Health and Safety Excellence program: Topic requirements

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary: 

The success of your health and safety program depends on effective leadership from senior management and their commitment to the health and well-being of everyone in the workplace. 

This topic includes development and implementation of: 

1. senior management occupational health and safety responsibilities, and
2. a health and safety policy.

Requirements:

Responsibilities of senior management

Senior management must show leadership and commitment to the health and safety of everyone in your business. At least one senior manager must oversee the health and safety program. All employees need to know who this person is and how to contact them.

Senior management will: 

• take overall responsibility and accountability for the protection of everyone's health and safety in the workplace
• plan and implement the health and safety program
• make sure there’s a budget for safety activities
• ensure that all employees have the time, training and support to participate in the health and safety program

Health and safety policy

Senior management will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written health and safety policy that's right for the size, industry and location of your business. The health and safety policy must include their commitment to:

• preventing illness and injury in the workplace
• meeting all legal requirements
• involving workers in the development of the policy
• working together to create a workplace that is physically and psychologically safe
• continually improving the health and safety program and health and safety performance

The health and safety policy must:

• provide a framework for setting and reviewing health and safety objectives
• be documented, implemented and maintained
• be communicated and made readily available
• be reviewed as often as is necessary, but at least annually
• be signed and dated by the employer and the highest member of management at the workplace

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed the leadership and commitment topic, or you’re completing it at the same time.

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

Everyone has a part to play in keeping the workplace safe. Health and safety responsibilities are outlined in applicable legislation (the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Canada Labour Code, other health and safety laws) and in your workplace health and safety program.

For example, the Occupational Health and Safety Act sets out responsibilities for:

1. the employer (who oversees everyone in the business)
2. the supervisor (who oversees a workplace or has authority over someone who works there)
3. the worker (this is the term used in the law to describe any person who performs work or supplies services)

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard to define health and safety responsibilities for all parties in your workplace. The written standard must include:

• the employer*, supervisor, worker, joint health and safety committee (JHSC), health and safety representative, visitors and others
• responsibilities under applicable law
• responsibilities resulting from company rules and the health and safety program

*Employer responsibilities are included in the leadership and commitment topic. You are not required to repeat this work.

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

Communication is the key to building a healthy, safe and productive workplace. It ensures that everyone understands health and safety messages. Communication is a two-way process, with information being shared and received.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that must include: 

• requirement to provide information on the health and safety program and its progress
• receiving, documenting and responding appropriately to internal and external health and safety communications (e.g., internal is within your business, examples of external communications are emergency services and regulatory bodies)
• methods of ensuring communication is appropriate for the intended audience (e.g., accommodating an individual with hearing or vision impairment, language skills and literacy)
• roles and responsibilities for individuals responsible for the communication of information
• identifying methods of communication that meet the needs of the business, such as: newsletters, bulletin boards, safety talks, department meetings, intranet
• identifying methods of getting suggestions, ideas and feedback from all employees (e.g., suggestion box, feedback, ideas)
• identifying when to communicate (e.g., how often is information communicated and how is it documented?)
   

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

All employees (or their representatives) must be informed, consulted and given the opportunity to participate in health and safety at the workplace.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard(s) making sure everyone in your business is able to participate in workplace health and safety. 

Encourage and support people to participate in health and safety at your workplace in different ways, including but not limited to:

• becoming a health and safety representative, or participating on the joint health and safety committee(s) or trades committee(s)
• doing hazard identification, risk assessments and determination of controls
• conducting incident investigations
• developing and reviewing of health and safety policies, procedures, processes and health and safety objectives
• accessing relevant reports (air sampling results, noise surveys, etc.)
• working on any other health and safety matters, as appropriate

Everyone who works at your business, including their representatives, must be provided with appropriate information, training, time and resources necessary to effectively participate in health and safety. Encourage and support participation by identifying and removing any barriers (e.g., literacy and language barriers, failure to respond to input or suggestions).

You may want to choose this topic if you’re also working on the risk assessment topic.

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

The first step in the risk assessment process is identifying workplace hazards that could cause harm. Before your business can effectively reduce the risk from workplace hazards, you need to know what they are. Hazards come in many forms: chemical, physical, biological, musculoskeletal, safety and psychological.

Requirements:

This topic focuses on creating a process for identifying hazards and creating a written list/registry of all the hazards within your workplace that could hurt someone.

