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Safety in Numbers

Stefan Dubowski
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Developing a health and safety system? Make it a team effort!

Keri-Lynn Kasaboski doesn’t mind when you say she’s the health and safety supervisor at The Raywal Limited Partnership in Thornhill, Ont. — after all, that’s her title. But don’t go thinking it’s a “one woman” show when it comes to health and safety at the kitchen cabinetry company.

 “We try to get everyone to participate,” Kasaboski says. “I coordinate the policies, procedures and training ... but Raywal’s policy is for all managers, supervisors and workers to have a hand in health and safety. We try to make it a collaborative effort.”

Collaborative efforts are part and parcel of effective health and safety policies in well-run woodworking shops, according to industry and safety experts. Occupational health and safety (OHS) programs should enable companies to avoid workplace injuries, and deal with any accidents that do occur — and unless employees, managers and executives work together, there’s always the chance that safety will take a back seat to the drive for revenue.

 But safety and business imperatives certainly aren’t mutually exclusive. As those in the know will tell you, workplace injuries can be expensive — higher workers’ compensation insurance premiums, costs associated with training replacement workers, potential provincial and federal government fines, damage to reputation — it all adds up. Peter Gilmour, regional prevention manager for the interior and north region at WorkSafeBC, the workers’ compensation board of British Columbia, notes that the average workplace accident costs $60,000 when all is said and done.

An effective, comprehensive OHS program is one of the best ways of ensuring workplace safety. But whatshould these programs cover? And what are the best ways of running them? We asked around. According to the OHS managers and safety professionals we spoke with, it all comes down to a few key points: know where to get  information; make sure everyone’s involved; keep the program focused; and lead by example.

Know where to get info

Since workplace safety is regulated provincially, it’s a good idea to check in with your province’s labour ministry to make sure your company is up on the latest OHS regulations In Ontario, the Ministry of Labour’s website on health and safety (labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs) includes a link to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which outlines employers’ OHS obligations. The website also has links to workplace safety services such as the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA), a not-for-profit, member-driven organization in Ontario which offers training in health and safety fundamentals. By regulations, at least one worker and one management representative on a company’s joint health and safety committee (JHSC) must have this kind of training, the IAPA notes. (For more information about JHSCs, see “Best practices for joint health and safety committees”.)

Numerous safety professionals offer services to help companies design and implement OHS programs — but it isn’t always necessary to call for external help, says Alan Quilley, a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CSRP) and president of Safety Results Ltd. in Sherwood Park, Alta. He explains that many government and safe-work associations provide courses and templates that enable organizations to design their own OHS programs.

“There are times when you need some expertise,” he says. For instance, if you’re working with an exotic wood and an employee gets a reaction from it, you may have to call an occupational hygienist, a doctor, or a safety expert for a solution.”

And in certain cases it may be economically prudent to call on an expert to design the OHS program and get it off on the right foot. Of course, the costs of doing that would vary.

“If you’re working in Fort McMurray, it’s a really big number,” Quilley says, referencing the fact that health and safety are major issues in the oil sands area of Alberta. “But if you’re working in St. John’s, I’ll bet you’re talking less than $1,000 per day. An average small-company safety program isn’t going to take more than a few days to work through.”

Get everyone involved

But big numbers can play important roles in your OHS system: the more people involved, the more effective the program.

Zbigniew Miernik operates Miernik Woodworking Services (2002) Ltd. In Calgary. He says his team may be small — just four full-time employees — but 100 per cent of the staff are steeped in safety procedures. “Even when you’re sitting down for lunchtime or breaks, you can bring it up,” he says.

Part of the MWS culture, employees are encouraged to say something when they notice anything amiss in terms of occupational safety. “If you see something, right away you have to speak up,” says Mary Miernik, office manager, safety coordinator, and Zbigniew’s wife.

For larger companies, it can be more challenging to spread the safety word. At Raywal, which has about 100 employees spread across six offices, technology plays an important role.

“We started doing this when Bill 168 came into effect,” says Kasaboski, referencing new Ontario regulations requiring companies to have specific workplace harassment and violence prevention programs. “I set up a GoToMeeting.com session, and I do training over the web for our satellite offices.”

Stay focused

It may be important to include satellite offices in the safety program — but that certainly doesn’t mean the program should orbit all over the place. Companies need to focus on the fundamentals: identify hazards, do away with hazards where possible, and control the risks of the hazards.

Avoid “silly safety,” Quilley says. “Silly safety would be going over the top,” like insisting everyone in the woodworking shop should wear hardhats. “Why would you do that?”

Unnecessary safety causes employees to lose confidence in management: if wearing a hardhat is unnecessary, perhaps using the guards on machines isn’t necessary either. Employees “ball it all together,” Quilley says, recommending “appropriate safety. Make sure your employees are protected against the things that are there.”

Lead by example

Appropriate safety has as much to do with leadership as it does with developing OHS procedures and policies,Gilmour says. If a shop wants to instill a culture of safety, supervisors and managers have to get in on the act.

“I’ve seen situations where a supervisor will walk into a shop where everybody’s supposed to be wearing eye protection and the supervisor doesn’t, because he’s not operating a machine,” he says. “You have to lead by example. If safety glasses are required on the shop floor, then you should wear safety glasses, even though you’re just passing through.”

Everyone we interviewed says it’s crucial for management to be involved. The OHS system needs an executive stakeholder to give the program the clout it deserves.

At Miernik, it’s the top boss and office manager who oversee the system. At Raywal, the chief financial officer has the safety supervisor’s back.

"Having him on your side means a lot,” Kasaboski says, explaining that it’s an ideal combination: an executive stakeholder who understands the importance of safety, not only as it applies to employees, but also as it applies to the bottom line, and the ways in which superior safety measures help Raywal avoid incurring the costs of preventable accidents.

Best practices for joint health and safety committees:

According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), a joint health and safety committee (JHSC) brings together a company’s labour and management representatives regularly to deal with health and safety issues. The JHSC is a requirement under provincial laws, although the rules vary province by province. For example, in Ontario, companies with 20 or more employees would need to run a JHSC. In Newfoundland and Labrador, companies with 10 or more employees need JHSCs. Depending on the jurisdiction, the province may require smaller companies to operate JHSCs as well.

The CCOHS has a number of best practices for JHSC operation:

Ensure the purpose of the committee is clearly defined and keep it simple. If the group’s objective is too broad, it could confuse the participants, making it difficult for the organization to stay focused on the real safety issues at hand.

Be clear about who’s in charge. The committee should report to a senior officer — someone with the power to effect changes when the JHSC identifies hazards.

Meet regularly, otherwise the committee could lose momentum.

Operate by consensus. Avoid giving committee members veto power and participation by vote — these breed a “taking sides” approach that doesn’t necessarily serve safety.

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