PowerPoint

Presentation for
Management of
Occupational Health
and Safety

Prepared by
Brad Keizerwaard

Copyright © 2021 by Nelson Education Ltd.

 Course Overview
• Course Syllabus is available on Blackboard
• Academic Integrity Quiz

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 Chapter 1

Introduction

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 What Is
Occupational Health and Safety?
• Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S)
– The identification, evaluation, and control of
hazards associated with the work environment
• Hazard
– Any source of potential adverse health effect,
damage, or harm on something or someone under
certain conditions at work
– Hazards include chemical, biological, physical, and
psychological agents

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 What Is
Occupational Health and Safety?
• Occupational Health & Safety Programs
Goal of OH&S Programs
• Reduce occupational injury and illness
Occupational Injury
• Any cut, fracture, sprain, or amputation resulting from
a workplace incident
Occupational Illness
• Any abnormal condition or disorder caused by exposure
to environmental factors associated with employment

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 Why we need OH&S
Rail Disaster at Lac-Mégantic
• In July 2013, railway cars filled
with crude oil derailed and
smashed into downtown Lac-
Mégantic.
• 47 people died and much of the
town was destroyed.
• The TSB found 18 different
contributing factors including
poor company safety culture and
unresolved mechanical issues
previously identified by Transport
Canada.

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 OH&S Statistics
• Workplace Fatalities, Injuries, and Illness in
Canada
– Around 1000–1100 workers die yearly as a result
of workplace incidents
– Interpretation of workplace fatality and injury data
should take into account how many people work
in each industry, region, and the reporting
requirements in each area

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OH&S Statistics

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 OH&S Statistics
• Lost-Time Injury
– A workplace injury that results in the employee
missing time from work

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OH&S Statistics

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 Historical Development of Modern
Occupational Health and Safety
• Began in Ancient Egypt
– Stonemasons and potters experienced respiratory
problems
• Industrial Revolution
– Advent of new industries and occupations
resulted in new health and safety-related
problems
• Brown lung disease caused by excessive inhalation of
dust

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 Historical Development of Modern
Occupational Health and Safety
• Changing Perspectives on Risk and Liability
– Until the early 20th century the prevailing model
for workplace hazards was the assumption of risk
• Belief that a worker accepted the risks of employment
when he or she accepted a job
• Associated is the view that injuries were caused by
accident-prone people

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 Historical Development of Modern
Occupational Health and Safety
• Changing Perspectives on Risk and Liability
– Accident proneness
• The notion that some individuals are inherently more
likely than others to be involved in accidents, as a result
of individual characteristics

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 Historical Development of Modern
Occupational Health and Safety
• Late 19th century
– Ontario legislation established safety standards
(machine guards).
• Early 20th century
– Canadian jurisdictions passed factory laws to
regulate heating, lighting, ventilation, hygiene, fire
safety, and accident reporting.

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 Historical Development of Modern
Occupational Health and Safety
• Royal Commission on Relations of Capital and
Labour in Canada (1889)
– Commissioners made several recommendations:
• Improving health and safety by establishing standards
and mandating regular inspections
• System for compensating victims of industrial
accidents, regardless of who was at fault
• Labour bureau to be created to oversee these activities

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 Historical Development of Modern
Occupational Health and Safety
• Royal Commission on the Health and Safety of
Workers in Mines
– In 1974, the three principal rights of workers first
articulated:
• Right to refuse dangerous work without penalty
• Right to participate in identifying and correcting health
and safety problems
• Right to know about hazards in the workplace

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 Historical Development of Modern
Occupational Health and Safety
• Workplace Hazardous Materials Information
System (WHMIS) legislation passed (1988; revised
in 2015)
– Reflects the fundamental right of workers to know
about potential workplace hazards
• Changes to the Criminal Code to allow for
criminal charges for some OH&S violations (2004)
• OH&S incorporates physical and mental health