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard for identifying workplace hazards. The written standard must include the following:

• the definition of a hazard
• assigned roles and responsibilities for identifying workplace hazards and creating a list/registry
• identify the training that those with responsibility for hazard identification will receive
• identify hazard categories to consider when identifying health and safety hazards (chemical, physical, biological, musculoskeletal, safety and psychological)
• a process for creating the list/registry that explains what the list/registry is, how it’s used and maintained
• the requirement to review the list/registry of hazards when there are changes to or in the workplace and when a new or uncontrolled hazard is identified
• a defined review period for the procedure (e.g., annual, bi-annual)
• details of how workers (or their representatives) will be informed, consulted and participate in the hazard identification process

Your business will create a written list/registry of all workplace hazards that considers the following, as applicable to your business:

• hazards posed by workplace activities and the work environment
• hazards posed by people, equipment, materials and processes
• hazards involved in routine and non-routine activities (e.g., maintenance or repair)
• hazards that affect any person in the workplace (e.g., employees, customers, contractors, visitors, etc.)
• hazards that affect employees who may work at locations not under the control of the business (e.g., client homes, other businesses, temporary agencies, fieldwork, events)
• the design and layout of the work area, installations, machinery, equipment, processes, related procedures or controls
• hazards that may result from human interaction within the workplace (e.g., violence or harassment)
• hazards associated with the start-up, use and operation of, maintenance, and set-up and shutdown conditions of machinery, equipment or processes
• hazards identified through available workplace records, including past incident or near- miss reports and inspection reports

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary: 

Reporting workplace hazards helps identify where there is a safety concern. Once you know where incidents, injuries or illnesses could happen, you can take steps to prevent them. Everyone in the workplace needs to take an active role in reporting hazards in the workplace. 

Requirements: 

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard for reporting workplace hazards.

The written standard must:

• include the definition of a hazard
• assign roles and responsibilities for reporting hazards
• establish standard documentation for people to use for reporting hazards (e.g., hazard reporting forms)
• explain the process to follow when reporting hazards, including when and how to report hazards, what to include and who should be notified (e.g., supervisor, Joint Health and Safety Committee, worker representative)
• establish a method for rating reported hazards to assist with prioritization (examples: A, B, C or high, medium, low)
• outline how a completed hazard report will be used, including who is responsible for responding to the reports and making sure steps are taken to correct the hazard
• identify a timeframe for addressing the reported hazard(s)
• require a review of the existing hazard list/registry, if one exists, after a hazard is reported to determine necessary updates
• identify the training all employees will receive on identifying hazards and the hazard reporting procedures
• establish how people will be informed of any changes or steps taken to address a reported hazard
• define a review period for the procedure (e.g., annual, bi-annual)

* Reporting of workplace incidents, injuries and illness is included in the injury, illness and incident reporting topic. Use the hazard reporting topic to identify a proactive process for employees to report hazards.
 

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

Workplace inspections help identify potential hazards and risks in the workplace and can help prevent incidents, injuries or illnesses.

In Ontario, the Occupational Health and Safety Act outlines when workplace inspections must occur. To ensure inspections are complete they should consider chemical, physical, biological, musculoskeletal, safety and psychological hazards in the workplace.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard for workplace inspections.

The written standard must:

• explain the purpose of workplace inspections
• assign roles and responsibilities for workplace inspections
• identify legal requirements for workplace inspections (e.g., Joint Health and Safety Committee/worker representative)
• identify the training that those with responsibility for workplace inspections will receive
• identify areas and equipment to be inspected
• establish when and how often inspections are conducted
• establish standard documentation for recording inspection findings that includes:
  • the name of the person(s) who completed the inspection
  • the date of inspection
  • the locations/equipment inspected
  • a comprehensive list of items to check
  • documentation of any concerns raised from interviews or through observations made during the inspection
  • descriptions and locations of identified hazard(s)
  • a method for prioritizing any hazards identified through an inspection (e.g., A, B, C or high, medium, low)
  • recommendations for correcting any hazards
  • date when hazards were corrected
  • management sign-off
• establish who receives the inspection record, who is responsible for correcting any hazards and the expected timeframes
• require a review of the hazard list/registry, if one exists, after the inspection to determine if this needs to be updated
• identify how long and where inspection records will be kept
• establish how employees will be informed of the results of workplace inspections and made aware of what changes or steps were taken to correct any issues
• define a review period for the procedure (e.g., annual, bi-annual)
• * Pre-use inspections are included in the pre-use inspection topic. You are not required to repeat this work.

You may want to choose this topic if you’re also working on the hazard identification topic.

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

Understanding the hazards in a workplace and how those hazards could result in injury or illness is known as risk assessment. Once you’ve recognized the hazards in your workplace, the next step is to determine how likely those hazards are to cause an injury or illness, and how severe a resulting injury would be.

