Useful Resources for Managing Health and Safety – The First 3 Months on the Job

Many growing companies come to a point in time when health and safety needs to be managed more effectively and with more purpose. This role may be assigned to the HR professional, an operations manager or an administrative function and there can be a lot to learn.

In this article we outline 5 tips to help you succeed in managing health and safety more effectively and useful resources you can use in the first 3 months in this role.

1. Bookmark and review these important websites

Learn about fundamental requirements in health and safety, and stay on top of emerging ones.

• Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. Access information about legislation, enforcement blitzes, contact details, answers to common questions, and more. Be sure to subscribe to the Ministry’s monthly newsletter What’s New.
• Workplace Safety & Insurance Board. Use this website to report injuries and illnesses, understand the expectations for return to work, and to learn about WSIB’s Health and Safety Excellence program.
• Other useful website resources. Visit our resources page for a list of additional websites that may be useful to you.

2. Familiarize yourself with OHS legislation

Bookmark the Act and regulations on your computer and smartphone or tablet. Consider purchasing a hard copy from Publications Ontario. Review the table of contents thoroughly and highlight relevant sections or add sticky-note tabs for quick reference.

For federally regulated workplaces such as banks, federal Crown corporations, telecom, and more, familiarize yourself with the Canada Labour Code Part II and the OHS regulations.

3. Learn about the hazards in your workplace

• • Review injury and illness data from your workplace to identify past sources of injury, and any that may be common. For example, if injuries from cuts keep happening in a particular department, find out why.
  • Find out what health and safety challenges your competitors face. Speak to competitors or use the WSIB’s Safety Check tool for free.
  • Speak with supervisors and workers and find out what hazards they think are the most problematic. If your workplace has a health and safety committee, be sure to attend their meetings, review their past minutes, and uncover what action items they’ve addressed.
  • Inspect the workplace using a form to help guide your inspection. Build on it over time to make it more specific to your workplace.

Once you have a stronger understanding of your workplace hazards, you can begin to think about assessing and prioritizing risks.

4. Get involved in professional development opportunities and network

These events may be hosted by equipment vendors, publications such as Occupational Health and Safety, or organizations such as the Canadian Society of Safety Engineers and Workplace Safety & Prevention Services. These events are great for meeting professionals in health and safety, equipment suppliers, regulators, and more.

5. Score some quick wins!

Ensure the following are posted in your workplace

• • Your health and safety policy
  • Your workplace violence and harassment policy
  • Health & Safety at Work: Prevention Starts Here poster
  • In Case of Injury Poster from the WSIB
  • A copy of the Occupational Health and Safety Act
  • Names and locations of your Joint Health & Safety Committee members
  • First aid certificate for trained first aiders on duty
  • Inspection card of your first aid kit
  • A copy of orders issued to your company by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development.

The first 3 months of being assigned to manage health and safety can be overwhelming, but using these strategies can make your experience more manageable so that you can succeed.

Contact WorkBright™ today to learn more about these tips and other strategies you can take to help make your new role a successful experience.