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 Imperatives for Health and Safety
• Economic Considerations
– Work-related injury costs are direct and indirect
– Costs of workplace injuries estimated at 4% of the
world GDP
– Estimates of cost are likely underestimated:
• Injuries are not accurately reported
• Statistics do not adequately capture illnesses caused or
exacerbated by exposure to workplace conditions

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 Imperatives for Health and Safety
• Legal Considerations
– OH&S acts provide legal rights to safe workplaces
for every worker
– Due diligence:
• Expected standard of conduct that requires employers
to take every reasonable precaution to ensure safety

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 Imperatives for Health and Safety
• Moral Considerations
– Ethical arguments that safety is the “right” focus
for employers
– Workers have a responsibility to learn about and
enact safety and health practices
– Management commitment to health and safety
results in higher levels of employee motivation to
work safely and better organizational safety
records

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The Stakeholders

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 The Stakeholders
• Government
– Legislation
• Occupational Health & Safety Acts
• Workers’ Compensation Acts
– Support Knowledge Sharing and Research on
OH&S
• E.g., Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and
Safety (CCOHS) was established by federal government
to provide health and safety information to any worker
who requests it

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 The Stakeholders
• Employers
– Prepare written OH&S policy and display
prominently in workplace
– Provide and maintain equipment, materials, and
protective devices
– Ensure manner in which the work is performed is
safe, and environment is free from hazards and
serious risks

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 The Stakeholders
• Employees
– Perform duties and tasks in safe and responsible
manner
– Wear protective equipment in compliance with
company and legislative regulations
– Report defective equipment and other workplace
hazards to safety professional, joint health and
safety committee, or manager

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 The Stakeholders
• Organized Labour (or Unions)
– Take part in the joint occupational health and
safety committee
– Bring emerging problems and issues in health and
safety to attention of government and employers
– Pressure other stakeholders to take corrective
action
– Use collective bargaining process to incorporate
health and safety provisions in many contracts

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 Internal Responsibility System
• Backbone of Canadian OH&S legislation
• Internal responsibility system (IRS)
– The system of shared responsibility for health and
safety that is the basis for most Canadian OH&S
legislation
• Primary responsibility rests with workplace
and not government regulators

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 Barriers
• Employers who value production over safety
• Employers who focus on safety only when
they feel they must
– E.g., cleaning up the worksite only when there is
safety inspection
• Employers may be uninformed or lack
confidence about safety concerns

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 Partnerships
• Alliances among stakeholders can help overcome
barriers to OH&S programs
– Emphasis of shared goals can facilitate partnerships
• Parties within a workplace can form effective
OH&S partnerships
– E.g., employer, employees, and union
• Broader groups of stakeholders can also partner
to promote OH&S
– E.g., workers’ compensation boards and industry
safety associations

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 Occupational Health and Safety
Professionals
• Broad array of backgrounds can develop careers in the
OH&S field
– E.g., industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, workplace
wellness promotion, OH&S training
• Safety certifications, such as CRSP®, help companies
identify individuals with relevant OH&S training
• Companies may employ a range of OH&S professionals
or may delegate OH&S responsibilities to an HR
generalist and contract out specialized OH&S services
to third parties

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 Occupational Health & Safety
Professionals
• Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (CRSP®)
are recognized experts
• Many organizations require individuals in the
field to hold this designation
• CRSPs have training in:
– Hazard identification and analysis
– Incident severity evaluation
– Development and communication of hazard control
policies

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 The Role of Human Resources
• Traditional views of safety emphasized the
three Es:
– Engineering
– Education
– Enforcement
• Three Es do not provide a total solution
• Focusing on people side of safety is likely to
result in a safer workplace

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 The Role of Human Resources
• Safety is often managed under the human
resources function in organizations for several
reasons:
– Safety is integrated into other human resource
functions
• E.g., training , job design, scheduling
– Safety requires legislative compliance
– Safety decreases costs

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