This approach helps you prioritize where to spend your time and money. Businesses that focus on risk assessment will see the benefits of effectively eliminating or controlling health and safety hazards in their workplace.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard describing how you will assess risk in your business. You’ll prioritize risks based on the nature of the hazards and level of risk for each of the routine and non-routine work in your business.

You will document and update all risk assessments and make them easily assessable. Everyone at your workplace (or their representatives) will be informed, consulted and given the chance to take part in the risk assessments.

The written standard must:

• assign roles and responsibilities for the people directly responsible for conducting the risk assessment
• identify the essential skills and training needed for those conducting the risk assessment(s)
• be completed before performing any task(s) related to the operations and/or activity and before the introduction, start-up or use of new equipment, material, substance or process
• be completed when there is a change to existing equipment, material, chemical or process and when there is a change to the health and safety management system that may affect workplace operations and/or activities
• include or take into consideration contributing factors that may, cause a low-priority risk to become a high-priority risk (e.g., working outside cutting grass may normally be a low priority risk, but when thunderstorms are present the risk may rise to high priority)
• include a review of related job factors as well as personal factors which may contribute to risks (e.g., someone has a fear of heights)
• include a way to identify which hazards present the highest risk and prioritize what to work on first (i.e., starting with high-risk hazards, and working down to low-risk hazards)

You may want to choose this topic if you’re also working on the hazard identification and risk assessment topics.

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

Controlling a hazard means taking steps to protect people and to help avoid injuries, illnesses and incidents. Before controlling hazards, it’s important that your business knows how to evaluate and implement controls using a defined written standard. The goal is to eliminate or reduce the risk to as low as possible without creating any new hazards.

Your written standard must apply the hierarchy of controls when determining how to control a hazard. The hierarchy ranks different control methods from the most effective to the least effective level of protection.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard for controlling workplace hazard(s). The written standard must include the following:

• assigned roles and responsibilities for employees directly responsible for developing, implementing, monitoring and maintaining control measures
• competency and training requirements for each of the roles assigned above
• a requirement for prioritizing hazards with the most serious risks so that controls can be applied to these first
• consideration of applicable legislation, regulatory requirements and recognized standards, requirements, guidelines, codes of practice, manufacturer/supplier instructions related to the operations of the organization
• application of the hierarchy of controls when choosing control measures and eliminating or reducing the risk level to as low as possible while considering if controls create new risks
• a requirement for follow-up to confirm that controls are effective
• a defined review period the procedure (e.g., annual, bi-annual)
• details of how employees (or their representatives) will be informed, consulted and participate in the selection of hazard controls

* Use the control of hazards basics topic to establish a foundational procedure to control hazards. Then use this procedure to guide you in selecting and implementing controls using the control of hazards topic.

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed hazard identification, risk assessment, control of hazards basics topics
• you want to address an uncontrolled or new hazard in your business

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary: 

After identifying hazards and assessing the risk of each, you can begin to control them. Controlling a hazard means taking steps to protect people and to help avoid injuries, illnesses and incidents.

For each identified hazard, your business must develop, communicate, train and implement measures to eliminate or reduce the risk of an incident or of someone being hurt or becoming sick from it. 

The control of hazards topic can be selected as many times as needed to address hazards that haven't been controlled. Talk to your program provider to learn more.

Note: When you're ready to submit this topic for validation, you'll need to tell us which approach you took in your evidence story to help the WSIB validator understand how you worked on this topic. Work with your program provider to identify the best approach for you and your business.

You'll need to use the hierarchy of controls when determining how to control a hazard. The hierarchy ranks different control methods from the most effective to the least effective level of protection.

Requirements:

Select one of these three approaches:

1. develop a hazard control program (e.g., hot work, lock out tag out)
2. identify and control a specific hazard in the workplace (e.g., moving vehicles)
3. control all hazards related to a specific process, task or piece of equipment (e.g., receiving and handling vaccines packed in dry ice)

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain written control measures to lower the risk level of the hazard(s). Control measures must be new, current, reflect actual hazards present in your workplace and be implemented in all areas where the hazard(s) exists. Your submission must include:

• which hazard(s) has been controlled
• how the hierarchy of controls was considered and applied to reduce the risk level to as much as possible
• that any applicable legislation or regulatory requirements were considered and met
• how the new control measures have been documented (e.g., control program, policy, safe operating procedures, safe work practices)
• how people educated and trained about the hazards, their risk and how they are controlled
• how it was ensured that people understand the controls and the expectations for how they’ll work safely
• how the implemented controls will be monitored to ensure they’re working as intended; they continue to be effective in reducing the risk posed by the hazard; and that employees are using the controls correctly and consistently (e.g., include in your workplace inspections, include as an agenda item on your Joint Health and Safety Committee meeting)
   

Examples of common workplace hazards and control programs

The following is a list of common hazards and associated control programs. This is not an exhaustive list. If you want to implement a hazard control program or work on a specific hazard that is not listed, please speak to your program provider for guidance.

