Initials Job Safety Inspection Report Made Easy

Initials job safety inspection report

welcome to another in a series of webinars the workers health and safety center has been hosting on worker health and safety issues related to coved 19. we have considered many related issues but perhaps today's is one of the most important the worker right to participate in all considerations to protect their health and safety during these unprecedented and challenging times i'm marty white a senior communications officer with the workers health and safety center it is my pleasure to be here today talking with you about such an important topic in this webinar we will review legal obligations of employers to protect workers the duty of the ministry of labor to ensure this occurs workers rights and responsibilities by law the critical role workers and worker representatives must play in conquering the covid 19 virus along with the joint health and safety committee and worker health and safety rights and responsibilities throughout the presentation you will notice we refer to the joint health and safety committee and worker health and safety reps on the slides with their acronyms jhsc and hsr the webinar will provide a context for the worker right to participate in what this means the heart of the presentation then introduces and reviews a new covet 19 workplace inspection checklist a tool we hope will assist joint health and safety committee members or worker health and safety representatives perform their critical role helping to secure working conditions needed to help conquer this deadly virus employers and supervisors must take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of workers reasonable reasonable precautions recommended by public health authorities have since this crisis began including physical distancing hand hygiene cleaning and disinfecting among others evidence is increasingly suggesting small respiratory droplets can stay airborne for hours therefore use of masks and respirators especially outside of healthcare settings along with ventilation considerations are increasingly finding their way into prevention discussions ontario's ministry of labor tells us while the covid19 situation is changing rapidly the legislation and regulations used to govern ontario's workplaces or not ministry of labor has sole authority and responsibility to ensure employers meet their significant obligations to protect workers to accomplish this this ministry provides directives to the inspector on how to interpret and enforce health and safety law we under we understand during this coba 19 crisis the ministry has been downgrading work refusals to complaints to date only one work refusal has been upheld still we have witness outbreaks amongst health care providers and residents in long-term care facilities workers in meat plants and grocery stores migrant workers in the agricultural sector and even taxi and limo drivers so while lack of social distancing in ontario parks has been met with fines for the perpetrators there are many instances of workers required to work side by side in some cases resulting in deadly outcomes without a commitment to enforcement and prudent preventive action will the second wave of covet 19 we are being warned about by public health authorities see more workers their families and the wider community put in harm's way ontario's ministry of labor tells employers they must assess the workplace to determine how workers may be exposed to covet 19 develop post and communicate covet 19 policies and plans implement all reasonable measures to prevent exposures and consult with the joint health and safety committee and the worker health and safety rep for those who are not immersed in this issue in workplaces regularly employing 20 or more workers or designated substances are in use a joint health and safety committee is required at least half of members to the committee must not exercise managerial functions and must be chosen by workers or where applicable their union in workplaces regularly employing more than five workers but fewer than 20 the workers or their union where there is one must choose a worker health and safety rep who also does not exercise managerial functions workers too have a critical role to play during this pandemic they have won three basic legal rights the right to know about the hazards they face including the covid19 virus the right to participate and the right to refuse unsafe work with the right to participate comes a worker duty to report concerns and hazards and play a role in recommending solutions to eliminate and control hazards concerns and hazards should be reported to a supervisor or employer also workers should report them to the joint health and safety committee or worker rep to allow them to document and track each instance equally important workers have the right not to face reprisal when acting upon these important rights the right to participate is best exercised collectively through worker members of a joint health and safety committee or worker health and safety representatives names and work locations of joint committee members must be posted prominently in the workplace while the occupational health and safety act does not specify the need to post the name of the worker health and safety rep required in these smaller workplaces it is a good practice to do so duties of joint health and safety committee members and worker health and safety reps the rights and duties of these members are spelled out in the occupational health and safety act they include recommending the development implementation monitoring and improvement of covid19 plan and policies identify situations that may be of danger or hazard to workers recommend measures to protect workers and to follow up to ensure employers have acted on recommendations in a timely manner particularly important during this pandemic employers are required to apply to joint health safety committees or worker health and safety recommendations within 21 days during this pandemic workplaces might consider commitments to more immediate response in action wherever possible after all this virus can spread quickly an outbreak can have catastrophic catastrophic consequences for workers their