Safe Workplace and Safety News
This is the safety news blog for the Safe Workplace web site. We cover workplace safety related news with a focus on how safety, or a lack of safety, impacts employers, employees and their families. We also cover topics such as safety training, safety tools, and legal issues related to safety. For regular safety news and information enter your email address in the box above the Subscribe button to the right (then click on the button).
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Big Fines For Violating Fork Lift Safety Rules In Ontario
ONTARIO SAFETY BLITZ TARGETS INDUSTRIAL WORKPLACES
The Ontario provincial government is cracking down on hazards involving forklifts and lifting devices at industrial workplaces during February, Labour Minister Peter Fonseca announced yesterday.
Inspectors will focus on ensuring employers are inspecting and maintaining lifting devices in good condition, using competent persons to operate the equipment and ensuring that the equipment is being used in a safe work environment.
For each conviction, the court can impose a fine of up to $500,000 against a corporation convicted under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Individuals face a fine of up to $25,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.
This initiative is part of the province’s new Safe At Work Ontario blitz strategy, announced on July 23, 2008. Keeping more workers safe means increased productivity for Ontario’s economy and less strain on the health care system.
“Forklifts and other lifting devices are a significant cause of serious worker injury and deaths,” said Labour Minister Peter Fonseca. “The Government of Ontario and its workplace partners are committed to eliminating all workplace injuries, including those related to these lifting devices. Workers have a right to come home each day to their families, safe and sound.”
QUICK FACTS
* The Ministry of Labour compliance program that ran from April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2008 reduced the workplace injury rate by 20 per cent, or more than 50,000 incidents.
* Thirteen workers died between 2003 and 2007 as a result of industrial incidents involving lift trucks, reach trucks, forklifts and tow motors, according to ministry statistics.
* In total, there were 10,308 forklift–related incidents where there was a lost time injury between 1996 and 2008, an average of 793 incidents a year, according to the data compiled by the Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario (OHSCO).
* Because of the drop in the annual rate of lost–time injuries, employers have avoided about $5 billion in direct and indirect costs during the four years ending March 31, 2008. Reduced injuries also result in less strain on the health care system, and fewer workers off the job means increased productivity for Ontario’s economy.
Learn more about Ontario’s new four year plan, Safe at Work Ontario, that will help strengthen workplace safety.
The Ontario provincial government is cracking down on hazards involving forklifts and lifting devices at industrial workplaces during February, Labour Minister Peter Fonseca announced yesterday.
Inspectors will focus on ensuring employers are inspecting and maintaining lifting devices in good condition, using competent persons to operate the equipment and ensuring that the equipment is being used in a safe work environment.
For each conviction, the court can impose a fine of up to $500,000 against a corporation convicted under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Individuals face a fine of up to $25,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.
This initiative is part of the province’s new Safe At Work Ontario blitz strategy, announced on July 23, 2008. Keeping more workers safe means increased productivity for Ontario’s economy and less strain on the health care system.
“Forklifts and other lifting devices are a significant cause of serious worker injury and deaths,” said Labour Minister Peter Fonseca. “The Government of Ontario and its workplace partners are committed to eliminating all workplace injuries, including those related to these lifting devices. Workers have a right to come home each day to their families, safe and sound.”
QUICK FACTS
* The Ministry of Labour compliance program that ran from April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2008 reduced the workplace injury rate by 20 per cent, or more than 50,000 incidents.
* Thirteen workers died between 2003 and 2007 as a result of industrial incidents involving lift trucks, reach trucks, forklifts and tow motors, according to ministry statistics.
* In total, there were 10,308 forklift–related incidents where there was a lost time injury between 1996 and 2008, an average of 793 incidents a year, according to the data compiled by the Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario (OHSCO).
* Because of the drop in the annual rate of lost–time injuries, employers have avoided about $5 billion in direct and indirect costs during the four years ending March 31, 2008. Reduced injuries also result in less strain on the health care system, and fewer workers off the job means increased productivity for Ontario’s economy.
Learn more about Ontario’s new four year plan, Safe at Work Ontario, that will help strengthen workplace safety.