You’re not permitted to work on the same hazards using multiple options.

Examples of hazard control programs

Examples of specific hazards

Chemical hazards:

• exposure to chemicals (absorption, inhalation, ingestion, injection)
• exposure to compressed gas
• exposure to corrosive liquids and solids
• exposure to dangerously reactive liquids and solids
• exposure to flammable and combustible materials
• exposure to oxidizing agents
• exposure to toxic materials

Physical hazards:

• exposure to extreme temperatures
• exposure to extreme weather
• exposure to hazardous noise
• exposure to poor lighting
• exposure to radiation (e.g., UV exposure from the sun)
• exposure to vibration

Musculoskeletal hazards:

• awkward postures
• overexertion
• patient handling/repositioning
• poor tool design
• poor workstation design
• repetition
• static postures
• working overhead

Biological hazards:

• exposure to animals (bites/scratches)
• exposure to biohazardous materials (e.g., blood, vomit, feces, urine)
• exposure to blood-borne pathogens
• exposure to hazardous plants (e.g., poison ivy, giant hogweed)
• exposure to insects (e.g., ticks, bees)
• exposure to mould and fungus

Safety hazards:

• blades, sharp objects
• confined space
• electrical hazards
• equipment collapse (e.g., racking, scaffolding, trenching)
• falls from elevation
• firearms
• flying debris (e.g., blasting, grinding, hammering, drilling)
• hazardous energy (e.g., electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, gravitational, mechanical)
• high-pressure air
• industrial lasers
• medical sharps
• moving parts (e.g., conveyors, pinch points, nip points, punches, rotation points, blades)
• overhead hazard/load
• slips, trips and falls from the same level (walking and working surfaces)
• struck by moving equipment
• struck by moving vehicles
• struck by person
• welding, cutting, grinding, soldering and brazing

Psychological hazards:

• caring for violent or aggressive patients
• exposure to traumatic or stressful events

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

Consistent reporting of injuries, illnesses and incidents helps businesses meet WSIB, Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and other legal reporting requirements. It allows for timely investigations and helps you take steps to prevent them from happening again.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard for reporting of injuries, illnesses and incidents.

The standard must include:

• definitions of injury, illness and incidents, including incidents with known health and safety or psychological impacts
• reporting requirements for incidents (e.g., fatalities, critical injuries, lost-time injuries, medical aid, occupational illness, property damage, fire, environmental release and incidents with potential for psychological injury)
• description of the roles and responsibilities for employers, supervisors, employees and Joint Health and Safety Committee or health and safety representatives
• when to report an injury, illness or incident
• notification requirements (i.e., who should be notified internally and externally, and when)
• what treatment should be provided (e.g., first aid, medical aid)
• recording requirements (documentation and record-keeping)

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed or are working on injury, illness and incident reporting topic.

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary: 

Incident investigations help you understand why incidents occur and how to prevent them. 

Requirements: 

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard to investigate, analyze, document and maintain records for all incidents.

The written standard must include:

• roles and responsibilities for management, Joint Health and Safety Committee, health and safety representatives and others who may be assigned to or are required to participate in the investigation process
• requirement for the person or people investigating incidents to be trained and competent
• identification of root causes, including all contributing factors
• requirement to take actions to mitigate any additional consequences of an incident
• identification and implementation of recommended corrective and preventive actions
• identification of opportunities for continual improvement
• requirement for the investigation process to be conducted in a professional manner
• investigation timelines
• reporting/notification requirements for both internal and external parties
• communication of investigation results and follow-up with appropriate workplace parties

Investigations will be conducted for:

• fatalities
• critical injuries
• lost-time injuries
• no lost-time injuries (i.e., medical aid)
• first aid and near misses
• occupational illnesses
• property damage
• fires
• environmental releases
• workplace violence and harassment
• incidents with potential for psychological injury

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

First aid is help given to someone who has become ill or been injured until they can access professional medical care. The purpose of first aid is to minimize injury and future disability. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Act regulation 1101 sets out the requirements for all employers covered by the WSIB to have first aid equipment, facilities and trained personnel in all workplaces in relation to physical injuries.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard(s) that meet the requirements of regulation 1101 and must include, but not limited to the following:

• first aid station(s)
• first aid kit inspections
• record of the first aid treatment/advice given to anyone treated (i.e., incident report)
• training requirements e.g., level of training and frequency of training/re-training
• names of those trained in first aid (WSIB-approved training)
• display of required postings
• procedure for transportation of the injured or ill person to a hospital, doctor's office or home, if necessary

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place
• you’re working on the health and safety training topic

Summary:

Every businesses needs to be sure that the people that doing work for them have the skills they need to do it properly and safely.