families and their community particularly important amongst the rights of the joint health and safety committee and health and safety rep is the requirement to inspect the workplace at least monthly common practice in many workplaces however is for inspections to be done jointly with worker and management with physical distancing being a concern workplaces might consider performing the inspection solely by the worker committee member or the worker health and safety representative with many ontario workplaces reopening or a growing complement of workers returning to the workplace cons consider inspecting the workplace before workers return this said it would also be prudent to perform an inspection during regular working hours soon after opening to get an even better picture of potential hazards and to offer workers an opportunity to interact with their rep and point out their cobid19 concerns and thoughts on control measures inspectors have sorry employers also have inspection specific duties they must provide workers performing the inspection with such information and assistance to carry out the inspection for instance as we will discuss later employers will need to provide worker reps with information about the performance of building ventilation systems to assist with workplace inspections during the pandemic workers health and safety center has developed an inspection checklist after completing the inspection and if adequate control measures are not in place to address covet 19 hazards or concerns recommendations should be presented to the employer as previously mentioned employers should consider committing to immediate action and not wait for 21 days to reply workers might also want to consider a plan to track the implementation of control measures and continue their ongoing effectiveness if workplaces agree to inspections more often than once a month during this pandemic this would assist with tracking and assessment particularly by consulting directly with workers as to whether measures are proving effective this new checklist is available for download at the workers health and safety center's website under the covet 19 resource page we encourage each of you to share it widely there are seven to approximately 70 questions on this checklist and is broken down by topic there are seven topics pre-inspection questions physical distancing workplace personal hygiene cleaning and disinfecting ventilation personal protective equipment mental health illness containment and reporting along with training and information now as every workplace is different not all questions uh will be applicable it may be that you will need to ask more questions or different questions than we have suggested but we do think this checklist is a good place to start the first grouping of questions relate to pre-inspection has the workplace covet policy and plan to implement the policy been prepared with the full participation of the joint committee or the worker health and safety representative is the hierarchy of controls driving workplace efforts to eliminate or at least reduce the possibility of exposure to the covered 19 virus to the lowest extent possible has the employer insured an adequate covid19 training was the joint committee or health and safety rep involved in the development or selection of it and has it been delivered and has an inspection protocol been established to address the issues relating to social distancing and perhaps the provision and use of personal protective equipment as controls at the source of the most effective has the workplace considered whether to the degree possible that workers can continue to work at home allowing for more social distancing or less workers coming into the office the work has the workplace considered restricting access to third parties uh clients which again would assist with social distancing if you want to learn more about the hierarchy of control specific to the covid19 virus please be sure to have a look at our webinar we offered on the subject and the precautionary principle some weeks ago it is posted to our youtube channel and the powerpoint to our cover 19 resource page the fiscal distancing checklist are there clearly visible floor wall markings to clarify necessary physical distancing our physical distancing measures being observed by all in the workplace covet 19 training can help prepare workers to play a role reminding customers and others who might enter the workplace to follow these important protocols if the fiscal distancing is not achievable are the following in place workstations configured so work so workers don't face each other have partitions and barriers been erected grocery stores pharmacies and convenience stores were some of the early workplaces to respond to the concerns of workers and their unions by among other things erecting plexi glass barriers otherwise known as sneeze guards between workers and the public as we reopen more workplaces will need to get just as creative in other work settings personal hygiene questions are adequate hand washing facilities with soap hot water disposable towels and touch free waste bins readily available has clear highly visible signage for proper hand washing and cough sneeze etiquette been posted at a minimum at all workplace entrances and in all washrooms you will want to consider all covet 19 hygiene signage is in english and where necessary languages or symbols understood by all workers and the public should they gain access workers need to need to know they can take time in the day to frequently and thoroughly wash their hands if in a workplace with public access consider provisions of touchless hand sanitizers at the entrance and other locations throughout the workforce are hand dryers disabled or otherwise out of service to prevent transmission of covid19 virus containing droplets this may not have been top of mind for all to date electric hand dryers may end up being a source of transmission of potential virus containing droplets from improperly washed hands or from a person's breath the potential for this is even greater where the direction of the hand dryer is pointed upward so during covet 19 public health authorities are recommending paper towels for hand dryers are