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37 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Strategic Importance of Occupational Health and Safety
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Investment in disability management and proactive wellness programs create measurable bottom-line returns
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Occupational Health Safety Legislation purpose
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Laws intended to protect the health and safety of workers by minimizing work-related accidents and illnesses
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Categories of OHS Laws
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general health and safety rules
rules for specific industries (e.g. mining) rules related to specific hazards (e.g. asbestos) |
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Occupational Injury
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Any cut, fracture, sprain or amputation resulting from a workplace accident.
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Occupational Illness
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Any abnormal condition or disorder, other than one resulting from an occupational injury, caused by exposure to environmental factors associated with employment.
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Due Diligence
+ employer duties include... |
employers are responsible for taking every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of their workers
filing government accident reports maintaining records ensuring that safety rules are enforced posting safety notices and legislative information |
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Supervisor’s Role in Safety
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- most jurisdictions impose a personal duty on supervisors to ensure that workers comply with occupational health and safety regulations
- specific obligation on supervisors to advise and instruct workers about safety, to ensure that all reasonable precautions have been taken to provide for the safety of all employees, and to minimize risk of injuries or illness - safety-minded managers must aim to instill in their workers the desire to work safely |
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Responsibilities of Employees
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- Employees are responsible for taking reasonable care to protect their own health and safety and, in most cases, that of their co-workers
- Specific requirements include wearing protective clothing and equipment and reporting any contravention of the law or regulations |
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Employees have three basic rights regarding safety:
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the right to know about workplace safety hazards
the right to participate in the OHS process the right to refuse unsafe work |
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Joint Health and Safety Committees
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non-adversarial atmosphere where management and labour can work together to ensure a safe and healthy workplace
Committees are usually required to consist of between 2 - 12, at least half of whom must represent workers In small workplaces, one health and safety representative may be sufficient. |
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Enforcement of OHS Laws
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safety law provides for government inspectors to periodically carry out safety inspections of workplace
Penalties may consist of fines and/or jail terms |
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corporate killing
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The Criminal Code which imposes criminal liability on “all persons” who direct the work of other employees and fail to ensure an appropriate level of safety in the workplace.
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Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
(WHMIS) legislation has three components: |
labelling of hazardous material containers
material safety data sheets (MSDS) employee training |
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Three basic causes of Accidents
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Occurance (beyond management control)
Unsafe COnditions Unsafe Acts |
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Unsafe Conditions (6 ex)
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improperly guarded equipment
defective equipment hazardous procedures unsafe storage improper illumination improper ventilation |
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Unsafe Acts (7 ex)
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throwing materials
operating or working at unsafe speeds rendering safety devices inoperative using unsafe equipment or using equipment unsafely taking unsafe positions under suspended loads lifting improperly distracting, teasing, abusing, startling, horseplay, quarrelling |
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How to Prevent Accidents
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reduce unsafe conditions
reduce unsafe acts -selection testing -top-management commitment -training and education -positive reinforcement |
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Three Other Work-Related
Accident Factors |
Job (some are inherently dangerous)
Work Schedule (fatigue) Psychological Climate (high stress job) |
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Employee Wellness Programs
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Management strategy to achieve measurable outcomes related to productivity, cost reduction, recruitment/retention, and profit
Proactive approach to employee health and well being |
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Ways to implement Employee Heath and Wellness Programs
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stress management
nutrition and weight management smoking cessation programs tai chi heart health physical fitness programs ergonomics |
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Occupational Health Issues
and Challenges (7) |
substance abuse
job stress repetitive strain injuries workplace toxins workplace smoking influenza pandemic violence at work |
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Substance Abuse and the Law
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Alcohol/drug abuse considered a disability (human rights law) vs. employers’ due diligence requirement (OHS law)
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Substance Abuse Testing when is it legal?
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- test is rationally connected to performance of the job
- test is adopted in honest and good-faith belief that it is necessary for fulfillment of work-related purpose - test is reasonably necessary to the accomplishment of the work-related purpose |
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When is Substance Abuse testing Illegal?
If testing comes back positive? |
when it's random testing.
if positive, must accomodate disability and it's illegal to immediate terminate |
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What can Employers do about drugs
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- forbid drugs/alcohol in workplace
- require random drug testing only for “safety-sensitive” jobs - require mandatory drug testing “for cause” or “post-incident” in certain circumstances |
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Job Stress (3types)
why is it a problem? what is good stress? |
Psychological / emotional
Behavioural Physical leading LT & ST disability claim eustress |
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Job Stress: Environmental Factors
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- high demand job
- high levels of mental and physical effort |
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Job Stress: Personal Factors
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- Type A personalities
- patience - tolerance for ambiguity - self-esteem - health and exercise - work and sleep patterns - non-job-related problems like divorce, depression, work/family time conflict |
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How can Employee reduce job stress? Employer reduce job stress?
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Employee Can:
get more sleep, eat better, take vacation, meditate, find a more suitable job, get counselling, organize each day’s activities Employer/Supervisor Can: offer a EAP monitor each employee’s performance to identify symptoms of stress and then inform the person of organizational remedies ensure fair treatment permit employee to have more control over his or her job |
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Burnout & How to avoid it
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The total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-related goal
Avoiding Burnout: - break patterns - get away from it all periodically - reassess goals - think about work - reduce stress |
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Stress-Related Disability Claims
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- All Canadian jurisdictions provide benefits for post-traumatic stress caused by a specific and sudden workplace incident
-chronic stress has very limited or no coverage, -The rationale is that stress has multiple causes, including family situations and personal disposition |
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Repetitive Strain Injuries
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- Activity-related soft-tissue injuries of the neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, back and legs
- Employers must advise and train workers about the risk of RSIs from workplace activity, identify and assess job-related RSI risk factors, encourage workers to report RSI symptoms early, and use ergonomic interventions |
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Ergromonics
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Fitting the workstation and work tools to the individuals
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Workplace Toxins
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Leading cause of work-related deaths around the world is cancer
chemicals and substances are constantly being introduced into the workplace without adequate testing Workers’ compensation laws in several provinces have been amended to provide benefits to firefighters who develop specific job related cancers |
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Workplace Smoking
and what is health canada trying to achieve? |
Most Canadian jurisdictions have banned smoking in workplaces
Health Canada is urging employers to implement smoking cessation programs for employees to achieve: better health for employees better business results legislative compliance increased employee satisfaction (especially for the 80 percent of Canadians who do not smoke) avoidance of litigation |
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Violence at Work
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Most Canadian jurisdictions now have workplace violence legislation in place covering physical violence, and some include psychological/emotional violence
Human rights laws across the country prohibit various forms of harassment and bullying Employers may be found liable for violent acts of their employees on the basis that the employer negligently hired or negligently retained someone whom the employer should reasonably have known could cause the violent act Employers may also be found ___ when they are aware of violent incidents and fail to respond |
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Prevention and Control of Workplace Violence
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-identify jobs with high risk of violence
-institute workplace violence policy -create a healthy work environment - heighten security measures - provide workplace violence training - improve employee screening |