WORKPLACE SAFETY THROUGH PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
8
330-CAS-01-IGDO © 2025, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS)
1 877 494 WSPS (9777) | 905 614 1400 | WSPS.CA
Training
Maintenance personnel are often involved in a complex and changing set of problems. Therefore, they
need more thorough training in accident prevention than regular workers.
Serious consequences to maintenance and other workers can result from not following established
maintenance procedures (e.g., use of work permits, lockout procedures, confined space entry
procedures). Ensure that your maintenance personnel are well trained in, and can demonstrate that they
understand, all relevant procedures. Also provide training in:
Hazard identification
Selection, use, and care of equipment, machine tools, personal protective clothing/equipment, etc.,
required to be used
First-aid and life-saving techniques
The hazards of and control methods for substances which may be encountered in the workplace,
such as:
– irritating, toxic or corrosive dusts
– gases
– vapours
– fluids
How to inspect chains, blocks, fall protection devices and ropes
How to secure loads
Understanding stresses
It is a good practice to call the maintenance crew together at the start of each job, in order to discuss the
hazards involved and the method of doing it safely. In the course of their daily work, members of the
maintenance crew travel throughout the plant, becoming familiar with every machine and process. If
properly selected and trained, they can do much to identify and correct unsafe conditions.
In small companies, the maintenance staff may also be responsible for inspecting and maintaining
portable power tools, extension cords, etc. If so, special procedures and training are needed.
Train equipment operators to recognize the signs of impending failure, such as abnormal noise,
excessive vibration, declining or abnormal output, and to report these immediately to their supervisor.
WSPS.CA
