Ch 14 - Bus 381 - Hr - Occupational Health And Safety

Front 1

Strategic Importance of Occupational Health and Safety

Back 1

Investment in disability management and proactive wellness programs create measurable bottom-line returns

Front 2

Occupational Health Safety Legislation purpose

Back 2

Laws intended to protect the health and safety of workers by minimizing work-related accidents and illnesses

Front 3

Categories of OHS Laws

Back 3

general health and safety rules
rules for specific industries (e.g. mining)
rules related to specific hazards (e.g. asbestos)

Front 4

Occupational Injury

Back 4

Any cut, fracture, sprain or amputation resulting from a workplace accident.

Front 5

Occupational Illness

Back 5

Any abnormal condition or disorder, other than one resulting from an occupational injury, caused by exposure to environmental factors associated with employment.

Front 6

Due Diligence
+ employer duties include...

Back 6

employers are responsible for taking every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of their workers

filing government accident reports
maintaining records
ensuring that safety rules are enforced
posting safety notices and legislative information

Front 7

Supervisor’s Role in Safety

Back 7

- most jurisdictions impose a personal duty on supervisors to ensure that workers comply with occupational health and safety regulations
- specific obligation on supervisors to advise and instruct workers about safety, to ensure that all reasonable precautions have been taken to provide for the safety of all employees, and to minimize risk of injuries or illness
- safety-minded managers must aim to instill in their workers the desire to work safely

Front 8

Responsibilities of Employees

Back 8

- Employees are responsible for taking reasonable care to protect their own health and safety and, in most cases, that of their co-workers
- Specific requirements include wearing protective clothing and equipment and reporting any contravention of the law or regulations

Front 9

Employees have three basic rights regarding safety:

Back 9

the right to know about workplace safety hazards
the right to participate in the OHS process
the right to refuse unsafe work

Front 10

Joint Health and Safety Committees

Back 10

non-adversarial atmosphere where management and labour can work together to ensure a safe and healthy workplace

Committees are usually required to consist of between 2 - 12, at least half of whom must represent workers

In small workplaces, one health and safety representative may be sufficient.

Front 11

Enforcement of OHS Laws

Back 11

safety law provides for government inspectors to periodically carry out safety inspections of workplace

Penalties may consist of fines and/or jail terms

Front 12

corporate killing

Back 12

The Criminal Code which imposes criminal liability on “all persons” who direct the work of other employees and fail to ensure an appropriate level of safety in the workplace.

Front 13

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
(WHMIS) legislation has three components:

Back 13

labelling of hazardous material containers
material safety data sheets (MSDS)
employee training

Front 14

Three basic causes of Accidents

Back 14

Occurance (beyond management control)
Unsafe COnditions
Unsafe Acts

Front 15

Unsafe Conditions (6 ex)

Back 15

improperly guarded equipment
defective equipment
hazardous procedures
unsafe storage
improper illumination
improper ventilation

Front 16

Unsafe Acts (7 ex)

Back 16

throwing materials
operating or working at unsafe speeds
rendering safety devices inoperative
using unsafe equipment or using equipment unsafely
taking unsafe positions under suspended loads
lifting improperly
distracting, teasing, abusing, startling, horseplay, quarrelling

Front 17

How to Prevent Accidents

Back 17

reduce unsafe conditions
reduce unsafe acts
-selection testing
-top-management commitment
-training and education
-positive reinforcement

Front 18

Three Other Work-Related
Accident Factors

Back 18

Job (some are inherently dangerous)
Work Schedule (fatigue)
Psychological Climate (high stress job)

Front 19

Employee Wellness Programs

Back 19

Management strategy to achieve measurable outcomes related to productivity, cost reduction, recruitment/retention, and profit
Proactive approach to employee health and well being

Front 20

Ways to implement Employee Heath and Wellness Programs

Back 20

stress management
nutrition and weight management
smoking cessation programs
tai chi
heart health
physical fitness programs
ergonomics

Front 21

Occupational Health Issues
and Challenges (7)

Back 21

substance abuse
job stress
repetitive strain injuries
workplace toxins
workplace smoking
influenza pandemic
violence at work

Front 22

Substance Abuse and the Law

Back 22

Alcohol/drug abuse considered a disability (human rights law) vs. employers’ due diligence requirement (OHS law)

Front 23

Substance Abuse Testing when is it legal?

