health and safety consulting. Their courses are specially structured to help employees gain a better understanding of their respective working environments and thus prevent and incident from occurring. They have a strong team of certified professional safety consultants that can help businesses of all sizes and a wide range of industries as well. Their certified professionals are capable of providing all the necessary help and support to many different types of businesses; hence no matter what your business you are sure to receive plenty of work place safety tips.

Respiratory Fit Test – Methods and Need

In Canada, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) needs to be adapted on both regional and national level. According to the minimum requirement set for this standard needs to be fulfilled. This standard intends to make sure that workers in risky environments are being prevented from deadly ingredients, like; contaminants, particulates, vapours, and toxins. These components have the ability to harm workers, or kill easily. Health and Safety program ensures the respirators are fitted properly on the workers’ face. Each day thousands of workers take a risk and perform dangerous tasks. In that case it is their employer’s duty to introduce a standard that implements the safety program and training in the organization to avoid and loss. Implementation of OHS not only helps workers, but prevents any financial loss likely to happen due to any unwanted accident.

The blog figures out the need and methods that fulfils respirator fit test requirements set by OSHA Standard.

What is a respirator fit test?

A respirator fit testing is a procedure to determine whether the respirator worn by worker fits his face and mouth and, comfortable. This test is of two types;

1. Qualitative, and
2. Quantitative

And according to respiratory fit test from OSHA, both the types use different methods of testing.

The Qualitative Respirator test checks your sense of smelling and taste. There are four methods;

• Isoamyl acetate, it gives an odor of banana

• Saccharin, it gives your mouth a sweet taste

• Bitrex, bitter taste

• Irritant smoke, likely to cause cough

The Quantitative Respirator test uses three methods;

• Generated aerosol

• Ambient aerosol; and

• Controlled Negative Pressure

Need of Respirator fit test

OSHA strictly forces to use this test in the industries where workers are likely to be contaminated due to deadly leakage while performing the task. The worker is required to wear respirators which fits to their face properly. Workers with beard are forced to wear tightly fitted respirators. During the respirator fit test training the model and size of a respirator according to the face shape is determined.

Where can I get a respirator fit test done?

Safety First Consulting believes in providing health and safety assistance to the various organizations. Their programs like Occupational Health and Safety services, WSIB services and health and safety training programs are compliant to government. They provide respiratory fit test training to the organization where workers working the hazardous zones each day.

It is a TSSA accredited training provider. Their training providers are; CHSC, CPTA, Habitat for Humanity and etc.

Industrial Safety Training Topics, Courses & Benefits

What is Industrial Safety Training?

Industrial Safety Training is in general crucial to generate awareness amongst the employees and employers about the hazardous the workplace. The help protect human life as well as the plants and the environment.

Why is it required?

Industrial safety training should be given high priority. It is often overlooked by several businesses due to the following reasons:

• The business is a small start-up firm and has many budget constraints.

• The decision process is very slow due to multiple levels of management.

• The main priority of the firm is to first be successful.

• The firm is a “One man show” with little or no authority given to the management.

• There are still many people not aware about the seriousness of the situation (workplace hazards).

The Industrial safety topics are of great importance, here are some statistics to further drive the point.

• In the year 2013 approximately 4405 workers were killed at the workplace.

• Workplace “Falling” was the reason for over 35% of the workplace deaths.

• Additionally “Electrocution” was the cause for more that 8% of the workplace deaths.

[SRC: United Sates Department of Labor https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/commonstats.html%5D

Types of Industrial Safety Systems:

• PSS – Process Shutdown System or Process Safety System.

• SSS – Safety Shutdown System

• ESD – Emergency Shutdown

• EDP – Emergency Depressurization Systems

ESD: Here are the three levels:

• Level 1: Level 1 can be activated from the main control room of the process industrial plant.

• Level 2: Level 2 can be activated by the person in charge of the plant shutdown and isolates the individual ESD zones. Additionally this also activates.

• Level 3: This level provides liquid inventory containment.

Trusting Safety First when it comes to Safety Training:

Safety first is one firm that is well placed to help organizations on the subject of OHSA. In fact Safety First has several industrial safety training courses Ontario to offer so that the company management can have a better understanding of the same. Their team consists of certified safety professionals and an expert team of Health and safety professional consultants with experience in businesses of all sizes and a wide variety of different industries as well.

All about the Joint Health and Safety Committee

Several people are unaware of what is the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC). However on a closer look the name itself reflects its composition. At times it is also known as the Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committee or the Occupational Health Committee, or the Workplace Safety and Health Committee or even the Health and Safety Committee.

It is essentially a forum for bringing the internal responsibility system into practice. The labour and management representatives make up the committee and meet regularly to deal with the health and safety issues at hand. This is highly beneficial to all involved. Imagine having several and relevant perspectives on the topic of health and safety and at the same time benefiting from the enhanced cooperation among all parts of work force. To be more specific, it includes people with practical knowledge as well as those with information on the policies and procedures.

