HSE policy

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# Health and Safety Policy - Development and Implementation (cont.) ## How can the policy be effectively implemented? (cont.) - OHS responsibilities are clearly defined, assigned, communicated, and applied throughout the organizational structure, - methods of accountability are established, - procedures and program activities that support the OHS policy are implemented, and - financial and other resources are provided, and - responsibilities for carrying out the policy objectives are clearly communicated and understood within the workplace. Tips: While the assignment of responsibilities must be a complete list customized to the type of work and organizational structure, avoid being too specific that it makes people become too legalistic in interpreting the policy. For example, it may not be necessary to list the specific type of personal protective equipment that must be worn by a worker in a policy - simply state that all workers must use the personal protective equipment specified by the employer and as required by the nature of the work. As needed, this level of detail may be conveyed in a procedure. Procedures are generally more flexible, and this method allows changes to be made as circumstances warrant. Responsibility should be extended throughout the organizational structure to ensure policy objectives will become integrated into all activities. For example, a policy could specify: - individual responsibilities, - legal responsibilities, - accountability systems, - promotion of health, safety, and well-being awareness, - education and training needs, - reporting and correcting health and safety deficiencies, and - injury and illness control information. ## How should the policy be communicated? The policy must be communicated to relevant parties in languages they understand. Ways in which the OHS policy and responsibilities can be communicated include through: - orientation (induction) and on-going training, - health and safety com…

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# Health and Safety Policy - Development and Implementation (cont.) ## What is a policy? (cont.) The Gage dictionary defines "policy" as "a plan of action; a course or method of action that has been deliberately chosen and that guides or influences future decisions." In other words, an occupational health and safety policy guides actions. A policy indicates the degree of an employer's commitment to health and safety. The statement of the employers' obligation should be to meet, or ideally exceed, their legal duties. ## What makes an effective policy statement? There are many differences in form and content of corporate policies. Their style, however, is not as important as the clarity with which they identify functional responsibilities over authority. To be effective, a policy should: - acknowledge that the employer is ultimately responsible for worker health and safety, - involve senior management and worker representatives in the preparation of the policy, - hold all levels of management accountable for carrying out health and safety responsibilities, - commit the organization to be, at a minimum, compliant with all applicable OHS legislation and other requirements, - be seen as consistent with the workplace's objectives of operating in an efficient and predictable manner, - commit to protecting the health and safety of workers by eliminating hazards and reducing risks as much as possible, - be relevant and appropriate to the nature, scale and OHS hazards and risks associated with the organization's needs (not adopted from another workplace), - provide a foundation for OHS goals and targets - be of equal importance to the organization's other policy objectives, - be well-documented, posted, communicated, and available to all relevant parties (including workers and interested external parties), and - continually improve. The policy should also cover: - the responsibilities of appropriate personnel in maintaining a healthy and safe workplace to p…

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# Health and Safety Policy - Development and Implementation (cont.) ## How should the policy be communicated? (cont.) - website, notice board postings, and reminders, - safety talks, meetings, and refresher training, - senior management attendance at safety meetings, and - demonstration of senior management commitment through effective review and response to committee recommendation inspection reports, incident investigations, and health and safety program evaluations. ## How can the effectiveness of the policy be monitored? After the OHS policy has been prepared and implemented, it must be monitored to assess its effectiveness. The policy must be updated where improvements are needed. Some ways to monitor the effectiveness of the OHS policy include: - Using key performance indicators to track progress in meeting OHS goals and targets (e.g., ensuring preventive maintenance is completed, safety meetings are held, and inspections are completed, situations reported are addressed appropriately and in a timely manner), - Training effectiveness reviews, - Regularly auditing and reviewing the OHS policy and program ## How and when should the policy be reviewed? How often the policy must be reviewed must be established. The frequency may be required by applicable OHS legislation. It is recommended that the OHS policy be reviewed at least annually. A review may also be conducted before the scheduled revision date, especially when there is a change to the workplace that affect the policy, or the health and safety of workers. The OHS policy must be recommunicated to all relevant parties whenever it is revised. ## What is an example of a policy checklist to review an existing or new policy? In review, here is a sample of a series of questions that could be used as a "Yes / No" checklist: Does the statement express a commitment to health, safety, and well-being? Are obligations towards employees made clear? Health and Safety Policy - Development and Implementati…

