Safety Consulting NL

The Octiber 27 & 28, 2020 OHS Committee course is now full. Stay tuned for 2021 dates coming soon.The Octiber 27 & 28, 2020 OHS Committee course is now full. Stay tuned for 2021 dates coming soon.

Looking to add a certification to your resume? Enroll in the OHS Committee course on October 27 & 28, 2020 Looking to add a certification to your resume? Enroll in the OHS Committee course on October 27 & 28, 2020

Blaming human error for incidents will end up in action items that try to fix people. Here's a short interview with Dr. Todd Conklin on why looking at poor conditions as teh source of incidents is a more favorable approach.

The next OHS Committee Course is now open at https://www.safetyconsultingnl.com Date of course is March 14 and 15, 2019.

There are a few seats available for the next OHS Committee Training course happening on the 26th and 27th of September in St. John's, NL. Visit SafetyConsultingNL.com or WorkplaceNL.ca to save your seat (or send an e-mail to [email protected]).

For any CRSP's out there wondering about their continuing education maintenance points the BCRSP has published a guidance document. Here's the link - https://bcrsp.ca//Doc.133%20Certification%20Maintenance%20

Just posted a new OHS Committee course! September 26 & 27, 2018 https://www.safetyconsultingnl.com/

There comes a time in every debate (well maybe not all debates) when it feels like you have gone in a complete circle and reaching 100% agreement is not going to happen. One of the best ways to handle situations like this is to have a well thought out Terms of Reference that states how decisions will be made. Is 100% agreement required? What about %50 + 1 ? Each committee will be different but no matter what method of decision making is agreed to, having a system in place before the need for one arises will undoubtedly benefit everyone involved in the process.

Same crazy comment on the image from last week but check out that graph. When you look at it do you see that growth as a positive message or negative message? Depends on what information it is showing of course. If that is the number of incidents over a year than this is not a good news story. However, if the graph is showing participation in the workplace hazard identification program then it's great news. ... As an Occupational Health and Safety Committee member you have a duty to not only monitor the workplace safety program but also help promote workplace safety. One of the reasons OHS Committees can work so well is that with representation from both the employer and workforce the committee will know which message will have the greatest impact and drive safety improvements. In this example - incidents are rising we need to do something, or participation is growing let's keep up the good work.

There is a regulatory requirements in Newfoundland and Labrador to hold workplace Occupational Health and Safety Committee meetings at least once every three months. This does not mean that your meetings should go ahead if there is nothing to discuss, nor does it mean that meetings can be cancelled if the agenda is light. One of the duties of a committee is to provide educational material and promote workplace health and safety. Take the opportunity to work on this duty during those meetings when topics like incidents investigations, workplace inspections, hazard identification, refusal to work, and action item follow up are in short supply.

Some of these ideas are great - I especially like the one that results in $5 in the beer jar if a meeting goes long! https://www.fastcompany.com//how-12-companies-make-meeting

Occupational Health and Safety Committee meetings don't have to be long. In fact, you will get more accomplished if your meetings stay on topic and are only as long as absolutely necessary. Start on time, end on time, and use your agenda to stay focused.

Although the article notes that OHS Officers can only impose fines of up to $250,000 for safety offences, the provincial OHS Act does also state that where a person is convicted of an offence as described in the Act (section 67) they can be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months. Regardless of the powers for OHS Officers, also having the RNC conduct an investigation adds a new eliminate to incident investigation in the province. http://www.cbc.ca//rnc-workplace-ibjury-death-investigatio