The Ghost in Workplace Safety

Studying, Resisting, Overcoming That “Ghost” Workplace Health and Safety Offered by Doug Blair, Kitchener ON, 2022

His name is Hazard. His ugly Sister is Neglect. Her eldest child is Monotony. The Grandfather is Past Habits.

The wicked bunch take a stab at every group of workers and management. In Factories. Stores. Restaurants, Maintenance Crews. Construction. Farming. Mining.

Transport and Logistics.Utilities Infrastructure. The list of those busy, well-intentioned and vulnerable seems to be endless.

Governments act to instruct, inspect, discipline the working establishments. For this our province (Ontario) has helpful guidelines, structure, standards and enforcement in the Occupational Health and Safety Act/Regulations. Every workplace must possess, study and post conspicuously the so-called Green Book.

A lot of other things must be posted/updated in a known location to cover the following items:

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Policies and Reports -Safe Work Practices -Joint H and S Committee Minutes -Names of members of Committee and First Aid Caregivers -Updated Safety Data Sheets on Hazardous Substances (Name, Contact Company hotline, Physical Hazards, Proper Storage and Clean Up, Properties regarding Cancer or Radioactivity to name a few categories) -The Company’s full Health and Safety Manual -Periodic Workplace Inspection Reports -Summaries of Environmental Inspections/Assessments and Government Audits (un-announced or post accident/incident) -Accident Reports pending and following inspection, photographs, witness statements, Committee assessment and Recommendations.

-Training Literature and Videos after attending recommended Seminars, Conferences.

-Helpful Reminder Posters (humourous will be better than grizzly).

-Workplace Policy Against Violence and Harassment, Bullying -Workplace Overall Health and Safety Policy (reviewed annually).

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Orientation and Refresher Training Immediately upon starting work a Committee Member will remove the new worker to a comfortable, quiet, private location for interview or online help and familiarization.

-to review the worker’s rights and obligations by Statute and Company Policy -to review pertinent Safe Work Practices -to familiarise with helpful Safety Data Sheets -to familiarise with names of committee members, first-aiders and lead hands -to know resources, materials available in the First Aid Eye Wash Station - to emphasize the importance of reporting first aid attendances and treatments. There is a Journal for this.

As the Committe and Management may decide, there will be desired Organization-wide Sessions for Review and for Benchmarks of Practice and Equipment. (Some important examples include Machine Inspection, Materials Handling, The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work and the Responding Procedures, The face of ugly workplace violence in its various forms, The fine points of Lockout and Tag-out, The Duty to Report Hazards)

Real Case Scenario Prosecuted by Statute 3

A Grocery Store has left a heavy wooden pallet on the concrete floor by the loading dock. Another worker enters pulling a full and heavy load on a mechanized stand-up lift truck. He does not see the pallet hazard and he falls hitting his head violently on the floor. Ultimately he dies in hospital from injuries sustained. The Company is charged. There is a Coroner’s Inquest and ultimately a Court Trial and fines imposed.

The Bottom Line questions in all of this are as follows: What is the reasonable duty of care for all parties involved. What is Due Diligence in this case. Should the Company suffer consequences; the Supervisor/Trainer. How heavy are the fines likely to be. What corrective measures ordered to be implemented?

Now Back to that Ghost…

He never sleeps or lets up

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He whispers in the ear of senior workers that they have always done the thing in a traditional way. Why all the new-fangled standards?

He makes the worst bloody messes when he convinces workers or supervisors to rush (particularly in the last few minutes of the shift).

He convinces Management or Supervision to push the Work Faster…Get it Out the Door Button, unadvisedly.

He introduces a Competitive Know-it-All Spirit.

He suggests that mental health/emotional considerations are only for babies and whiners.

He encourages a crude, derisive, bigoted, humiliating, un-desired sense of humour or pranks or messages posted.

He encourages neglect, lethargy and poor housekeeping.

He puts in plain view a convenient but inappropriate tool for the job, and he suggests, “Go ahead, it will work alright.”

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He encourages silly chatting and distraction (pinch points, heat, abrasion, squeezing, cutting, caustic burning, nasty risks all) He encourages “Hercules” to lift/twist some heavy load.

He encourages a carelessness with regard to electrical connections, fixtures; with regard to cluttering of materials underfoot; with regard to shelved materials protruding into the path of workers; with regard to wet and slippery surfaces.

I encourage everyone in the workplace to read these guidelines more than once and to talk about them. They do not replace the Company’s full Health and Safety Manual or Safe Work Procedures. But in somewhat of a chatty fashion they get the awareness and talk going; get the nasty features of that Ghost known and planned against.

One Seminar Message Never to be Forgotten…at full Ontario Conference

We get to the point that we think the bad stuff will never happen. But it can friends in a split second. He

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suggested a Four Fingers Campaign (training, signage, personal conversations and corresponding action) The image shows four fingers of a hand pointing out to you. The suggestion is, “Now think of four people who will be terribly saddened and affected if you are to be badly injured or killed by what you are doing in this fashion. Forget about yourself for the moment. Think about those four (eg. spouse, kids, parents, friends, teachers, siblings etc) I leave you with that image…Doug Blair blaredub@gmail.com

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