Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.
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10 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com PEOPLE&PLACES GLYN JONES TRAINING PEOPLE&PLACES GLYN JONES TRAINING PEOPLE&PLACES TRAINING PEOPLE&PLACES Regulatory training as the foundation for a safe workplace Basic understanding of health and safety laws a must for supervisors, front-line managers F our workers die each day as a result of work in Canadian work- places. The current fatality rate is too high and it suggests there are defi - ciencies in the system that need to be fi xed. A lack of regulatory training is a big part of the problem. Regulatory training needs to be a cornerstone of the education offered to supervisors and front-line managers in Canadian companies. Regulatory training is simply taking a course that drives through the actual legislation section by section and allows learners to learn applicable defi nitions, deter- mine the minimum requirements, be able to fi nd relevant sections and ref- erence them, interpret the intent and expectations set out in the legislation and be able to apply the legislation in their workplaces. Without formal exposure to the occupational health and safety leg- islative requirements, it is unlikely supervisors and front-line managers can design a work plan or process to be in compliance or ensure occu- pational health and safety risks are recognized, assessed and controlled. Regulatory training may sound boring, however, it is foundational to supervisors' and front-line managers' ability to do their jobs. Further, this lack of regulatory training exposes employers to prosecution risk in the event of a serious incident. From the legal perspective, employ- ers have an obligation to provide this training to employees who take on the role of the employee representa- tive. This typically points towards the supervisors and front-line man- agers. The basis for staff training has to include the regulatory requirements applicable to the employer's opera- tions and jurisdiction. Ultimately, the success of the training should also be assessed as to whether the information provided allows an individual to make decisions that would keep the company in compliance and prevent losses. After regulatory training takes place, the necessary technical training for the job is layered. Finally, additional spe- cifi c training is offered selectively to employees as necessary. Our focus, all too often, is on ensuring the specifi c training is provided without necessar- ily providing for the foundation. LEARNING FROM MISTAKES Canadian legislation is based largely on the lessons learned from past trag- edies. One of the fi rst events to shape occupational health and safety legis- lation in Canada was the Hollinger Mines disaster in 1928 in Timmins, Ont. A fi re somehow started burning in an accumulation of timber, saw- dust and powder boxes. The fi re was initially unnoticed and the resulting carbon monoxide started to kill the miners. After two bodies were found, the miners started to come to the sur- face. Without an organized rescue or fi refi ghting program in place, the inci- dent eventually claimed the lives of 39 miners. The fi re burned for fi ve days. This incident prompted legislative requirements for formal fi re suppres- sion, rescue and escape planning. If we fast-forward a few years to 1974, we fi nd workers at the uranium mine in Elliot Lake, Ont., contract- ing silicosis and lung cancer at a rate that was more than three times the national average. The resulting legis- lation included the now familiar right to know, right to participate and right to refuse. In 1979 106-long rail train derail- ment in Mississauga, Ont., which involved fi res and explosions, resulted in the evacuation of 200,000 residents. Without the current legislation relat- ing to manifesting and segregation of chemicals, fi refi ghters were unaware of what chemicals they were dealing with. As a result of this accident, the National Transportation Act and the Transportation of Dangerous Goods regulations were created. Changes to regulatory requirements are still occurring in every jurisdiction to address the lessons learned from workplace incidents. The more recent death of Grant De Patie, a Maple Ridge, B.C., gas station attendant who was dragged underneath a car for several kilometers after trying to stop a $12 theft of gas, resulted in revised legislative requirements relating to the mitigation of workplace violence. I searched high and low looking for a recognized educational institution or company that offers formal edu- cation on regulatory requirements to supervisors and front-line managers and none was found. Most universi- ties offer a course in understanding law and legislation but none of these really dive into the mechanics of the legislative requirements that would allow an individual to make deci- sions that would keep the company in compliance. Some industry health and safety associations offer courses on the legislation but the focus is on train- ing health and safety advisors and not supervisors and front-line managers. One established process that incor- porates this regulatory component is the functional competency assess- ment method that Suncor Energy, Fort Hills project, uses for its per- sonnel and contractors. This process includes an assessment of an individ- ual's knowledge and understanding of the regulatory requirements spe- cifi c to the jurisdiction. I spoke with Robert Day, a regulatory advisor working on Suncor's implementa- tion of I-CAB Functional Competency Assessments and he said the assess- ment includes competencies derived from regulatory requirements and allows management to focus on training defi ciencies specifi c to the participating individuals and their job functions. Day commented that this is the fi rst of its kind in Canada and although it is a pilot project, he believes it will become the standard in the future. Glyn Jones is a partner at EHS Partner- ships in Calgary. He is a consulting occupational health and safety profes- sional with 25 years of experience. He also provides program design and instructional support to the University of New Brunswick's OHS certifi cate and diploma programs. He can be reached at gjones@ehsp.ca. Toronto • Vancouver • Calgary • Sault Ste. Marie • Sarnia Mathews Dinsdale & Clark LLP is pleased to congratulate our Partner, Laura Russell, on her receipt of the Ron Ellis Award from the Ontario Bar Association. The Ron Ellis Award recognizes outstanding contributions and achievements in workers' compensation law. Well done Laura. Laura's commitment to every aspect of workers' compensation law puts her at the top of her craft. Her wealth of experience is as invaluable to the employers she advises as it is to the entire workplace community. CompClaim, a consulting practice of Mathews Dinsdale, provides consulting services to employers in matters that include workplace accident investigations, case management, the facilitation of early and safe return to work and appeal representation. Laura heads our CompClaim Group. Congratulations to Laura Russell, 2014 Recipient of the Ron Ellis Award. mathewsdinsdale.com compclaim.com foundation for a safe workplace provided allows an individual to make decisions that would keep the company in compliance and After regulatory training takes place, the necessary technical training for the job is layered. Finally, additional spe- cifi c training is offered selectively to several kilometers after trying to stop a $12 theft of gas, resulted in revised