as haring best practices

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Best Practices BranchPrevention Division

in workplace

health &

safety

Sharing

best practicesin workplacehealth &safety

Sharing

best practices

June 1999


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5033A (10/01)


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Sharing best practices in workplace health and safety is the theme of this

workbook. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has

prepared this workbook to achieve three goals.

commitment of top management to excellence in health

and safety performance. The trunk of the tree what holds

everything else up is a system for managing health and

safety for setting goals and making sure that everyone

knows their responsibilities and is accountable for them.The branches of the tree are the functions that ensure

employee participation and effective communications and

training, and that recognise and motivate good health and

safety performance. The leaves are the activities performed

in the workplace to anticipate, recognise, assess and

control health and safety hazards, and to manage disability

if injury and illness do occur.

When all these elements are in place and functioning

well, a workplace will be successful in creating safe and

healthy tasks, workplaces and behaviours. And the tree

will bear fruitfruit that includes healthy and safe

workers, good employee morale, lower costs, and asuccessful business.

We want your feedback on both the vision and those

elements of the health and safety program that your

experience shows are critical to effective and continuously

improving health and safety performance.

Companies who have benchmarked their health and

safety programs have consistently identified many of these

elements identified on the prevention tree as essential to

the implementation of their health and safety system. The

workbook can help you benchmark your own health and

safety processes or participate in a benchmarking initiative

with other firms. If interested, you may participate in thisinitiative by working with partner organisations to

benchmark the practices of members' workplaces.

Benchmarking will help guide us toward those activities

that deserve to be considered best practices. We will

compile benchmarks into a database available to all Ontario

employers and workers.

The Best Practices Branch, Prevention Division, of the

WSIB can help benchmarking groups get started. See back

page for details on how to contact us.

Goal 1) Learning from the best

We want to learn about companies recognised as leaders in

health and safety. This will help us gain a clearer and more

complete understanding of how leaders have achieved

success in preventing injuries and illness. We want to

know why leaders take action and "walk the talk". Our aimis to ensure that this knowledge is shared with all workers

and employers (the "workplace parties") so that others can

learn successful prevention strategies.

Goal 2) Communicating anddisseminating best practices

We also want to share our work-in-progress and our

approach to benchmarking and best practices.

Benchmarking can be described as

the search for successful occupational health and

safety practices so that workplaces may identify

opportunities for improving their organisation's

performance.

One thing we have learned from those who have used

benchmarking techniques is that it helps to have a

framework to classify the types of practices that you are

interested in. Based on our review of the literature and our

talks with workplace representatives, we have proposed a

framework that is based on the analogy of a tree.

The prevention tree represents our current vision of a

good workplace health and safety program. Using the

analogy of the tree, we can describe the essential elements

of a health and safety program. A tree may have manyleaves but it will not thrive unless it has a healthy root

system, trunk and branches. The roots of a successful

program are leadership and commitment by top

management in the workplace, and workplace culture and

values that reinforce health and safety in all operations. At

the base of the tree is a health and safety policy, which lays

the foundation for the program by expressing the

in workplace

health & safety

sharingbest practices

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Thanks!

We want to thank you for your participation. By sharing best practices in health and safety we

can build towards the development of a model of a successful health and safety program and

a set of leading indicators of workplace health and safety. This model will ultimately be the

framework for our best practices programs, our research and development, as well as a practi-

cal guide that we can share with Ontarios workplace parties.

A word about best practices

This workbook describes a variety of practices that some

workplaces have used successfully. That doesn't mean that

they will work in all situations, or that they are the only

way to achieve success. By searching for best practices

we are trying to come up with a menu of approaches that

may work for some firms. One thing we have learned,

however, is that a best practice is not a magic bullet.

Any practice can only be successful when it is appropriate

to the situation and implemented with commitment.

Goal 3) Giving you an information tool

Although the ideas we share in this workbook will also

continuously improve as a result of feedback from lead-

ing workplaces, we have designed the workbook to be

used by any workplace for stimulating thought about

health and safety programs and processes. The workbook

can also be used to gather information from other work-

places on processes that you are interested in and to help

you think about your own programs and processes.

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Some initial questions about your workplace health & safety program

If you have undertaken a program to improve health and safety in your firm within the last 10 years, whatwere the best things you did? Which are the most important for firms just starting to improve their health andsafety program?

Which of the above elements do you think are most responsible for your firm's success? Which do you thinkyour firm particularly excelled at?