the way to go cleaning and disinfecting are disinfecting products readily available to workers and are they recommended by either health canada or the u.s environmental protection agency our high touch surface is clean and disinfected frequently throughout the workday if workstations and equipment must be shared are they cleaned and disinfected before and after each use is an enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocol in place should contact tracing identify exposure to a confirmed case of coved 19 in the workplace in addition to regular and thorough cleaning and disinfecting workplaces will want to ensure gloves and disposable paper towels are available along with ready access to touchless waste disposal workplaces will also want to consider an enhanced schedule to safely collect and dispose of waste that's potentially infected and clean and disinfect waste collection containers workers will also want to consider removing clothing potentially contaminated with a virus at work or as soon as they get home and wash in hot water with detergent and dried in the highest temperature setting available again for more details be sure to have a look at our earlier webinar on cleaning and disinfecting and the related documents on our website greener cleaners and disinfectants have cleaners and disinfectants been screened for general worker health in addition to ensuring cleaners are effective against covet 19 virus wherever possible you will want to consider cleaners that are not linked with adverse human health effects while there is no standardized criteria for green products the us epa safer choices program compiles a safer chemicals ingredient list you may also look for safer alternatives through programs such as green seal and eco logo which offer third party certification with strict requirements no matter what cleaning or disinfecting agents used workers will need to be trained to ensure they are prepared to use these products safely we will be posting more details regarding greener cleaners for coved 19 to our website in the coming days ventilation we are seeing growing evidence that smaller coveted virus droplets and particles can travel greater distances and stay airborne much longer than the larger droplets before settling on surfaces as a result some experts believe the evidence is sufficient to warn enhanced ventilation measures including increased air exchanges and more clean outdoor fresh air circulating within the system airflow should also be considered within the work environment to ensure air from the breathing zone of one person is not being blown directly into the breathing zone of another this can be impacted by general ventilation local exhaust ventilation fans along with open windows and doors personal protective equipment questions are there adequate supply of proper ppe is it readily available for the circumstances discussed with the joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative are workers and other workplace parties using caring for and discarding ppe properly if required are others such as workplace visitors and other third parties in the workplace properly using ppe all important questions for sure and especially important situations where people cannot properly social distance consider masked and face coverings they function if worn properly to reduce the number of droplets the mask wearer emits into the air thereby adding some level of reduced virus transmission so think of a grocery store or visit busy transit where hundreds perhaps thousands enter the workplace daily and we see now why some workplaces are asking the public and customers to wear face masks and or other face coverings if workers and other workplace parties don't seem to be using caring for or discarding ppe properly you might consider recommending retraining for instance if people are wearing the masks under their nose or resting under their chin they are defeating the purpose of the mask and putting themselves and others at risk mental health obviously this pandemic is creating additional sources of stress in our lives at home if we care for elderly relatives if we must commute by public transit if we require daycare that is currently not available or it's open and we're concerned with transmission to our kids and our loved ones through the daycare facility workplaces might consider a review of all health and safety training to ensure it includes critical learning about the prevention of mental injuries in the workplace plus support and compassion for those affected wh workers health and safety centers just recently developed a new training module entitled psychosocial hazards and workplace mental health it is currently being offered as part of our general stream for joint health and safety committee certification part 2 training available now in our schedule of virtual training programs illness containment and reporting also many important questions should be considered is a protocol in place to restrict workers customers clients from the workplace if they're experienced symptoms and or exposed to a person with a suspected presumed or confirmed case of covid19 or returned from international travel in the last 14 days is clearly visible signage in place to help promote these restrictions and consider in a language and or symbols symbols to ensure understanding by workers and others workers workplaces will want to consider consulting with workers and their representatives about privacy issues relating to tracing even if the employer has officially designated someone who reports cases to the appropriate authorities the joint health and safety committee or worker health and safety rep will want to assure this is occurring including the reporting of cases and exposures to the workplace safety and insurance board finally training and information questions have have workers and supervisors received adequate covet 19 training again if during the inspection you note that safe work practices if coveted 19 aren't being followed you might consider recommending retraining or additional means for sharing safe work practices keeping current with public health directives and best practices is also crucial to preventing and limiting transmission following the inspection