This months safety message is about the evolution of
safety and the laws we have to abide by.
It sounds like common sense to try to prevent accidents, and the last
couple hundred years of evolution since the start of the industrial revolution
has taught us a few things. Think about
it… back when people made a living off of the land and the only professionals
were the odd craftsman in the villages, people hardly got hurt, and even then
not that seriously. Then as factories
started cranking out hammer heads and
coal shovels, workers started getting mangled.
At first they just wrote it off to stupidity but when chimney sweeps
developed black lungs and coal miners started dropping dead, the government introduced
regulations to force industry to make improvements. It was said for years, that these regulations
were written in the blood of many dead workers and it wasn’t until the recent
past that industry became proactive and looked at accident prevention as a
science, with experts trained in the latest developments.
In the early 1900s British Columbia's population and workforce
was growing rapidly and had a desperate need for a compensation system.
Forestry, fishing, and mining were the province's core industries — and working
conditions in the woods, on the boats, and in the mines were often shockingly
dangerous. In the worst mining disaster
in the province's history, 148 miners lost their lives in a gas explosion at
the Vancouver Coal and Land Co. mine in 1887. Their widows received little
compensation from the company other than basic housing and food.
The long-awaited passage of B.C.'s Workmen's
Compensation Act came in 1902 but it did not come into force until 1917,
when the Workmen's Compensation Board was finally created. Now, 92 years later, industry is required by
law to do the following:
1. Practice Due Diligence
Workers’ Compensation Act Section 215 A person is not guilty
of an offence if the person proves that the person exercised due diligence to
prevent the commission of the offence.
Due diligence means that employers
shall take all reasonable precautions, under the particular circumstances, to
prevent injuries or accidents in the workplace.
To exercise due diligence, an
employer must implement a plan to identify
possible workplace hazards and carry out the appropriate corrective action to
prevent accidents or injuries arising from these hazards.
The employer must have in place written OH&S policies, practices, and
procedures.
These would demonstrate that the employer carried out workplace safety audits,
identified hazardous practices and hazardous conditions and made necessary
changes to correct these conditions, and provided employees with information to
enable them to work safely.
The employer must provide the appropriate training and education to the employees so
that they understand and carry out their work according to the established
polices, practices, and procedures.
The employer must train the supervisors to ensure
they are competent persons, as defined in legislation.
The employer must monitor the workplace and ensure
that employees are following the policies, practices and procedures. Written
documentation of progressive disciplining for breaches of safety rules is
considered due diligence.
There are obviously many requirements for the
employer but workers also have
responsibilities. They have a duty to take reasonable care to ensure the safety of
themselves and their coworkers - this includes following safe work practices
and complying with rules and regulations.
The employer should have an accident investigation and reporting system in place. Employees
should be encouraged to report "near misses" and these should be
investigated also. Incorporating information from these investigations into
revised, improved policies, practices and procedures will also establish the
employer is practicing due diligence.
The employer should document, in writing, all of the
above steps: this will give the employer a history of how the company's
occupational health and safety program has progressed over time. Second, it
will provide up-to-date documentation that can be used as a defence to charges
in case an accident occurs despite an employer's due diligence efforts.
All of the elements of a "due diligence
program" must be in effect before any accident or injury occurs.
2. Supervision (Good Supervision)
The Workers’
Compensation Act requires, “Provisions by the employer for the instruction and
supervision of workers in the safe performance of their work.” Necessary, by nature of the Workers’
Compensation Act, are the use of a written and signed Policy Statement (a
statement of the employer's aims and the responsibilities of the employer,
supervisors and workers, signed by senior management), effective supervision,
provisions for holding periodic management meetings for the purpose of
reviewing health and safety activities and incident trends, and for the
determination of necessary courses of action.
Criminal Code of Canada (Section 217.1): 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.
3. New Worker Orientation and Ongoing Training
for Workers
New workers need to be
properly oriented and exposed to their responsibilities as well as the
company’s policies and procedures. The WCB Act requires “appropriate written
instructions, available for reference by all workers, to supplement this
Occupational Health and Safety Regulation,” Companies are required to maintain
written records of training.
4. Inspections
Inspections
include provision for the “regular inspection of premises, equipment, work
methods and work practices, at appropriate intervals, to ensure that prompt
action is undertaken to correct any hazardous conditions found, and equipment
(Log Books), identifying hazards (WHMIS) and controlling hazards (Using
Elimination, Engineering (Maintenance) or Administrative Controls
(Policies, Written Procedures, Signage, Education/Training, Supervision,
Discipline). Also required are annual reviews and follow-ups by the
OH&S Committee.
5. Investigations
The Act requires “provisions for the prompt investigation
of incidents to determine the action necessary to prevent their
recurrence”. This includes
investigations of near-misses and accidents using a mandatory reporting policy
and the maintenance of records and statistics, including reports of
inspections and incident investigations, with provision for making this
information available to the joint committee or worker health and safety
representative and, upon request, to an officer. A proper investigation includes
recommendations and review by the Joint OH&S Committee.
6. Personal Protective Equipment
It
is a requirement by law that employers generally provide, and that workers
wear, personal protective equipment and that employers annually review their
PPE program.
7. Joint Occupational Health and Safety
Committee
Following
the requirements of the WCB Regulation, an employer with more than 20 employees
must maintain an effective joint OH&S Committee. They are responsible to
participate in inspections and investigations and to review safety decisions
and make recommendations to prevent accidents.
8. Emergency
Procedures and the Provision for First Aid
Employers
are required to anticipate emergencies and pre-plan what workers should
do. This also requires performing a
First Aid Assessment and ensuring adequate first aid coverage (attendant and
supplies).
ACCIDENT CAUSATION 101
Accidents
are caused.
Accidents
can be prevented if the causes are eliminated.
Unless
the causes are eliminated, an accident will happen again.