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Health and Safety Program Elements Workbook Pages

Health and Safety Policy.......................................................................................................................6-7

Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems ...........................................................................8-11

Hazard Anticipation, Recognition, and Assessment ...............................................................................12-15

Investigation and Reporting ..............................................................................................................16-19

Employee Participation .....................................................................................................................20-23

Hazard Control ...............................................................................................................................24-25

Contractor Safety.............................................................................................................................26-27

Training ..........................................................................................................................................28-31

Communication About Safety.............................................................................................................32-35

Recognition and Motivation ...............................................................................................................36-37

Measurements for Health and Safety Systems..........................................................................................38

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HealthandSafety

Policy

The development and implementation of a written health and safety policy is thenecessary foundation for an effective health and safety program. A health and safetypolicy is communicated to all employees in the organization to help themunderstand senior managements commitment to health and safety and enlist theirco-operation and participation

6

About your firm Do you have a written health and safety policy? Yes No

Who has signed the policy? Position___________________________________________________

How frequently is the policy re-issued (changing date, circulating, with or without change of content)?

Did input to the policy document came directly from:

Board level President/VP level

Middle management level Union or worker representatives

Outside sources, e.g. model policies, trade groups

How is the policy communicated to employees and first line supervision?

When was the health and safety policy last revised/updated?

What are the major goals and objectives identified in the policy?

Examples of Health and Safety Policy Practices The health and safety of workers is a company

priority and is written into the policy statement

The purpose and intent of the safety program isclearly defined in the policy

The company health and safety policy iscommunicated to all employees and is writtenclearly so it can be understood by all employees

The policy clarifies the health and safetyresponsibility and accountability of managementand staff

Employees have an opportunity to discuss thepolicy and ask questions. Employees can provide

valuable feedback about the written policy Reinforcing employees understanding of the

policy occurs when employees observe managers,supervisors and co-workers setting examples toensure that the workplace is safe and hazard free.

Your Reaction

Have you used or tried any of the above practices? Yes No

If yes, which ones did you find effective and why?


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Continuous improvement

How would you rate your firms health and safety policy?

Do not have a policy Needs improvement Satisfactory A model program

To what do you attribute the success of your health and safety policy?

I would be willing to share the specifics of my company practices in this area.See back page for details on how to contact us.

What would you tell others are the benefits of implementing a health and safety policy?

How much does your health and safety policy contribute to your overall health and safety performance?

Have you evaluated your firms health and safety policy? Yes No

If yes, what indicators or measures did you use? What were the results of the evaluation?

How did you use the results?

Please share an example or two of specific actions or events in your firms development or implementation

of health and safety policy.

If you were looking for a company your

own firm could learn from, what

companies do you think of as having an

exemplary health and safety policy?

Hea

lthan

dSa

fety

Po

licy

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8Occupation

alHealthandSafetyM

anagemen

tSystem

Health and safety goals and supporting objectivesare communicated company-wide and are signedoff and endorsed by the company Chief ExecutiveOfficer and labour representatives.

Health and safety objectives are based on arecent, comprehensive program evaluation, riskassessments, and hazard identification. Objectivesare measurable and are understood by those whoare to accomplish them

The health and safety responsibility andaccountability of management and staff is clarifiedin the health and safety policy.

Someone at the most senior management level isresponsible for health and safety and ensures thatthe management system is properly implementedat all levels of the company. Senior management

allocates sufficient resources to provide a safe andhealthy work environment and assigns sufficientauthority to those who maintain it.

Health safety is on the agenda of all seniormanagement meetings.

Work teams draw up their own health and safetyprogram and report progress to the health andsafety committee.

Operations staff are process owners, responsiblefor maintaining a list of hazards and risks in allparts of the process. Staff are required to keepeveryone updated.

The company provides expert advisors to helpstaff and supervisors identify hazards and controlmeasures.

Health and safety requirements for each job arewritten out and shared with employees. The safepractices and safe conditions specifically related toeach job are documented, and provided to eachemployee. Depending on the job type, theinformation may include descriptions of properattire, personal protective equipment and its use,safe work practices, controls related to hazardousmaterials and physical hazards. The employee andmanager sign the document. The document isreviewed if changes to the job are made or anincident occurs.

Responsibility for record keeping anddocumentation necessary to support the programis assigned.

All planned and unplanned facility, equipment,

process and procedure changes are accompaniedby review of health and safety systems.

Health and safety evaluations are used to rate jobperformance. Outcome of evaluations affect payand/or promotion or disciplinary actions.

A good health and safety management system is as important as good technicalsafety and industrial hygiene knowledge and skills. The concept of a managementsystem is not new. This concept has been integral in many organizations efforts toachieve total quality in products and services.

Other sections of this workbook present activities to reduce hazards, prevent injury and illness, and communicate.