This means that the person:

1. knows about the dangers and risks of the job
2. understands how to manage those risks
3. has been trained on these risks and how to handle them
4. has the skills, knowledge and willingness to deal with these risks safely

Requirements:

Your business must establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that must include:

1. identification of task competency expectations
2. identify and list the required health and safety certification(s) and licenses for all positions to ensure that any person who performs a task has current certification(s) and licenses
3. training needs analysis or assessment for each position
4. a review at regularly planned intervals

Your business must take into account:

• different levels of responsibility of those being trained (e.g., training may be different for supervisors and managers)
• literacy, language skills and overall ability of those being trained
• likelihood of exposure to the hazards and risk

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place
• you’ve completed or are also working on the competency topic

Summary:

Health and safety training helps ensure that people assigned to tasks can do them safely and are less likely to get hurt. The training must be effective and appropriate for the workplace, including refresher training as required. Training must be based on an assessment that identifies required health and safety training, sets a timetable for completion and determines how often refresher training is needed.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard for health and safety training that includes:

• how the training will be given and managed
• how the training will be assessed, evaluated, monitored and updated, as necessary
• a requirement that a competent person handles all the above task

Health and safety training must include, at a minimum:

• training as prescribed by applicable legislation
• roles, responsibilities and rights
• the purpose of the health and safety management system, and its respective elements
• conforming to the health and safety policy, procedures and the health and safety management system overall
• legal and other requirements, including potential consequences for deviations or noncompliance
• importance of worker participation within the health and safety management system
• any other requirements to ensure a person is competent

Your business will:

• ensure required training or instruction is provided for each individual prior to the individual performing the required task
• consider the different levels of responsibility, literacy, language skills, overall ability and likelihood of exposure to the hazards and risk of the learner
• retain a record of training for each person for, as a minimum, the duration the training record is valid

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place.

Summary:

All workplaces, regardless of size or sector, are required to identify legal and other applicable requirements. These exist as municipal, provincial, federal and other requirements.

Requirements:

Your business must establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard to identify and document legal and other requirements that are applicable to your business. The standard must include a method for checking for new laws and regulations and updating the standard as needed.

Your business must ensure:

• all legal and other requirements will be taken into account, and incorporated as appropriate, into the establishment, implementation and maintenance of the health and safety program
• the documentation of legal and other requirements is kept current and that relevant information related to the legal and/or other requirements is communicated to the workplace parties as appropriate

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place.

Summary:

Establishing accountabilities recognizes accomplishments and contributions, while reminding everyone of their roles in keeping the workplace healthy and safe.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard to hold workplace parties accountable for carrying out their health and safety responsibilities. This applies to all workplace parties.

The written standard must:

• include a method of performance evaluation that determines whether health and safety responsibilities are met in your business
• include a progressive discipline process to ensure health and safety responsibilities are implemented
• include incorporating health and safety responsibilities into job descriptions and checking to make sure the responsibilities are carried out
• be reviewed on a regularly planned schedule

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place
• you’re working on the emergency response topic

Summary:

Being prepared for an emergency means you have a plan for situations that may happen in or to your workplace. Examples include, but are not limited to, bomb threats, chemical spills, fire, gas leaks, threat of violence, being trapped in a confined space, medical emergencies, motor vehicle incidents, power outages, severe weather, working at heights emergencies, external threats and pandemic (broad public emergencies).

Requirements:

Your business will identify the types of emergency situations you may face and then develop and implement written standards to prevent the emergencies from happening (where possible) and be prepared for them if they do happen.