Establishing the Joint Health and Safety Committee:

The responsibility of establishing the Joint Health and Safety Committee lays in the hands of the Employer themselves. The guidelines for organizing a committee are usually set via the Canadian Health and Safety legislations. The guidelines include some of the issues mentioned below:

• Structure of the committee

• Meeting Frequency

• Role and Responsibilities of the Committee members.

Thus the employers need to prepare the terms of reference applicable to the formation, structure and functioning. However they need to keep in mind the issues of compliance with the OHC legislation, the effectiveness of the committee in meeting workplace specific needs and encourages a wide employee involvement.

Opting for a committee or a representative – Is it the law?

A Joint Health and Safety committee (JHSC) may be possible in a large firm but there are many small companies around where the number of employees is very low. Hence at such places it is not practical to organise a (JHSC) committee of any kind. Thus the alternative is to arrange for a health and safety representative.

However in general it is mandatory for the employer to establish the Joint Health and Safety Committee or to appoint a representative for the same. However it can also be subject to the ministerial decision. This effective for the entire Canadian Jurisdiction.

It is likely that your workplace is exempt from this requirement and hence it is a good idea to consult the most up to date and applicable legislation. The exemption usually depend on factors like the size of the work force, the industry and accident record, or a combination of the lot.

Sources for the legislation:

The guidelines for the Joint Health and Safety Committee in the various jurisdictions of Canada are mentioned below:

Canada:

Canada Labor Code, Part II (R.S.C. 1985, C. L-2), Sections 135 to 137

British Columbia:

Workers Compensation Act, (R.S.B.C. 1996 as amended) Part 3, Division 4, Sections 125 to 140

Alberta:

Occupational Health and Safety Act (R.S.A. 1980, c. O-2 as amended), Section 31

Occupational Health and Safety Code (October 2003) Part 13 Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committee, Sections 196 to 207

Saskatchewan:

Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (S.S. 1993, c. O-1.1)

Part III Sections 15 to 22 (Called: Occupational Heath Committee)

Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 1996 (R.S.S., c. O-1, r.1), Sections 38 to 49

Manitoba:

Workplace Safety and Health Act (R.S.M. 1987, c. W210)

Section 40. (Called: Workplace safety and health committees)

Workplace Safety and Health Regulation (Man.Reg. 217/2006), Part 3

Ontario:

Occupational Health and Safety Act (R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1), Section 9(2)

Quebec (English language legislation)

Act respecting Occupational Health and Safety (R.S.Q., c. S-2.1)

Chapter IV, Sections 68 to 86.

And the Regulation respecting health and safety committees (R.R.Q. 1981, c. S-2.1, r. 6.1, O.C. 2025-83) (Called: Health and Safety Committees)

New Brunswick:

Occupational Health and Safety Act (A.N.B. 1983, c. O-0.2), Sections 14 to 18

Nova Scotia:

Occupational Health and Safety Act (S.N.S. 1996, c. 7), Sections 29 to 32

Prince Edward Island:

Occupational Health and Safety Act (R.S.P.E.I. 2004, c. 42), Section 25

Newfoundland:

Occupational Health and Safety Act (R.S.N. 1990, c. O-3)
Sections 37 to 40 (Called: Health and Safety Committees)

Yukon Territory:

Occupational Health and Safety Act (R.S.Y. 1986, c. 123), Sections 12 & 13
Northwest Territories
Safety Act (R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c. S-1), Section 7
(Called: Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committee)

Nunavut:

Safety Act (R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c. S-1), Section 7
(Called: Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committee)

Safety First Consulting:

The name Joint Health and Safety Committee itself suggests what it is all about as mentioned at the very start. In the same way “Safety First Consulting” is a health and safety consulting place for all your requirements pertaining to heath safety. As the name suggests they place the “Safety” of every one first.

And they are right to do so as well considering the amount of people that succumb to their deaths each year due to work place incidents. You will be amazed that even with all the precautions many people lose their lives as a result of work place accidents. Here are some statistics that were published recently. In 2012 approximately 4600 workers lost their lives at their work place. And in a more recent incident that occurred in May 2014 in Turkey, more than 250 miners were killed when things went wrong at a mine. These were workers from all over the world besides Turkey itself. After the preliminary investigation it was found that the calls for a safety inspection which was way overdue was neglected by the authorities.

Safety first is one firm that is well placed to help organizations on the subject of JHSC. In fact Safety First has several industrial safety training courses to offer so that the company management can have a better understanding of the same. Their team consists of certified safety professionals and an expert team of health and safety professional consultants with experience in businesses of all sizes and a wide variety of different industries as well.

The professionals at Safety First Consulting can show you how to navigate the sometimes technical and often confusing OSHA regulations with health and safety program ontario. They can help you figure out what regulations apply in your workplace and what you need to do to comply. Just know About us, take one of our classes, or request a Contact us form.

About the author

Sophie Moore is a Digital Marketing Analyst, in charge of many digital marketing projects that involve SEO, Social Media and mobile web strategy. Moore has a background in IT, strong experience on website development and web interface, degrees in both traditional and digital marketing at Duke University, North Carolina.

Moore has a wide experience of internet projects and keeps herself up to date with the latest technologies and trends. Moore always explains that social media is her passion, SEO a motivation and a dynamic challenge where she is involved every day.

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