Improvements in workplace health and safety should result from implementing programs in these areas. However,

an occupational health and safety management system is needed to ensure that they do: that good intentions and

earnest efforts really do achieve prevention in the workplace. Without a management system in place, a workplace

may fail to notice that compliance with a procedure declines after the novelty wears off, or that one departments

procedure is not quite practical because it overlooks the needs of a related department.

Implementation of a health and safety management system ensures that the intended prevention activities as setout on the prevention tree are carried out and that they achieve the intended benefits by:

definition of measurable goals and assignment of responsibility for goals to people who will be accountable

for achieving them.

Performing evaluations and audits, to maintain standards and achieve continuous improvement.

Examples of Occupational Health and Safety Management System Practices insetting goals and ensuring accountability


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9 Occupation

alHea

lthan

dSa

fetyM

anagemen

tSystem

Your Reaction



The supervisor continuously monitors to ensuregood housekeeping practices, proper taskprocedure, adequate staff assigned to riskyprocedures, and that all areas, equipment, andtools are maintained for healthy operations.Where a malfunction, near-miss, or accident hasoccurred, the supervisor seeks to determine whatmay have been overlooked in establishedprocedure or monitoring, and makes appropriate

revisions. Retrospective performance measures include

injuries, diseases, other absence, reports ofdiscomfort, near-misses, product quality rates.Prospective performance indicators includeobservation of working environment and workmethods, verification of permits to work,condition of emergency equipment and medicalfacilities, etc.

Hazard control is analysed by examining historyof work orders generated from audits, inspections,health and safety consultations, investigations,

and safety committee reports.

A reliable safety management audit process withclear measurable objectives is established. Bothqualitative and quantitative goals may beincluded. Goals are tailored to the needs of theorganisation. Audits are performed by competentauditors who are as independent as possible fromthe activity being audited. Audits areimplemented at the departmental and company-wide levels, and include both scheduled and

unannounced audits.An observational sampling program is used.

Targets are objectively measurable and clearlycommunicated, and all training and equipmentrequired to meet targets is supplied. The samplingprogram includes observations by employees andfeedback is given to employees.

Sample practices in monitoring goal achievement


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10Occupation

alHealthandSafetyM

anagemen

tSystem


How would you rate your firms health and safety management system?

No activity Needs improvement Satisfactory A model program

To what do you attribute the success of your health and safety management system?

I would be willing to share the specifics of my company practices in this area.

For details on how to contact us see back page.What would you tell others are the benefits of implementing a health and safety management system?

How much does your health and safety management system contribute to your overall health and safety

performance?

About your firm Do you use a management systems audit to monitor how you are managing health and safety ?

Yes No

If yes, what elements do you include in the audit?


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Have you evaluated your firms health and safety management system? Yes No



Please share an example or two of specific actions or events in your firms development or implementationof your health and safety management system.

If you were looking for a company your own firm could learn from, what companies do you think of as

having an exemplary health and safety management system?

Occupation

alHea

lthan

dSa

fetyM

anagemen

tSystem

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HazardAn

ticipation,

Recognitio

nandAss

essment

About your firm How are hazards detected in your firm? Please list the five most common ways hazards are detected.

(Most common =1)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

How often are work areas inspected in your firm, by whom, how formally?

Who inspects, what area?

Frequency of the inspection Written record kept Action items identified

When management and your union/worker representatives jointly perform inspection and hazard

recognition or inspection practices:

Are inspection reports completed? Yes No

If yes, are they reviewed by management? Yes No

What is the process when someone recognises a hazard?

What is the time-frame for corrective action?

Inspections and audits are important components of hazard anticipation, recognitionand assessment activities.

Senior line managers participate in corporatehealth and safety audits.

In response to internal audit results, a safetyaction plan is developed and is approved by seniormanagement. Safety action teams, continuousimprovement teams, and joint health and safety

teams implement the plan. Frequent audits (random and scheduled) are

conducted by workers, managers and safetyprofessionals. Audit findings are used for hazardidentification and risk analysis and eliminatingsources of risk of injury/illness.

Audit criteria Include observable items for which there areregulations. Include factors identified in past accidents andillnesses.Are explicit and unambiguous.Are phrased in positive form.

Include both conditions and practices.Audit performance scores are reported to theworkforce. Each department strives to improve its ownperformance scores.

The workplace (or portions thereof) are inspectedevery month by members of the joint health andsafety committee. Staff are asked for concerns andrecommendations on job safety.

Systematic self-assessments are linked to overallrequirements and expectations.