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard(s) to:

• identify potential emergency situations
• prevent, as far as reasonably practicable, an emergency from occurring
• identify the necessary resources to implement the prevention procedures, while considering the needs of other interested parties, such as emergency services, authorities or the general public
• communicate emergency prevention procedures with all workplace parties and known external interested parties, including specific training for any person with defined duties or responsibilities in relation to the procedures or plans
• review the written standard at minimum annually and revise as needed

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place
• you’re working on the emergency prevention and preparedness topic

Summary:

Well-developed and implemented emergency response plans can:

• prevent fatalities and injuries
• minimize damage to buildings, inventory and equipment
• protect the environment and the community
• help your business get back to normal operations quickly

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement monitor and maintain written standard(s) to:

• establish documented response plans for to emergencies
• prevent or minimize injury or occupational illness for the identified emergency
• test or drill for the identified emergencies
• identify the necessary resources to activate the response plans, including considering the needs of emergency services, authorities or the general public
• ensure that response equipment is maintained in good working condition and always operationally ready
• ensure that drills or testing of the response plans for the identified emergency are conducted regularly and in ways that do not introduce new hazards (with records of drills and tests retained)
• review emergency response plans and revise as appropriate, but at minimum annually
• communicate emergency response plans to all workplace parties and known external interested parties, and offer specific training for any person with defined duties or responsibilities in relation to the procedures or plans

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place
• you’re interested in preventing work-related mental stress
• you want to identify the psychosocial hazards in your workplace that may result in work-related mental stress
• this topic is new to your business (your business does not yet have a psychological health and safety program)

Summary

Creating a psychologically healthy and safe workplace involves taking steps to prevent work-related psychological harm, starting with identifying and assessing psychosocial factors in the workplace.

These factors include:

• balance
• civility and respect
• clear leadership and expectations
• engagement
• growth and development
• involvement and influence
• organizational culture
• protection of physical safety
• psychological competencies and demands
• psychological protection
• psychological and social support
• recognition and reward
• workload management 

The Mental Health—Psychosocial Risk Factors in the Workplace provides a detailed description of each factor. 

The National Standard (CSA Z-1003-13 Psychological health and safety in the workplace) identifies these thirteen psychosocial factors, but health and safety practitioners now recognize there may be several more. 

Health and Safety Excellence program members can refer to the Psychological Health and Safety Topics Member Support Guide for information about meeting the requirements of this topic.

Requirements

To complete this topic, your business must establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that identifies and assesses the impact of psychosocial factors in your workplace. 

The standard must:

• include a clear statement from leadership, showing their commitment to creating a psychologically healthy and safe workplace
• assign roles and responsibilities to individuals responsible for identifying and assessing psychosocial factors
• specify the training requirements for these individuals
• outline a plan for educating, consulting and involving employees in the process to identify and assess psychosocial factors
• outline a plan, including an assessment tool, to evaluate the impact of all psychosocial factors and prioritize those with the highest risk
• include a process for identifying and monitoring workplace trends, such as increased absenteeism, poor leadership or high-stress levels to determine the impact of psychosocial factors on the work environment
• establish a defined schedule for regularly reviewing and re-evaluating the impact of psychosocial factors on the workplace

In addition to the standard, you’ll also need to:

1. create an inventory of existing psychological health and safety support (internal and external) available to employees
2. document a supportive approach for employees who disclose mental health concerns
3. maintain a list or registry of psychosocial factors and their risk levels, and prioritize them for action and control measures

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you completed (or are completing) the psychological health and safety 1: assessing your risk topic
• you want to prevent work-related mental stress injuries and illnesses
• you’ve already identified and assessed the psychosocial hazards in your workplace
• this topic is new to your business (your business does not yet have a psychological health and safety program)

Summary

The next step after assessing the psychosocial factors in your workplace is to implement new control measures that reduce or eliminate negative factors, known as psychosocial hazards. You should implement these new control measures using the hierarchy of controls, focusing on eliminating or controlling hazards at their source if possible.

To simplify the process, it is considered best practice to choose one or two closely related psychosocial hazards to work on. When submitting your work to the WSIB, you only need to select one psychosocial hazard to control using the process you developed.

Health and Safety Excellence program members can refer to the Psychological Health and Safety Topics Member Support Guide for information about meeting the requirements of this topic.

Requirements

To complete this topic, your business must establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that outlines the steps to follow when selecting and implementing new controls to reduce the risk of workplace psychosocial hazards. 

The standard must:

• include a statement expressing ongoing commitment to monitor psychosocial hazards and implement additional controls to prevent psychological harm in the workplace
• assign roles and responsibilities to individuals responsible for selecting and implementing controls
• specify the training requirements for these individuals
• outline a plan for educating, consulting and involving employees in selecting and implementing controls
• outline a process for reviewing identified psychosocial hazards and selecting controls
  • prioritize psychosocial hazards with the highest risks
  • consider and apply the hierarchy of controls in reducing the risk of psychosocial hazards
• outline how you will ensure all employees understand the implemented control measures
• specify how you will confirm the effectiveness of implemented controls
• set a defined schedule for reviewing and maintaining a psychologically healthy and safe workplace
  Select the psychosocial hazard with the highest risk and use the developed process to establish, implement, monitor and maintain new control measures.

