OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY PROGRAM
A Health & Safety program is a plan of action designed to prevent injuries and occupational diseases.
Program Elements:
- Health and safety policy statement
- Assignment of roles and responsibilities
- Joint occupational health and safety committee
- Health and safety rules
- Safe work procedures
- Employee safety orientation and training
- Hazard assessment and control
- Reporting and investigating accidents/incidents
- Emergency preparedness
- Workplace specific items
Details:
- Health and safety policy statement
A statement of general rules that serves as a guide for action. It is management’s signed commitment to safety.
- Assignment of roles and responsibilities
Everyone in the organization must know his/her responsibilities, have authority to carry them out, and have the training to competently carry out his/her duties.
- Joint occupational health and safety committee
Employers with more than 20 employees are required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to establish and maintain a joint Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) committee. It is made up of an equal number of management and worker representatives working cooperatively to monitor and correct workplace safety issues.
- Health and safety rules
These rules identify expected behaviour of workers in specific situations. Rules should be in writing and posted in the workplace.
- Safe work procedures
These are guidelines for the safest way of doing a job and includes job instruction and monitoring performance.
- Employee safety orientation and training
Educating, orienting and training supervisors and workers in safe work practices raises awareness and skills levels which leads to a healthy and safe workplace.
- Hazard assessment and control
A process to identify hazards associated with a specific work project/process to be done or work regularly performed in the workplace. This is followed by development of control measures to reduce or eliminate the risk of injury/illness associated with the hazard.
Workplace inspections are part of hazard assessment and control. Inspections are used to identify existing hazards and recommend appropriate corrective actions. Those carrying out inspections should have knowledge of the OH&S regulations, knowledge of workplace hazards and experience with the work processes involved.
- Reporting and Investigating accidents/incidents
All serious accidents/incidents must be reported to Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board and investigated in accordance with company policies and procedures. They also have to be reported to OH&S. Investigations are done so that measures can be taken to prevent a recurrence of similar events.
- Emergency preparedness
These are plans for dealing with mergencies such as fires, explosions, major releases of hazardous materials, violent occurrences or natural hazards. The plan is designed to prevent or minimize fatalities, injuries and damage.
Emergency preparedness includes meeting First Aid requirements:
- First aid facilities and the provision of medical aid are required under OH&S regulations. A program includes the following information:
- location of first aid stations and medical facilities
- identification of first aid attendants
- procedures for transporting injured workers to outside medical facilities
- provision of first aid training
- Workplace specific items
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
- Lock out procedures
- Building and equipment maintenance
- Off-the-job safety
- Violence prevention programs
- Confined space
- Hearing test programs
- Contractor management
- Purchasing standards
Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board