Supervisors and middle managers are expected tocontinuously inspect and make immediateremedy to restore the safety level designed intothe operations. As a result, inspections andaccident investigations should find no hazardousconditions or practices that a supervisor couldhave remedied.

Through regular audits, inspection and hazardrecognition, all employees know thatidentification of hazardous conditions isacceptable and encouraged, and feel empoweredto take initiative when hazards arise.

Examples of Hazard Inspection and Recognition Practices

Your Reaction



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13 HazardAn

ticipation,

Recognitio

nan

dAss

essment Do you use a formal audit system?

No Proprietary system _____________________ Developed our own

How often is a full or partial audit performed?

How often is the same part of the firm re-audited?

On your inspections, do you audit/observe:

behaviours/practices

conditions

both

Where there are sub-contractors involved on the site, is there a requirement for them to conduct formal

inspections of their areas of responsibility? Yes No

If yes, a) how often? ______________________

b) how do they show that they meet the requirement? (produce minutes etc.)

c) or does the companys own committee inspect contractors work areas?


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14HazardAn

ticipation,

Recognitio

nandAss

essment Continuous improvement

How would you rate your firms inspection and hazard recognition?


To what do you attribute the success in hazard recognition?


See back page for further details on how to contact us.

What would you tell others are the benefits of inspection and hazard recognition?

How much does your inspection and hazard recognition contribute to your overall health and safety

performance?


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Have you undertaken to evaluate how your firm inspects and recognizes hazards? Yes No



Please share an example or two of specific actions or events in your firms inspection and hazard

recognition.


having an exemplary health and safety inspection and hazard recognition program?

HazardAn

ticipation,

Recognitio

nan

dAss

essment

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Inv

estigation

andReporting

About your firmWhat is the minimum injury or disease severity for which your firm requires a written accident report

form?

What is the source of your firms accident report form?

WSIB Form 7 Safe Workplace Association model form

Proprietary system _________________ Company developed system

Does your firm investigate reported accidents? Who does the investigation? When?

How severe does an accident have to be to warrant an investigation? Please give an example.

Which of the following non-critical events would you investigate?

paper cut eyestrain nausea clothing torn on doorknob back pain

How much time is required to completely report an injury, from the moment of injury to the conclusion of

first aid and all the paperwork (excluding any meetings on following dates, or medical appointments off-site)?

What percentage of your firms total reportable injuries would you say are actually reported? ______%

Do you report or investigate illnesses/diseases differently from injuries? If so, how?

Investigation of accidents and near-misses can capture data on hazards andoversights in safety management.

Examples of Investigation and Reporting PracticesA near miss reporting system is established. Staff

report near-miss accidents and are asked toprovide recommendations for avoiding repetitionwith full consequences.

Supervisors investigate near misses andrecommend ways of preventing similaroccurrences.

Detailed injury questionnaires are administered.

Recording of accidents is used to build up anaccident performance profile.

Careful record keeping and detailed analysis ofhealth and safety data is maintained.

Investigations refrain from inferring any causalmechanisms beyond available evidence.

Your Reaction



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Inv

estigation

an

dReporting

What are the roles of the following in reporting injuries/diseases? Write/add Provide information Review/see Approve/amend

Injured worker

Supervisor

Union or worker representative

Middle management

Executive management

Safety specialist

Witness(s)

Nurse/doctor

Under your firms policies, are near-miss (no injury, no illness) events:Always required to be reported. Yes No

Reportable under certain conditions, e.g. potential severity of outcome (describe conditions).

Reportable during periodic campaigns.

How closely does actual practice follow policy for near-miss reporting?

What information about accidental injury, occupational diseases, and near-misses is communicated to the

Board/President/VP level in your firm? Please mention regularly scheduled reports and any events which

would be required to be reported to them immediately.

Do you use a standardized approach to accident investigation?

No, other than common sense

Company developed system

Proprietary system _____________

How do you determine when an investigation is done and you have determined the cause? What signs

indicate that you have enough information and do not need more?

What standards are used against which to assess information collected?

Do you determine preventive measures based on an accident investigation, and if so, how?

Do you follow through on findings from investigations? If so, how?


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Inv

estigation

andReporting


How would you rate your firms reporting and investigation?


To what do you attribute your success in reporting and investigation?


For further details on how to contact us see back page.

What would you tell others are the benefits of investigation and reporting of injuries?

How much does your reporting and investigation contribute to your overall health and safetyperformance?


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Have you evaluated how your firm reports and investigates injuries and near-misses?

Yes No If yes, what indicators or measures did you use?

What were the results of the evaluation?


Please share an example or two of specific actions or events in your firms reporting and investigation.


having an exemplary investigation and reporting program?

