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6 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com UPDATES FROM THE WORLD OF HEALTH & SAFETY Safety First CSA publishes fi rst Canadian standard on workplace safety training Ontario eyes mandatory certifi cation for OHS training providers By Linda Johnson T he new standard for managing occupational health and safety training, released in March by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), provides organizations with their fi rst practical guide to managing an eff ective OHS training system, the chairperson of the CSA technical committee said. "For the fi rst time in Canada, we're outlining a system for organizations to be able to look at and understand what a leading, quality program looks like," said Dylan Short, managing director of the Redlands Group. The new Z1001–13 Occupational Health and Safety Training standard is outcome-oriented and gives employers a structured, measurable way of compar- ing training service providers, he added. "Right now, it can be diffi cult for organizations to understand and mea- sure what quality training might look like, in part because there are many ways to get to outcomes," he said. "However, this standard describes the qualities and components of a quality training program developer and, if the standard is widely adopted, will bring the quality level of training delivered by providers up signifi cantly." e standard, less than 60 pages long, has three major parts, Short said. e fi rst covers administration and manage- ment of OHS training. is section defi nes roles and responsibilities; out- lines processes on how to identify needs, objectives and outcomes; and outlines a method for establishing and adminis- tering a training program. e second part deals with establish- ing and maintaining a training program. A er conducting a thorough needs assessment — covering the need for training, engineering controls and PPE — an organization needs to know how to design, develop and implement training, as well as how to evaluate a program to ensure it is achieving the expected goals. e third part moves from the pro- gram to the course level, covering the development and maintenance of training courses. Short said the standard is largely non-prescriptive, with the authors describing what a good training system and intended outcomes look like. How- ever, it is prescriptive in its defi nition of training — as an activity that has mea- surable outcomes. e Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) is also working on its own stan- dards on OHS training. Cordelia Clarke Julien, director of training and safety pro- grams at the Ontario Prevention Offi ce, said the two sets of standards refl ect dif- ferent content and purposes. While the CSA standards are entirely voluntary, the MOL standards — intended to ensure the same level of training is recognized across Ontario — will eventually be embodied in law and thus be binding on employers. As well, she added, the CSA is look- ing at occupational health and safety standards across the nation and from a management system perspective. "The CSA standards — because they're really broad and are general training standards — are not specifi c to any type of training," she says. "We're looking at very specifi c standards." Clarke Julien said the team respon- sible for creating the MOL standards has also participated in the CSA meet- ings, and they are aware of the need for consistency between the two sets of standards. "We're doing our best to make sure there are no contradictions. But at the same time, as with all CSA standards, the standard may itself be contradictory to the legislation. at's the challenge we face," she said. e MOL is also working on regula- tions covering worker awareness training. ough no standard for the training will be produced, the regula- tion will make it mandatory for all workers in Ontario to get basic aware- ness training on safety legislation, rules, rights and responsibilities. By Mari-Len De Guzman T he Ontario government is developing stan- dards that will require safety training providers to undergo an accreditation process, according to a province offi cial. At the annual Canadian Health and Safety Professionals Safety Conference (CanSafePro) in Toronto, Cordelia Clarke Julien, director of training and safety programs branch of the Ontario Prevention Offi ce, gave attendees an update on what is coming down the pipeline with regards to new health and safety related training standards. One item on the horizon is the new manda- tory certifi cation for training service providers. is means service providers in Ontario would need to undergo an accreditation pro- cess for their specifi c area of expertise before they can conduct business with employers. e mandatory certifi cation requirements ensure health and safety training providers are performing to a stan- dard, Julien said. Allaying concerns about the timing of the imple- mentation of the accreditation requirement, Julien said the Prevention Offi ce will provide ample time for the transition. It will likely take a year between the release of the standard and full implementation, she said. "We are not here to kick people out of the industry," said Julien. "What we're saying is this is the minimum standard that will be in place." Julien also gave attendees an overview of other standards being developed by the Prevention Offi ce. Among these are: mandatory awareness training for workers; awareness training for supervisors; entry- level training for construction workers; and standards for working at heights. ese standards are in response to the recommen- dations outlined in the Tony Dean Expert Advisory panel report. Julien said they are hoping to get the regulations on the mandatory awareness training for workers in the summer for full implementation by January 2014. She did not give specifi c timelines for the other training standards that are coming out, saying they are mostly in the development stages and will be opened up for public consultation.