if prevention solutions cannot be actioned immediately the joint health and safety committee or worker health and safety representative should consider recommending a plan of immediate and specific action to the employer tracking the implementation of recommended actions and assess ongoing effectiveness is also critical the checklist we developed has left room for notes to help you record necessary remedial action during the pandemic the workers health and safety center is offering online virtual training delivered in real time over a secure zoom platform on specified dates and times currently we're offering our new hazards of covid training ghs whmis and a range of joint health and safety committee certification training programs unlike most training our programs ensure a highly qualified whsc trained instructor and all course participants learn together much like our traditional learner center training programs we have been working from home remotely during this pandemic but you can still reach us by phone email via the ad or internet and various social media platforms thank you all for joining us today i hope you found this information useful and that it serves to assist as you return to your work and seek to protect workers during this difficult time if you can please complete the poll that we will be sending you now and submit it back to us this would be most appreciated again for more information about the kova 19 virus we the workers health and safety center has a numerous resources posted to the kobus 19 resource page and we will be adding more as time goes on now we have time uh we can take a couple questions from the audience uh now if we i see we we are getting more and more questions we won't be able to get to all of them and i promise you uh we'll get back to you directly or we'll answer them uh and post them to a q a uh that will prepare and post in the in the following days with this webinar bear with me i'm checking the question that we're receiving now all right the first question relates to government direction is the government directing employers to develop a coved specific policy well the short answer is yes the government has posted a range of resources to the government of ontario website and they are are directing employers to post and communicate coved 19 policies to workers they're also offering some insight as to what these policies should address and include obviously including physical distancing sanitation uh the scheduling of work uh the government also recommends that employers consult with joint health and safety committees uh into the into the development of these policies and programs to implement the policies the next question does this information apply to all workplaces or only unionized settings good question the it's not just the government government doesn't just regulate unionized workplaces they regulate employers for all ontario workplaces so this information does apply to all workplaces across the province [Music] another question is the government directing employers to assess the workplace in order to identify potential sources of exposure to the covet virus and potential sources of transmission and again are they requiring the involvement of the joint health and safety committee or worker health and safety rep the answer is yes and yes again these directives come from the ontario government in their various resources that are posted on their website the resources specific to coved19 and again specifically employers must assess the workplace to determine what they need to do to protect the health and safety of workers and the employers and they require the government's requiring and suggesting that employers assess the workplace in consultation with the joint health and safety committee or health and safety representatives many questions about uh about government requirements uh and government oversight uh during the coven 19 crisis is the government requiring employers to provide covet 19 training the government is not specifically mentioning the term training in their many resources but they are reminding employers of their many duties such as protecting workers from hazards posed by infectious diseases including the coca-19 virus obviously the general duties providing workers with information instruction and supervision to protect the health and safety of a worker and also the general duty class that workers or employers and supervisors are required to take every precaution reasonable in circumstances for the protection of workers further still in order for workers to be able to act on their right to participate and the duty to report uncontrolled hazards including the covid19 virus they along with worker reps and supervisors need proper training in hazard recognition and what measures should be in place to eliminate or control them to meet these to meet these requirements workplaces might consider the new worker center coved 19 training that offers a comprehensive look and how the virus can be transmitted in the workplace sources of exposure measures to eliminate exposure or control transmission and many other aspects of operating safely during this crisis check for other questions okay uh should should joint health and safety committees meet more often than once every three months as long as the kovid 19 crisis continues excellent question just as many have suggested enhanced inspection schedules uh throughout this covet 19 crisis workplaces might consider joint committee meetings more often more often is more often than once every three months again you might want to consider as well where social distancing is a concern you might want to host meetings virtually um workplaces will also uh want to consider additional time for worker health and safety reps to perform their functions during the coven 19 crisis all right again i i've noticed we've reached uh the 30 minutes uh so i'd just like to take this opportunity again to thank you for participating today uh and again hope that that you'll access this important resource that we've created this joint health and safety inspection tool that's on our website under the comed 19 resources and please share it widely and all the best when you return to your workplace and stay safe