Inv

estigation

an

dReporting

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Employ

eeParticipation

About your firm How does your firm involve employees in the development and implementation of your health and safety

program?

What role do employees play and what authority do they have? For example:

Suggest needs

Review proposals

Approve purchases

Develop materials

Deliver programs

Monitor performance

Which types of health and safety-related decisions or actions can not proceed without employee

involvement? Please give a couple of examples of this.

People work more safely when they participate in decision-making processes. Thismeans that employees are given the opportunity to communicate their thoughts tomanagement and receive feedback.

Examples of Employee Participation Practices Employees have an active role in management of

health and safety through on site health andsafety committees with representatives fromlabour and management working co-operatively

to plan and implement safety activities. Employees are provided with a forum to discuss

safety concerns and report unsafe workconditions.

Employees participate in five minute pre-shiftsafety talks.

Confidential surveys of safety climate areadministered by a qualified analyst and results arereported and interpreted to management;management remedies sources of perceived risk.

Staff play a key role in the development andimplementation of health and safety programs.

Safety is a key focus of discussion at all periodicstaff meetings.

Work teams draw up their own health and safetyprogram and report progress to the health andsafety committee.

Employee task forces are used to analyse specialhealth and safety problems.

Employee and contractor representatives meet todiscuss health and safety issues. Key issues are

identified and solutions are developed. The resultsare then shared with the company. Plant teamsare developed to study and review commonissued raised by the joint committee and thenmodified to meet their own health and safetyneeds.

Employees meet with staff from award winningcompanies to discuss and learn more aboutexcellent health and safety practices. Employeesare required to return and share and makerecommendations for change based on newinformation acquired.

An information technology system isimplemented to enable employees to raise healthand safety questions/concerns to management.Management is required to respond to allquestions.

Your Reaction



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Emp

loy

eeParticipation

JOINT HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEES

The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act provides that almost every workplace will have employee

involvement through the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) or health and safety representative.

What role does the JHSC or health and safety representative play in your firm in addition to their legal

requirements: inspections, investigations, and recommendations.

What do you believe makes employees feel comfortable enough to participate honestly and openly in your

firm?

What resources are available to employees to help them participate in the health and safety program?

What are the top three benefits you see as a result of employee involvement in health and safety?

1.

2.

3.

Provide some examples.


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Employ

eeParticipation


How would you rate your firms employee involvement in health and safety?


To what do you attribute your success in employee involvement in health and safety??



What would you tell others are the benefits of employee involvement in the health and safety program?

How much does your employee involvement contribute to your overall health and safety performance?


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Have you evaluated how employees in your firm are involved in your health and safety efforts?

Yes No

If yes, what indicators or measures did you use?

What were the results of the evaluation?


Please share an example or two of specific actions or events in your firms employee involvement in health

and safety.


having exemplary employee involvement?

Emp

loy

eeParticipation

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24

HazardC

ontrol

About your firmWhat proportion of work tasks in your company have had a job safety analysis, ergonomic assessment,

and/or risk assessment conducted that identifies potential risks of the job and resulted in risk reduction

measures and/or documents the administrative controls for minimising those risks?

What percentage of the time does your firm obtain and act on health and safety design reviews (e.g.

ergonomics, job safety analysis) by experts or internal committees at the following process stages?Committee review (%) Expert advice (%) Acton (%)

Facility planning (pre-design).............................................................______ ______ ______

Facility detail design development .....................................................______ ______ ______

Facility detail design approval............................................................______ ______ ______

Facility renovation design development.............................................______ ______ ______

Facility renovation design approval....................................................______ ______ ______

Equipment purchaseneeds assessment and criteria development.....______ ______ ______

Equipment purchaseselection / purchase order...............................______ ______ ______

Equipment purchasemodify task procedures for new equipment.....______ ______ ______Prevent recurrence after injury..........................................................______ ______ ______

Prevent recurrence after multiple injuries..........................................______ ______ ______

Employee health and safety concern..................................................______ ______ ______

other..................................................................................................______ ______ ______What are the qualifications of the people who perform job safety analyses in your firm?

What are the qualifications of the people who perform ergonomic assessments in your firm?

What sources do you consult for design assessments to determine if jobs are within acceptable limits:Health and safety regulations _________________________________________________________________________Ergonomic guidelines _______________________________________________________________________________Reference materials (e.g. texts, handbooks) ______________________________________________________________Foreign source ergonomic regulations and guidelines_______________________________________________________

Other ___________________________________________________________________________________________

The company implements systematic job safetyanalysis. Once an analysis is complete, jobprocedures can be written or revised to removehazards and reflect the way the job will beperformed.