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20 Occupational health and safety program 3‑11(1) Subject to subsection (2), an occupational health and safety program required by section 3-20 of the Act must include: (a) a statement of the employer’s policy with respect to the protection and maintenance of the health and safety of the workers; (b) the identification of existing and potential risks to the health or safety of workers at the place of employment and the measures, including procedures to respond to an emergency, that will be taken to reduce, eliminate or control those risks; (c) the identification of internal and external resources, including personnel and equipment, that may be required to respond to an emergency; (d) a statement of the responsibilities of the employer, the supervisors and the workers; (e) a schedule for the regular inspection of the place of employment and of work processes and procedures; (f) a plan for the control of any biological or chemical substance handled, used, stored, produced or disposed of at the place of employment and, if appropriate, the monitoring of the work environment; (g) a plan for training workers and supervisors in safe work practices and procedures, including any procedures, plans, policies or programs that the employer is required to develop pursuant to the Act or any regulations made pursuant to the Act that apply to the work of the workers and supervisors; (h) a procedure for the investigation of accidents, dangerous occurrences and refusals to work pursuant to section 3-31 of the Act at the place of employment; (i) a strategy for worker participation in occupational health and safety activities, including audit inspections and investigations of accidents, dangerous occurrences and refusals to work pursuant to section 3-31 of the Act; and (j) a procedure to review and, if necessary, revise the occupational health and safety program at specified intervals that are not greater than 3 years an…

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# Young Persons (cont.) (a) a statement of the employer's policy with respect to the protection and maintenance of the health and safety of workers; (b) an identification of hazards that could endanger workers at the work site, through a hazard recognition program; (c) measures, including procedures to respond to an emergency, that will be taken to reduce, eliminate and control the hazards identified under paragraph (b); (d) an identification of internal and external resources, including personnel and equipment, that could be required to respond to an emergency; (e) a statement of the responsibilities of the employer, the supervisors and the workers; (f) a schedule for the regular inspection of the work site and inspection of work processes and procedures; (g) a plan for the control of hazardous substances handled, used, stored, produced or disposed of at the work site and, if appropriate, the monitoring of the work environment; (h) a plan for training workers and supervisors in safe work practices and procedures, including procedures, plans, policies or programs that the employer is required to develop; (i) a procedure for the investigation of refusals to work under section 13 of the Act; (j) a strategy for worker participation in occupational health and safety activities, including audit inspections and investigations of refusals to work under section 13 of the Act; and (k) a procedure to review and, if necessary, revise the occupational health and safety program not less than once every three years or whenever there is a change of circumstances that could affect the health or safety of workers. (3) An occupational health and safety program must be implemented and updated in consultation with (a) the Committee or representative; and (b) the workers. (4) An occupational health and safety program required under this section must be in writing and made available to the workers. - Examination of Plant 22. (1) An employer shall arrange f…

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# What should you report and investigate when an incident occurs? (cont.) ## How do you implement occupational health and safety programs? (cont.) Senior management must demonstrate commitment and support the program by: - Providing resources such as time, money, and personnel. - Ensuring that workers receive training or certification as required. - Making all applicable health and safety information available to all workers. - Including health and safety performance as part of employee performances appraisals at all levels. - Attending health and safety meetings. The program must be communicated to all workers. Special emphasis should be given to new workers, newly appointed supervisors, and new members of the joint health and safety committee. Revisions to policies and procedures should be publicized. The program should be available in a single written document. However, if separate policies or procedures have been developed for various elements, such as incident investigation procedures or preventing harassment and violence, their use should be referred to in the main document. ## How is the effectiveness of OH&S programs evaluated? Incident frequency and severity rates are often used, but they are not always the only measures to use for evaluating the effectiveness of a health and safety program. Cases of occupational disease are often under-reported in these statistics. The emphasis is usually on injury-producing incidents, not all events. Since incidents may be rare events, in some organizations the basis for comparison may be limited. It is desirable to use an audit as a before-the-fact measure of the effectiveness of an OH&S program. An audit uses a checklist in which each element is subdivided into a series of questions. Each question is given a weighting factor depending on its importance. Records, observations, interviews, and questionnaires are used to evaluate performance for each sub- element. A number of audit systems are available. Annua…

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# Workplace Health and Well-being - Comprehensive Workplace Health and Safety Program (cont.) ## How do I establish a CWHS Program that supports mental health? (cont.) 6. Confirm Management Support - to implement the workplace mental health promotion plan 7. Implement the Plan - put the proposed program into practice 8. Evaluate your CWHS Program's Efforts 9. Continuously improve your CWHS Program based on the results of your evaluations ## What are the components of a CWHS Program? - A Comprehensive Workplace Health and Safety Program has four main components: 1. Occupational health and safety (the physical work environment) 2. Psychosocial work environment (organizational culture and the organization of work) 3. Workplace health promotion (wellness) 4. Organizational community involvement Note that these are not four distinct or separate areas. They overlap and must be integrated within the CWHS Program, and not addressed in isolation. Comprehensive programs must have multiple avenues of influence and integrate a combination of approaches to impact and reach employees at various stages of readiness. - We will look at each of these components in more detail below: ## 1. Occupational health and safety Occupational health and safety (the physical work environment) encompasses the promotion and maintenance of the physical, mental and social well-being of workers. It includes reducing work-related injury, illness and disability by addressing the hazards and risks of the physical environment. Reducing physical job hazards can also reduce stress employees may feel in the workplace. ## 2. Psychosocial work environment A process to identify the real and potential hazards and risks in the psychosocial environment in the workplace must be developed, implemented and maintained through the Comprehensive Workplace Health and Safety Program. The psychosocial environment covers two major topics: - organizational culture - organization of work Workplace He…