Building a Safe Work Environment: Strategies for Employers in British Columbia

Answer

In BC, the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations outline your legal requirements. WorkSafeBC is in charge of enforcing OHS Regs. They will ensure that every employer is working to prevent the development of unsafe working conditions by doing regular inspections and immediately repairing any issues.

Occupational Health and Safety Regulations

3.5 General requirement

Every employer must ensure that regular inspections are made of all workplaces, including buildings, structures, grounds, excavations, tools, equipment, machinery and work methods and practices, at intervals that will prevent the development of unsafe working conditions.

3.9 Remedy without delay

Unsafe or harmful conditions found in the course of an inspection must be remedied without delay.

– OHS Regulations Part 3: Rights and Responsibilities, WorkSafe BC

Answer

Make your job site safe by creating a health and safety policy and/or committee. Then, ensure all employees are educated and trained on safety so that accidents and incidents can be avoided. With this foundation in place, have planned inspection initiatives and proactive injury-prevention processes that will keep your workplace healthy and safe.

WorkSafeBC

Here are some examples of things to look for:

• Uncorrected problems from the previous inspection report
• Workers not following safe work procedures or procedures that aren’t correct
• Improper storage of materials (for example, in front of emergency exits or electrical panels, or blocking aisles or stairs)
• Accumulation of liquid or grease on floors
• Failure to put a sign or barrier near wet floors
• Lack of guarding on equipment
• Lack of visibility through swinging doors
• Poor maintenance of equipment

– Workplace Inspections, WorkSafe BC

Answer

Take workplace safety seriously. Regular maintenance of your equipment, up-to-date employee training and enforcing safe operating procedures proactively reduce the risk of injuries, unexpected downtime and extra attention from WorkSafeBC. You can use past incident reports to identify issues that need to be fixed to prevent them from reoccurring.

WorkSafeBC

If your inspection reveals a problem, try to get to the root of it. For example, if you see a wet floor, ask why. Possible explanations could include a water leak, a job process that’s creating the problem, or a lack of training on how to clean up the hazard. Fix it right the first time and the problem is less likely to [re]occur.

– Workplace Inspections, WorkSafe BC

Answer

During a WorkSafeBC inspection, a prevention officer may call or visit unannounced to inspect your workplace. They will look for evidence that employers have identified hazards, evaluated risks, and implemented appropriate safety controls. In any case, your inspection and repair records become a part of the proof that you run a safe workplace.