Ergonomics is included in the engineering design

An ergonomic analysis of each job is undertakenand a database is maintained. Based on the resultsof the analysis the company implementsrecommended ergonomic changes to reduce riskof biomechanical injury and human error.

Control measures are implemented for all jobs

where ergonomic risk has been determined.

Prior to the introduction of new operations orprocess changes, process and ergonomic riskfactors are evaluated and corrections are made ifthe risk level is unacceptable.

Safety committees review renovation andconstruction plans and safety equipmentpurchases to foresee health and safetyimplications and intercept any decisions likely toresult in unacceptable risks. Reviews considereffects in the immediate work unit andimplications for other units.

Examples of Safe Job Design Practices

Your Reaction



The first opportunity for prevention and/or control of a potential hazard is at the design

stage of the facility, equipment or process. Job safety analysis identifies ways in whichprocesses may deviate from normal and result in harm, and ways in which this is

prevented. Ergonomics incorporates knowledge of human capabilities and limitations toidentify risks of musculoskeletal injury and human error. Risk assessment evaluates

probabilities of hazard states, size of exposed population, and consequences, todetermine the need for risk reduction measures.


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Continuous improvement How would you rate your firms safety planning and design?


To what do you attribute the success in safety planning and design?


For further details on how to contact us see back page.What would you tell others are the benefits of safety planning and design activities?

How much does your safety planning and design contribute to your overall health and safety performance?

Have you evaluated your firms health and safety policy? Yes NoIf yes, what indicators or measures did you use? What were the results of the evaluation?



of safety planning and design.

If you were looking for a company your own firm could

learn from, what companies do you think of as having

an exemplary safety planning and design activities

program?

HazardC

ontro

l

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Contractor

Safety

About your firm Do you have a program related to contractor safety? Yes No

How do the requirement(s) apply?

Please check as many as applicable.

Contractor selection

Onsite work practices

Offsite work practices

Termination of work as penalty

Payment withheld as penalty

What requirements are imposed on contractors?

How do you verify compliance with each of those requirements? Who does it?

How do you acquaint contractors with your requirements?

What consequences have you actually imposed for failure to comply with your requirements?

Contractor safety is an integrated element of good health and safety programs.

A contractor safety program defines expectedsafety performance by detailing how contractorsare to be selected, trained, and educated toensure safety performance is at expectedcompany standards.

Bid pre-qualification and selection process

includes a review of the contractors injury datafor several years and submission of a writtenhealth and safety plan. Pre-qualified contractorsare required to have good safety performance as acontract condition.

Contractors are given site safety manuals, subjectto the same rules as other employees. Theyparticipate in safety committees and in accidentinvestigation teams.

Contractors must complete health and safetyorientation before they are allowed to perform

work on the site. Safety evaluations are conducted at the

completion of the project.

The contractor is subject to inspections andrequired to attend safety meetings.

Examples of Contractor Safety Practices

Your Reaction



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How would you rate your firms program for contractor safety?


To what do you attribute the success in contractor health and safety?



What would you tell others are the benefits of implementing a contractor health and safety program?

How much does your contractor health and safety program contribute to your overall health and safety

performance?

Have you evaluated your firms contractor health and safety program? Yes No



Please share an example or two of specific actions or events in your firms development or implementationof contractor safety.


having an exemplary contractor health and safety program?

Contractor

Sa

fety


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Training

About your firm Do you have a written health and safety training program? Yes No

training topic/issue

who delivers

who receives

delivery method

How soon after hire or reassignment do employees receive general health and safety training?

As soon as possible Specific limit ___________ Before permitted to work

How soon after hire or reassignment do employees receive task-specific health and safety training?


How soon after installation of new equipment do employees receive training in safe operation?


Where do you obtain the instructional material to use in health and safety training programs?

Who develops task specific and new equipment training?

Training has a direct influence on developing and molding the safety knowledge,skills, and attitudes that all employees need to prevent injuries and illness.

New employees receive introduction andorientation training. This introduction trainingincludes orientation to the health and safetypolicy manual. New employees receive a one dayorientation session to the company safety programand spend time with a mentor in order to

perform the job safely and correctly. Newemployees continue to train until thetrainer/mentor is satisfied that the new employeecan work alone.

Specific health and safety training is given tosupervisors on legislative responsibilities, how toconduct periodic safety audits, identification ofhazards, and how to respond to safety problems.

All employees receive mandatory safety trainingand are provided with retraining on a regularbasis. Training courses are offered on-site.

Training in work techniques for quality and

productivity includes safe work practices.A training database that tracks training and re-

training for all employees is maintained.

