January 23, 2018
When the inspector comes to your workplace they will check to see if the hazards from the equipment are properly guarded and also check to see if a Lock/Out Tag/Out (LOTO) procedure is in place and working correctly and workers are properly trained.
They will also be checking to make sure;
- Workers and supervisor have been trained in the mandatory safety awareness training
- Policy & procedure programs are in place
- Your workplaces Internal Responsibility System (IRS) is working correctly
- Your workers are properly trained on forklift, overhead crane, aerial lifts, first aid, WHMIS 2015, Violence & Harassment + Sexual Harassment, Fall protection, Joint Health & Safety Committee (over 20 regular workers) and more.
These are just a few that will be checked by the inspector.
Even though they call it a ‘Machine Guarding’ blitz, when an inspector is in your workplace they will go through their entire checklist to make sure that all areas of the workplace health & safety are in place, workers are properly trained and everything is working correctly.
There are some steps you can take before the inspector shows up at your door. First, review related requirements in Regulation 851 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act: Pre Start Health and Safety Reviews (Section 7), machine guarding (Sections 24-44) and maintenance/lockout (Sections 74-76).
Conduct a hazard assessment on your machines and equipment and be sure to pay close attention to older equipment. Employees may have been operating the equipment for years and not even realized a hazard existed.
It’s often beneficial to have a third party, who specialize in the health & safety field, perform the inspections. An outside third party can often see things that may be missed or overlooked by an internal hazard assessment.
Our team of health & safety professionals at BULLIVANT & Associates Inc.have years of experience with all types of workplace inspections. We can help you navigate through all your requirements as an employer and get you current and compliant with all the regulations and laws of the MOL.
If you'd like more information about your workplace inspection and how we can help, please call 905.664.4943 or email [email protected]
If you treat the inspection as an opportunity to learn, then the inspectors are almost always going to help you in every way possible. They'll only issue a stop work order if they find something that has the potential to be a fatal hazard, but more time than not, they will issue you orders to fix the problems and also a date by which they must be fixed.