For a successful validation, include the following:

• specify which psychosocial hazard(s) you controlled
• describe how you considered the hierarchy of controls and applied it to minimize the risk of the psychosocial hazard(s)
• document the control measures you implemented
• explain how you trained and educated people on the psychosocial hazard(s), their risks and the control measures you implemented
• explain how you made sure employees understand the controls and how they can participate
• share if you determined if your controls were successful and if you made any adjustments

After completing this topic

You should keep using the process you developed to continuously evaluate psychosocial hazards and then select and implement additional controls for any remaining ones.  

This ongoing process is not eligible for additional Health and Safety Excellence program rebates but is essential for a psychologically healthy and safe workplace.

Note: Workplace violence and harassment affect psychological health and safety but are specific health and safety programs. You can use the control of hazards topic to develop and implement these specific workplace programs.

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place
• you’re working on return-to-work roles and responsibilities and accommodation and return-to-work plans topics

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

The return-to-work program helps businesses support people coming back to work after an injury or illness.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that that must include:

• roles and responsibilities for initiating and maintaining contact with the injured/ill person
• frequency and methods of contact (e.g., telephone calls, meetings, emails, letters)
• opportunities for collaboration and input from injured/ill person, supervisor, return-to-work coordinator and union where applicable to develop return-to-work plans
• required documentation (e.g., WSIB's Form 8, functional abilities forms, letters of offer)
• provisions for requesting independent medical assessments or functional abilities evaluations where appropriate
• analysis of job tasks and/or physical and cognitive demands analysis to determine suitability
• privacy policies and processes that protect personal information
• standards for record keeping and document retention policies

The written standard includes the use of at minimum, the following standardized forms, tools and templates to manage the return-to-work process:

• functional abilities form
• return-to-work plan
• contact log
• progress report
• physical and cognitive demands analysis (regular and transitional work assignments)
• letter to health care practitioner
• modified work offer letter to injured/ill person
• medical consent for release of information
• return-to-work plan closure and evaluation feedback forms

The written standard includes procedures for reporting and resolving return-to-work disputes:

• internally (e.g., who to report, how to report, process for resolution)
• externally (e.g., WSIB Return-to-Work Specialist, WSIB appeal, third party mediation, Ontario Human Rights Commission complaint)

The written standard has procedures for program evaluation that include clearly defined performance measures including, but not limited to:

• return-to-work plan outcomes (e.g., how many went back to work)
• duration of plans
• return-to-work program costs (e.g., lost-time benefits, costs of accommodation, etc.)
• return-to-work program satisfaction surveys

The written standard includes the assignment of responsibility to establish a budget and track, analyze and prepare a report on the results of the program evaluation:

• communication of performance measures and results are shared with senior management and employees annually
• improvement opportunities are added to the company's continuous improvement plan(s)

Recommended prerequisite(s):

All level one topics and should be selected at the same time as return-to-work program requirements, forms and tools, and accommodation and return-to-work plans

Summary:

Defining detailed roles and responsibilities is the most important step in defining a return-to- work program and ensuring its success.

Requirements:

The business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain the roles, responsibilities and training requirements of a multidisciplinary team within the return-to-work program to facilitate a safe and timely return to work.

The employer maintains a documented return-to-work program that includes defined roles and responsibilities for (where applicable):

• return-to-work coordinator
• senior management/owner
• supervisors
• workers
• co-workers
• health care provider(s)
• WSIB
• where applicable:
  • insurers
  • return-to-work/disability management committee
  • union
  • medical department
  • the employer has assigned an individual(s) to coordinate return-to-work activities that is knowledgeable, experienced and/or trained in return-to-work coordination and/or disability management

Return-to-work training includes:

• the goals and objectives of the program
• the roles and responsibilities of everyone during the return-to-work process
• procedures for initiating and responding to accommodation requests
• procedures for dispute resolution 

The employer:

• reviews program requirements and responsibilities with workers annually and with an injured/ill person when injury or illness is reported
• ensures return-to-work program information is accessible to all workers (e.g., on intranet or bulletin boards)
• keeps records of return-to-work training and evaluates annually

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place
• you’re working on return-to-work program requirements, forms and tools, and return-to-work roles and responsibilities topics

This topic is included in the recommended pathway for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety.