Supervisors and Joint Health and SafetyCommittee (JHSC) representatives are providedwith specialised training. JHSC representativesundertake the same in-house training provided toall management.

Safety training is direct and relevant and has

application for real work settings. For example,training utilises video re-enactments of incidentsstarring the employee involved and the groupteam leader. The safety team makes a video-tapeafter the incident investigation. The actors re-enact the incident to describe what happened.Root causes of the incident and suggested waysthat the incident could have been avoided arediscussed in training. Corrective action is takenand shared amongst the employees.

Training effectiveness is measured throughimprovement in quality and operationalperformance, as well as comprehension andapplication of predefined learning goals.

Examples of Training Practices

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Training

Is on-the-job training conducted to help ensure that workers perform all tasks safely and without risk to

their health?

What are the top three messages in your health and safety training programs?

1.

2.

3.

If nothing has changed in an employees equipment or job duties, how often on average does he or shereceive health and safety training after initial hire?

Please describe a few typical health and safety training programs including the topic, presenter, and

delivery method (movies, discussions, demonstrations, buddy-system, etc.) Which are the most effective?

Which does training include:?

company policies and procedures

specific job hazards

safety precautions

health precautions

job responsibilities

regulatory requirements

company enforcement policy

worker right to know

worker right to refuse unsafe work

What type of evaluation do you use to check the achievement of the learners and the effectiveness of the

programs?

What do you think are the most important elements of your health and safety training program?

Other topics?


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30

Training


How would you rate your firms health and safety training program?


To what do you attribute the success of your health and safety training?


For details on how to contact us see back page.

What would you tell others are the benefits of implementing a health and safety policy?

How much does your health and safety training contribute to your overall health and safety performance?


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Have you evaluated your firms health and safety training program? Yes No



Please share an example or two of specific actions or events in your firms development or implementationof health and safety training.


having exemplary health and safety training?

Training

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Com

municatio

nAboutS

afety

About your firmWhat is the most important health and safety message that top management communicates to employees?

Why?

How are health and safety messages developed?

What is the most frequently communicated health and safety message from top management to

employees?

What is the most important health and safety message employees communicate to top management?

What is the most frequently communicated health and safety message from employees to top

management?

Communications is a critical function in achieving the organizations health andsafety goals and objectives, and cascading the health and safety message throughoutthe organization.

The CEO communicates expectations for healthand safety performance throughout the company.

The companys health and safety goals, objectivesand expectations are communicated to all

employees through the use of newsletters,orientation sessions, and other measures such as:

monthly safety meetings

monthly safety themes set out in thecompany calendar

Corporate annual report

E-mail bulletins on safety incidents

Updating of daily notice boards to spreadhealth and safety information.

Posting results of inspections, surveys, andaudits on bulletin boards.

Safety teams are used to ensure that all levels

within the organization can communicateregularly on safety issues. Communication effortsare integrated with the safety department,engineering, and training.

Top management/executives ask questions abouthealth and safety when visiting shop floor areas.Preparation of relevant questions in advance ofthe visit enables non-technical managers to showinterest and support of health and safety workingconditions.

A safety communication program is developed toheighten awareness among employees.Campaigns are developed and include recognitionof individuals, groups or departments withoutstanding safety performance. Symbols andslogans are used to build a communicationscampaign. For example, the plant safety slogan islocated on the front entrance of the building, inmeeting rooms, calendars, and pay chequestuffers.

The company allocates a special room where

employees find current information about thecompanys health and safety goals, accidentstatistics, etc.

Examples of Communication Practices

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Com

municatio

nAbout

Sa

fety

For what health and safety messages would you use each of the following forms of communication?

Meetings/discussions ______________________________________________________________

Lectures/presentations _____________________________________________________________

Posters/signs/displays______________________________________________________________

Email/payroll stuffers ______________________________________________________________

Posted memos and reports __________________________________________________________

Communicate through managers _____________________________________________________

Peer communication_______________________________________________________________

Other___________________________________________________________________________

How do employees communicate health and safety concerns to senior management?

How often does the average employee have this opportunity?

How does the organization respond to employee concerns? (By whom, what response time standard?)

How is an employee notified of the outcome of his/her concern?

What role do slogans and campaign-type communication play in the success of your health and safetyprogram?


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Com

municatio

nAboutS

afety


How would you rate your firms health and safety communications?


To what do you attribute the success of your health and safety communications?


For details on how to contact us see back page.

What would you tell others are the benefits of communications health and safety throughout the

organization?

How much does your health and safety communication contribute to your overall health and safety

performance?


