Canadian Safety Reporter

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 News | November 2014 | CSR The following checklist is from Carswell's OH&S Due Diligence Handbook and Handi-Guides for various jurisdictions. Employers can get a sense of the state of due diligence in their organizations by asking the kinds of questions posed below. Although these questions are meant for employers, they can also be adapted and used by supervisors, safety leaders, health and safety committees and workers. See www.carswell.com. Occupational Health and Safety Due Diligence Checklist 1. Do you know, understand and follow your OH&S duties as set out in the relevant legislation? 2. Have you implemented an effective program to identify, assess and control hazards (following the hierarchy of controls: fi rst, elimination of the hazard; second, use of engineering controls; third, use of administrative controls; and fourth, use of PPE)? 3. Are you informed on the potential sources of hazards and appropriate hazard controls from: • The legislation? • The experience of others (e.g., from industry standards and best practices)? • Your own internal OH&S programs (e.g., from inspections, reports, investigations and employee concerns)? • Any previous incidents in your organization? 4. Are your workers encouraged to bring forward their concerns and are those concerns treated seriously? 5. Do you develop appropriate systems of work within your OH&S management system (such as OH&S objectives, policies, standards, safety processes and procedures, etc.) that contribute to or are essential to safety? 6. Do you provide OH&S information to workers including hazards, hazard controls, safety policies, rules, procedures and any applicable regulations? 7. Do you provide direction and instruction to employees on their work tasks? 8. Regarding your equipment, do you: • Use the correct equipment for the job? • Train operators and supervisors in the safe use of the equipment? • Ensure that equipment is properly installed? • Ensure that equipment that is not safe is not used? • Have equipment available that enables the work to be carried out safely? • Abide by manufacturer's specifi cations? • Consider safety in obtaining new equipment? 9. Regarding equipment inspections and maintenance: • Is your equipment inspected at suitable, regular intervals? • Once identifi ed, are equipment defi ciencies, defects and unsafe conditions promptly repaired or otherwise remedied? • Is frequency of inspections based on experience, manufacturer's specifi cations, regulatory requirements and a hazard assessment? • Are maintenance personnel competent to maintain equipment adequately? • Is maintenance work planned and conducted in a safe fashion (e.g., equipment that is being serviced is locked out and safety devices are not bypassed)? • Are preventive maintenance and regular servicing of equipment performed as appropriate and required? • Do the maintenance systems include pre-use equipment checks, walk- arounds, identifi cation of critical parts and items and maintenance procedures? • Are workers empowered to refuse to use equipment that is not in good working order? 10. Regarding PPE and other protective devices: • Is PPE and protective clothing appropriate to the hazard and in good repair? • Are workers trained in the proper and safe use, care, fi t-testing and maintenance of all PPE? • Are protective devices in place and functional? • Are protective devices secure and appropriate for the risk? • Are guards and other safety devices adequately maintained? 11. Regarding training, do you: • Provide the required orientation and training for your young or new workers? • Use appropriate testing to verify that your training is effective? • Provide ongoing training as needed for all employees — whether front-line or management? 12. Have you ensured that corrective and preventive actions have been taken as a result of incident investigations? 13. Do you take reasonable steps to ensure that your OH&S programs are working, committing appropriate resources toward OH&S, requiring accountability and providing monitoring and correction through: • Formal, planned observations with respect to specifi c tasks? • General observation of work going on by a supervisor or manager in the fi eld? • Formal reports, such as near-miss and incident reports? • Informal reports, such as verbal reports? • Workplace inspections? • Regular internal and external OH&S program audits? 14. Have you documented and kept records on all the work you do to ensure workplace health and safety? The OH&S Due Diligence Handbook provides a clear explanation of the legal principles that underpin due diligence and how to apply them in practice. In addition to the legal dimension, the Handbook also examines the steps employers need to take to prevent accidents, injuries, fines and prosecutions. Carswell's Handi-Guides are field references containing full text of current OH&S legislation applicable to the jurisdiction in question, plus interpretive commentary. Durable, lightweight and practical — they're perfect at the office or any worksite as a resource. For ordering information, visit www.carswell.com. The due diligence and how to apply them in practice. In addition to the legal dimension, the Handbook also examines the steps employers need to take to prevent accidents, injuries, fines and prosecutions.

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