Back 23

- test is rationally connected to performance of the job
- test is adopted in honest and good-faith belief that it is necessary for fulfillment of work-related purpose
- test is reasonably necessary to the accomplishment of the work-related purpose

Front 24

When is Substance Abuse testing Illegal?
If testing comes back positive?

Back 24

when it's random testing.

if positive, must accomodate disability and it's illegal to immediate terminate

Front 25

What can Employers do about drugs

Back 25

- forbid drugs/alcohol in workplace
- require random drug testing only for “safety-sensitive” jobs
- require mandatory drug testing “for cause” or “post-incident” in certain circumstances

Front 26

Job Stress (3types)

why is it a problem?

what is good stress?

Back 26

Psychological / emotional
Behavioural
Physical

leading LT & ST disability claim

eustress

Front 27

Job Stress: Environmental Factors

Back 27

- high demand job
- high levels of mental and physical effort

Front 28

Job Stress: Personal Factors

Back 28

- Type A personalities
- patience
- tolerance for ambiguity
- self-esteem
- health and exercise
- work and sleep patterns
- non-job-related problems like divorce, depression, work/family time conflict

Front 29

How can Employee reduce job stress? Employer reduce job stress?

Back 29

Employee Can:
get more sleep, eat better, take vacation, meditate, find a more suitable job, get counselling, organize each day’s activities

Employer/Supervisor Can:
offer a EAP
monitor each employee’s performance to identify symptoms of stress and then inform the person of organizational remedies
ensure fair treatment
permit employee to have more control over his or her job

Front 30

Burnout & How to avoid it

Back 30

The total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-related goal

Avoiding Burnout:
- break patterns
- get away from it all periodically
- reassess goals
- think about work
- reduce stress

Front 31

Stress-Related Disability Claims

Back 31

- All Canadian jurisdictions provide benefits for post-traumatic stress caused by a specific and sudden workplace incident
-chronic stress has very limited or no coverage,

-The rationale is that stress has multiple causes, including family situations and personal disposition

Front 32

Repetitive Strain Injuries

Back 32

- Activity-related soft-tissue injuries of the neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, back and legs
- Employers must advise and train workers about the risk of RSIs from workplace activity, identify and assess job-related RSI risk factors, encourage workers to report RSI symptoms early, and use ergonomic interventions

Front 33

Ergromonics

Back 33

Fitting the workstation and work tools to the individuals

Front 34

Workplace Toxins

Back 34

Leading cause of work-related deaths around the world is cancer

chemicals and substances are constantly being introduced into the workplace without adequate testing

Workers’ compensation laws in several provinces have been amended to provide benefits to firefighters who develop specific job related cancers

Front 35

Workplace Smoking
and what is health canada trying to achieve?

Back 35

Most Canadian jurisdictions have banned smoking in workplaces

Health Canada is urging employers to implement smoking cessation programs for employees to achieve:
better health for employees
better business results
legislative compliance
increased employee satisfaction (especially for the 80 percent of Canadians who do not smoke)
avoidance of litigation

Front 36

Violence at Work

Back 36

Most Canadian jurisdictions now have workplace violence legislation in place covering physical violence, and some include psychological/emotional violence

Human rights laws across the country prohibit various forms of harassment and bullying

Employers may be found liable for violent acts of their employees on the basis that the employer negligently hired or negligently retained someone whom the employer should reasonably have known could cause the violent act

Employers may also be found ___ when they are aware of violent incidents and fail to respond

Front 37

Prevention and Control of Workplace Violence

Back 37

-identify jobs with high risk of violence
-institute workplace violence policy
-create a healthy work environment
- heighten security measures
- provide workplace violence training
- improve employee screening