Labels: Canadian Safety Standards, safety management, safety statistics, Vehicle Safety, workplace safety
posted by Steve Hudgik |
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Friday, October 03, 2008
CSA Launches New Electronic Access To Canadian Occupational Health and Safety Standards
The Canadian Standards Association (CSA), a leading developer of standards and codes, is today launching a two-year pilot project to increase accessibility to CSA Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) standards by offering users access to online viewing. The View Access initiative has been developed in collaboration with federal, provincial and territorial OSH governmental agencies. It will allow registered users to access OHS standards referenced in various Canadian jurisdictions and view the full content through CSA's website www.ohs.csa.ca
"Appropriate occupational health and safety practices can mean the difference between life and death," says Suzanne Kiraly, President, Standards, Canadian Standards Association. "This initiative will especially help small and medium-sized organizations improve workplace safety. By making these documents available we hope that companies will know and apply occupational health and safety standards."
CSA is a not-for-profit, membership-based association that develops standards and provides education and training to ensure standards are applied. This collaboration with government representatives for Labour is the first of its kind in CSA's history and is driven by the pressing need to improve workplace safety.
"Every year more than 1,000 Canadians die as a result of workplace injuries and disease. We can and should do more to protect the lives of workers. We need information, best practices and safer products to make a difference. CSA believes this new project will serve to raise awareness of OHS products and services and will help reduce workplace injuries and fatalities in Canada," says Kiraly.
For more than 55 years, CSA has worked with the experts to develop occupational health and safety standards to help safeguard Canadian workers. View Access is a source for employers to learn more about their rights and obligations under the law related to OHS and it provides additional resources that can help employers understand and apply OHS standards. CSA believes this type of stakeholder collaboration is fundamental to the safety of working Canadians.
Federal, provincial and territorial OSH governmental agencies are funding the development and maintenance of the initiative as a two-year pilot project and will continue to monitor the overall usage and impact in cooperation with CSA over the project period. Users can now log into the View Access website directly at www.ohs.csa.ca
About CSA
Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is a membership association serving industry, government, consumers and other interested parties in Canada and the global marketplace. As a leading solutions-based standards organization providing standards and codes development, application products, training and advisory services, CSA aims to enhance public safety, improve quality of life, preserve the environment and facilitate trade. The Canadian Standards Association is a division of CSA Group, which also consists of CSA International, which provides testing and certification services for electrical, mechanical, plumbing, gas and a variety of other products; and OnSpeX, a provider of consumer product evaluation, inspection and advisory services for retailers and manufacturers. For more information visit www.csa.ca
"Appropriate occupational health and safety practices can mean the difference between life and death," says Suzanne Kiraly, President, Standards, Canadian Standards Association. "This initiative will especially help small and medium-sized organizations improve workplace safety. By making these documents available we hope that companies will know and apply occupational health and safety standards."
CSA is a not-for-profit, membership-based association that develops standards and provides education and training to ensure standards are applied. This collaboration with government representatives for Labour is the first of its kind in CSA's history and is driven by the pressing need to improve workplace safety.
"Every year more than 1,000 Canadians die as a result of workplace injuries and disease. We can and should do more to protect the lives of workers. We need information, best practices and safer products to make a difference. CSA believes this new project will serve to raise awareness of OHS products and services and will help reduce workplace injuries and fatalities in Canada," says Kiraly.
For more than 55 years, CSA has worked with the experts to develop occupational health and safety standards to help safeguard Canadian workers. View Access is a source for employers to learn more about their rights and obligations under the law related to OHS and it provides additional resources that can help employers understand and apply OHS standards. CSA believes this type of stakeholder collaboration is fundamental to the safety of working Canadians.
Federal, provincial and territorial OSH governmental agencies are funding the development and maintenance of the initiative as a two-year pilot project and will continue to monitor the overall usage and impact in cooperation with CSA over the project period. Users can now log into the View Access website directly at www.ohs.csa.ca
About CSA
Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is a membership association serving industry, government, consumers and other interested parties in Canada and the global marketplace. As a leading solutions-based standards organization providing standards and codes development, application products, training and advisory services, CSA aims to enhance public safety, improve quality of life, preserve the environment and facilitate trade. The Canadian Standards Association is a division of CSA Group, which also consists of CSA International, which provides testing and certification services for electrical, mechanical, plumbing, gas and a variety of other products; and OnSpeX, a provider of consumer product evaluation, inspection and advisory services for retailers and manufacturers. For more information visit www.csa.ca
Labels: Canadian Safety Standards, Industrial Health, Industrial Safety
posted by Steve Hudgik |
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