Three common health and safety fallacies
Time and time again we hear managers and employees repeating health and safety myths about why they cannot be held responsible for workplace injuries. Misguided attitudes and excuses can create a culture of complacency and lead to increased workplace safety incidents and worker injuries. While accidents do happen, injuries can be prevented. Creating a workplace injury prevention culture requires that each member of the workplace takes responsibility for health and safety -- including safety training, environmental awareness, hazard assessment and identification, incident reporting, and workplace inspection.
In this article, we highlight three common fallacies (or should we say excuses?) that we wanted to dispel.
In this article, we highlight three common fallacies (or should we say excuses?) that we wanted to dispel.
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► Fallacy: Minor injuries and accidents cannot be prevented
Many companies fail to properly identify and assess potential risks because they deem them to be “minor” or “unavoidable”. From back pain caused by improperly setup workstations to slips, trips and falls, many workplace injuries could be avoided through risk assessments. Workplace risk assessments should consider contractors, temporary employees, student workers and volunteers. For example, a Mississauga company was recently fined $90,000 after a worker suffered critical injuries after falling from a 10-foot step ladder. This injury could have been easily prevented through risk assessment and appropriate training. ► Reality: Risk assessment and workplace inspections prevent injuries It is the employer’s responsibility to take every reasonable precaution to protect workers. What defines reasonable is an important consideration for every workplace and policies on risk assessments should be discussed by Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) members as part of best practices and exercising due diligence MidSouthWest recommends that employers should schedule regular workplace inspections and risk assessments to avoid injuries and costly fines. Workplace inspections should be completed by trained workers and managers, which may include certified JHSC members. |
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► Fallacy: Head office takes care of all of health and safety training
While head office many provide an orientation training program or ongoing training opportunities, they will not necessarily provide courses taught by MOL-approved providers or keep track of training courses completed. Further, head office might not be aware of day-to-day activities such as scheduling practices or employee leave of absence that could affect training requirements. For example, if a certified member of a JHSC goes on extended sick or parental leave, another employee will need to be certified in order to replace them on the committee. ► Reality: Due diligence is a everyone's responsibility Due diligence is the responsibility of all supervisors, managers and workers. While companies are liable for workplace injuries, supervisors can also be fined. In 2017, a supervisor at a Brampton company was fined $15,000 for failing as a supervisor to take the reasonable precaution of taking a crane of out of service after it had been reported that the crane was in a state of disrepair. MidSouthWest recommends that all employers, supervisors and managers attend a Due Diligence Training course in addition to the basic Supervisor Safety Awareness course mandated by the Ministry of Labour. It is essential that managers and supervisors understand their roles and responsibilities in creating a workplace injury prevention culture. |
Test your knowledge
Current legislation requires all workers who work at heights on construction sites receive Working at Heights training and access to appropriate fall protection equipment.
A Mississauga company was recently fined $90,000 after a worker suffered critical injuries after falling from a 10-foot step ladder. The worker was completing routine electrical installation at the time of the incident. Although the worker was able to reach the ceiling from the top third rung of the ladder, the Occupational Health and Safety Act (section 125(1) of the Construction Projects Regulation (Ontario Regulation 213/91)) requires a provision of a scaffold, a suspended work platform, a boatswain's chair or a multi-point suspended work platform in situations where work cannot be done on or from the ground without hazard to workers. |
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► Fallacy: We don't need more training because we just had a training course
Have you ever noticed how fast time goes by? We have all experienced situations when we feel like it was “just yesterday” when we did something but it turns out it was a year or more ago. It is easy to underestimate how long it has been since a training course was completed or records were updated. The Ministry of Labour (MOL) and Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) require workers receive refresher training for many health and safety training certification courses, including JHSC member certification, Working at Heights, Lift Truck, and First Aid/CPR training (all require refresher every 3 years). MidSouthWest also recommends that employees receive refresher training every 3 years for all material handling devices, such as cranes. ►Reality: Initial and refresher training courses keep workers safe Even if refresher training is not legally mandated, it may be the appropriate course of action so that workers maintain a high level of safety awareness and familiarity with changes to MOL and WSIB requirements. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that all workers have received adequate and up-to-date training. In many cases, the minimum requirements are not sufficient. MidSouthWest recommends that employers conduct an annual health and safety training audit to ensure that records are kept up-to-date and all standards are being met. |
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Questions?
Not sure where to start? Contact us today to schedule a workplace health and safety training audit or a Due Diligence for Management Training class.
Last updated April 11, 2018
Last updated April 11, 2018
