Safetydude's Safety Tip of the Week

Contractor Safety

The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act defines an "Employer"  as: a person who employs one or more workers or contracts for the services of one or more workers and includes a contractor or subcontractor who performs work or supplies services and a contractor or subcontractor who undertakes with an owner, constructor, contractor or subcontractor to perform work or supply services;    All the other provinces of Canada have similar such wording in their Provincial Health and Safety Legislation.

As you should already know, the Act sets forth requirements for the Employer to protect all of their employees by ensuring that:

(a) the equipment, materials and protective devices as prescribed are provided;

(b) the equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are maintained in good condition;

(c) the measures and procedures prescribed are carried out in the workplace;

(d) the equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are used as prescribed; and

(e)  Employees are trained and educated on any hazards they are exposed to;

(f) Supervisors are competent as defined by the Act;

(g) Worker or a person in authority over a worker is acquainted with any hazard in the work and in the handling, storage, use, disposal and transport of any article, device, equipment or a biological, chemical or physical agent;

(h) Every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker;

The above list is just a few of the many requirements that Health & Safety Legislation places on the Employer.  The list was truncated due to size constraints.

Essentially, an Employer who uses the services of contactors, vendors, or other service companies needs to ensure that:

  • They only retain the  services of contractors, vendors or service companies who have an active and effective Health and Safety Program that meets or exceeds the legislation
  • That the contractor, vendor or service company has:
    • Properly trained their employees
    • Provisions to properly supervise their employees
    • Workers Compensation Coverage for their workers
    • General Liability Insurance
    • The required Certificates to perform the required work.
  • All of their Health and Safety Policies and Procedures are adhered to by the contractor, vendor or service company and their respective employees

OperationSafety is pleased to announce that it has added an innovative web based program called ContractorSafety24-7 to it's program offerings to Employers. 

The ContractorSafety24-7 software was originally designed for larger companies with hundreds and thousands of contractors who would host and manage the program themselves.

In keeping with their commitment to the smaller and medium size employer, OperationSafety has developed a package where this program can be easily afforded to all employers regardless of size.

Please feel free to contact me for more information.

 

From The Courts (from Ontario Newsroom)

A uniform supplier, was fined $60,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured. The company operates an industrial laundry service at its Windsor facility. As part of the laundry process, clothing is placed in a bag with a drawstring at the bottom. The bag moves vertically along a conveyor until it gets to a sensor at the end. When the bag hits the sensor, it is hoisted up into the air.

A worker noticed that the drawstring on a bag was not tied. The worker attempted to tie the bag while walking with it along the conveyor. When the bag hit the sensor, it was hoisted up. The worker's thumb was entangled in the bag's drawstring, and the worker was lifted into the air with the bag. The worker's thumb was amputated by the force of the moving bag.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the emergency stop button on the bag hoist was too high up for a worker to reach in an emergency.

The company  pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the emergency stop button on the bag hoist was located within easy reach of the machine operator.

In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime

Picture of the Week

If only he knew of the danger he is in.

 Personally, I find this picture more shocking the the previous two weeks pictures.   No pun intended!