eSigning Daily Safety Inspection Report Made Easy

Countersign job safety inspection report

every year in Ontario some 3000 forest industry workers suffer injuries and illnesses that require professional medical attention the vast majority of these injuries and illnesses can be eliminated by systematic process of identifying assessing and controlling workplace hazards federal and provincial laws protect citizens from unsafe conditions in their workplace but the front line of defense against job hazards are the employers and workers who see and work near these hazards every day unless employers and workers have practical and clearly defined ways to identify and correct unsafe conditions and unsafe work practices thousands of avoidable injuries and illnesses will continue to occur in force industry workplaces the best and most practical weapon employers and workers have in the fight against these needless injuries and illnesses is a self-examination process known as a planned workplace inspection as forestry technology and machinery become more complex and sophisticated so do the job skills that are required to perform the work safely employers and workers need a way to keep pace with the rapidly changing demands of their work and with the much more detailed in demanding health and safety legislation and standards that affect them the planned workplace inspection is a key part of a company's overall health and safety program because it provides the necessary tools to stay on top of all hazards on the job a planned workplace inspection is a team effort by everyone in the company from senior managers to frontline workers the inspections are scheduled and conducted on a regular basis the inspection team usually consists of worker members of the joint health and safety committee or in smaller companies the workers health and safety representative in some cases representatives of the company's management will team up with the worker representatives to conduct the inspection every plan workplace inspection has four main purposes to identify and record deserts to classify the hazards in terms of their severity to develop plans for eliminating the hazards and to follow up by making sure that the hazards have been eliminated the hazards inspection team is looking for or any work practices conditions policies or procedures that have the potential to cause harm to people damage to property are lost to production in order for the inspection proces to work everyone on the inspection team has to believe in its goals that belief can be bolstered by making sure the process of identifying classifying and controlling hazards it's practical and realistic this is done by planning the inspection as thoroughly as possible before conducting it there are five steps to an effective plan workplace inspection planning conducting the inspection assessing the hazards reporting and following up planning is the foundation of a good inspection process without good planning the inspection can't be thorough and systematic before conducting the inspection team members need to familiarize themselves with production processes products tools and equipment they have to understand the work environment the company's policies and procedures and various worker responsibilities and schedules they also have to brief themselves on past health and safety problems by examining previous inspection reports first aid records injury data and other health and safety information we've done lighting or doing a spring we start up again community using the knowledge they've gained in the first part of the planning process the inspection team can then put together a checklist of items to be inspected the checklist will ensure that the inspection is thorough consistent and objective no matter who conducts it putting a checklist together also helps establish a specific route that the inspection team will take through the work area now the inspection team is ready for the second step of the plan workplace inspection process conducting the inspection I've done it as they begin the inspection team members should identify themselves to supervisors in each area and explain their reason for being there they are on the lookout for all potential hazards and they want to hear from workers and supervisors about any unusual circumstances or conditions but they should be familiar enough with the work environment and processes that they don't interrupt workers or supervisors at inappropriate moments a full description of each hazard should be written down as soon as it's identified the notes should be as detailed as possible so that the information will be available when it comes time to write specific recommendations in the inspection report if the inspection team finds a work practice or condition that poses an immediate hazard it should be corrected immediately for example the inspection team might notice that a guard is missing from a piece of machinery that's in use they should go to the supervisor and inform him or her of the situation the third step in the plan workplace inspection is to assess the hazards this step occurs both during the inspection and afterward when inspection report is being written to help the inspection team assess the severity of each hazard they find during the inspection the ABC classification system should be used a class-a hazard is a condition or practice that's likely to cause loss of life permanent disability and/or extensive property damage an example of a class a hazard is an unguarded saw this type of hazard must be controlled immediately a Class B hazard is a conditioner practice that's likely to cause serious injury or illness resulting in temporary disability and/or property damage that's disruptive but not extensive an example of a Class B hazard is an oil spill on a poorly lit floor a Class C hazard is a condition or practice that's likely to cause a minor non disabling injury or illness and/or non-disruptive property damage an example of a class C hazard is a worker handling boards without protective gloves this hazard classification system establishes an easily recognizable order of priority for correcting hazards now that the hazards have been identified and assessed the inspection team has arrived at the fourth step of the plan workplace inspection process reporting is the next day information in the inspection report the hazards that were found during the inspection will be listed and classified in terms of their severity but in order for the inspection to have a real impact the report also has to clearly identify the causes of the hazards that are listed in it this is where all the pre inspection planning pays off the inspection team uses its knowledge of health and safety legislation and standards and its understanding of work processes and procedures to find the roots of the hazards that have been identified it's only by digging down to these roots that the team can find practical ways of controlling them the inspection team is looking for two basic types of causes direct causes and underlying causes examples of direct causes of a hazard or unsafe conditions such as an unguarded piece of equipment or an adequate personal protective equipment unsafe acts such as not locking out machinery are not wearing personal protective equipment are also direct causes of a workplace hazard for every direct cause they're often one or more underlying causes that might not be immediately noticeable examples of underlying causes include personal factors such as the workers lack of knowledge or physical conditioning and job factors such as inadequate worker training and a poorly engineered work environment finding the causes of hazards points the way to their control and elimination the inspection report is an inventory of what needs to be done to make the work and the workplace safer the report is also a valuable record that can be used in the future to keep the workplace safe this brings us to the fifth and final step of the plan workplace inspection process following up previous inspection reports were examined by an inspection team to give them a picture of past hazards and corrective actions the current report will help the inspection team workers supervisors and managers track hazards in the corrective actions taken against them into the future the inspection report is a reminder to everyone of what they have to do and when they have to do it for that reason it should be circulated as widely as possible in the company make sure copies reach the health and safety coordinator or joint Health and Safety Committee as well as supervisors the plant manager and/or department managers maintenance staff and other departments that may be involved in follow-up actions it's important that managers supervisors and health and safety committee members study the inspection report careful analysis of inspection reports may explain why there have been so many problems in a certain area it may also indicate areas or equipment that require more in-depth hazard analysis or the help of an outside expert a plan workplace inspections serves the needs of everyone in the company from senior management to frontline workers it provides management with documentation of their legal obligation to do everything reasonable under the circumstances to protect the safety of workers it also gives workers and supervisors valuable input on health and safety issues that affect them directly on a daily basis the inspection process is the health and safety programs navigational system it ensures that the program is on course and stays on course inspections heightens the effectiveness of the company's entire health and safety program by establishing an ongoing system of checks and balances inspections are closely linked to the major objectives of the health and safety program as a whole which are to identify hazards to establish priorities for hazard controls to monitor the effectiveness of those controls and to identify best practices and set standards of all the health and safety tools at your disposal the plan workplace inspection is one of the most valuable put it to work for you to create a healthier safer and more productive workplace you