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Have you evaluated your firms health and safety communication program? Yes No




of health and safety communication.


having an exemplary health and safety communications?

Com

municatio

nAbout

Sa

fety

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Recognition

andMotivation

About your firm Do you use incentives, recognition, and awards in your health and safety program?

When do you use negative consequences?

For what violations or failures?

What is a typical penalty for this violation?

When do you use positive rewards?

For what achievements?

What is a typical reward for this achievement?

Who might receive a reward or penalty?

The worker

A specialist such as safety specialist, nurse, or designer

A whole work team, department, etc.

The whole staff of the facility

The workers supervisor

How are recognition awards determined?

on a periodic schedule when a good thing occurs both

Does the rest of the organization know when a reward/penalty has been given? How?

Who actually administers a penalty?

Who actually delivers a reward?

Do departments compete for rewards?

Yes No If yes, what measurement is used to tally their scores?

Recognition can be used to enhance management commitment, improve attitudesand motivation, and sustain desired performance

Pay increases and bonuses are related to theemployees health and safety performance.

Contractors are eligible to win safety prizes.

Awards are given for safe and healthy workingconditions and practices, not merely avoidance oflost time claims.

To encourage employee participation in decision-making, staff are encouraged to make suggestionsfor improvements in health and safety by enteringsuggestion/ideas for continuous improvement.Each suggestion is eligible to win a prize at the

end of the contest period. For example, a name israndomly selected and the winner receives a giftcertificate or a periodic luncheon is held foreveryone who puts in a suggestion, or an annualprize is awarded for the most innovativesuggestion. Management is required to explore

the merits/benefits of the suggestions made bystaff.

Employee bonuses are affected by the company'soverall health and safety performance.

Examples of Recognition and Motivation Practices

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How would you rate your firms health and safety recognition system?


To what do you attribute the success of your health and safety recognition system?

I would be willing to share the specifics of my company practices in this area.For details on how to contact us see back page.

What would you tell others are the benefits of implementing a recognition system?

How much do your health and safety recognition practices contribute to your overall health and safety

performance?

Have you evaluated your firms recognition/motivation program? Yes No



Please share an example or two of specific actions or events in your firms health and safety incentives.


having an exemplary recognition and motivation program?

Recognition

an

dMotivation

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Measuring Health & SafetyWhat measurement(s) does your firm use to evaluate your overall health and safety performance?

Please rank to indicate which you consider most meaningful as a measure of health and safety and which

your firm relies most upon (1=most). (Please add any measures that you use that are not listed here.)

Meaningful Reliance

Frequency rate ______ ______

Compensation cost ______ ______Severity rate ______ ______

Total number of injuries ______ ______

Regulatory violations ______ ______

Union health and safety grievances ______ ______

Worker feedback about unresolved concerns ______ ______

Indirect costs, e.g. loss replacement, sales lost ______ ______

Results of hazard inspections or audits ______ ______

Observations of safe work practices ______ ______

Others (please specify) _______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

How would you rate your firms performance measurement system?


I would be willing to share the specifics of my company practices in this area. For further details on

how to contact us see back page.

How often do you compute the calculated performance scores (if used)?

Other than health and safety performance measures listed above, what criteria and sources of information

do you think determine top managements health and safety expectations?

More important than quantitative health and safety performance measures

Less important than quantitative health and safety performance measures

Countingthe

rings:Howdoyoumeasure

hea

lthand

safety?


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COMPANY PROFILE:

Company_______________________________________________________________________________________

Location _______________________________________________________________________________________

Contact(s) ______________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone _____________________________________________________ Fax ____________________________

E-mail address __________________________________________________________________________________

Company Demographics:

Industry Sector __________________________________________________________________________________

% of Workers Employed in Office _____________________________ % Non-office____________________________

Number of employees in your workplace ________________ In firm, Ontario-wide____________________________

Employee Characteristics:

% of Female ____________________________________________________________________________________

% of Male ______________________________________________________________________________________

Average Educational Level _________________________________________________________________________

Average Age ____________________________________________________________________________________

Unionized

Yes No

Predominant Language(s) Spoken ___________________________________________________________________

Average Length of Service _________________________________________________________________________

New Hires Per Year_______________________________________________________________________________

% of Shiftworkers ________________________________________________________________________________

Title of person completing workbook _________________________________________________________________

Title of person you report to ________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to share information with us related to your interest in benchmarking, discussing the workbook or your

model program in any of the health and safety elements, please contact Kathy Zoras, Senior Research/Policy Analyst at

416-344-4347 or fax at 416-344-4919 or e-mail: [email protected]

Thank you for your participation.

as haring best practices

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