Summary:

The accommodation process includes an analysis and comparison of job tasks and physical and cognitive demands with the injured/ill person's abilities. Accommodations are considered when limitations in a person’s abilities prevent them from performing their regular job duties.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that includes provisions for returning an injured/ill person back to work. Return-to-work planning to identify suitable return-to-work options begins when the functional/cognitive abilities of the injured/ill person are confirmed.

The written standard looks to establish optimum return-to-work options that must include:

• return-to-work pre-injury position
• return-to-work pre-injury position with accommodation(s)
• return-to-work suitable (another position)
• return-to-work other available work

The written standard includes provisions for:

• transitional or temporary alternate work
• graduated return-to-work
• the purchase of assistive devices/accommodation supports where appropriate

Return-to-work plans are jointly developed and documented to include:

• the return-to-work goal with key milestones and timelines
• roles and responsibilities
• functional abilities/limitations
• required job/task functions/details
• accommodation details (temporary/permanent)
• injured/ill person, supervisor and return-to-work coordinator input/signatures

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place.

Summary:

Pre-use inspections are conducted before using any equipment or process. If a deficiency is identified, it must be addressed before use.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that must include:

• a list of all items (inventory) to be inspected
• a pre-use inspection schedule that includes:
  • identification of who is required to do pre-use inspections
  • frequency of inspections
• a standard recording form/log/checklist to be used for each pre-use inspection that documents:
  • equipment inspected
  • inspectors signature or initials or identification
  • date of inspection
  • list of components to be inspected
  • description of any hazard discovered
  • recommendations for corrective action
• record that shows corrective action (who, what, when) was taken before equipment is used
• review of records by supervisor/manager to ensure identified corrective actions have been taken

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place.

Summary:

Preventative maintenance helps you identify problems or defects in specific equipment and correct them before they lead to an incident, injury or breakdown of equipment.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a preventive maintenance written standard that includes:

• a list of all items included in the program (inventory)
• documented inspection schedules for each piece of equipment that requires scheduled servicing, and adjusting or replacing of their components including but not limited to:
  • mobile equipment
  • production equipment
  • facility equipment, such as heating and ventilation
  • other workplace-specific equipment
• standards and schedules to be met, including:
  • manufacturer's instructions
  • industry standards
  • legislation requirements
• a standard recording form
• roles and responsibilities of applicable workplace parties related to preventive maintenance
• ensure anyone using the equipment is qualified
• assigned responsibility for review of program
• schedule of review

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place.

Summary:

Documents are written materials such as policies, procedures, methods or practices. 

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that outlines how your business will write health and safety documents. It should include the following requirements:

• how the document fits in your health and safety program (its scope)
• its objectives (what you hope to achieve with it), and how you’ll make sure you’re measuring if it’s working (e.g., leading and lagging indicators)
• how it might relate to any other existing documents
• how you’ll share the document and how long you keep it

The creation, collection, retention and distribution of documents should comply with all applicable legal requirements, collective agreements and organizational policies, as appropriate.

The written standard for managing the creation, approval, distribution and archiving of health and safety documents must include:

• approval of documents before use
• regular review and updating of documents where applicable, including removal of out- of-date documents
• tracking changes made to documents (what was changed, who changed it)
• documents that are readily available when and where needed
• documents that are legible and readily identifiable
• identification of documents from a source outside your business
• prevention of unintended use of out-of-date documents and identification of such documents if they are retained for any purpose

Documents will be created in a format that is accessible to all workplace parties. Special needs will be accommodated such as language, literacy or disabilities. Additionally, the privacy of personal or sensitive information must be considered when developing procedures for control of documents.

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place.

Summary:

Unlike documents, which can be updated as needed, records are proof something happened. Examples of records include, training records, meeting minutes, inspection reports, evaluation reports, sampling reports, documented interviews and test results.

Requirements:

The health and safety management system documentation must include, as a minimum, records determined by your business to be necessary for planning, implementation, control, evaluation and overall management of the health and safety management system.

The creation, collection, retention and distribution of records must comply with all applicable legal requirements, collective agreements and organizational policies, as appropriate. Your business must create and maintain records to provide evidence of conformity to health and safety system requirements.

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard to:

• maintain records as necessary to demonstrate conformity to the requirements of its health and safety management system
• identify, store, protect, retrieve, retain and dispose of records
• ensure protection of privacy and confidentiality, as appropriate
• ensure records are, and remain, legible, identifiable and tracked, so that they can be retrieved if needed

Employees have the right to access records relevant to their health and safety, while respecting the need for confidentiality.

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place.
• you’ve completed the health and safety accountabilities topic

Summary:

A contractor is a person or business that provides goods or services to your business under the terms outlined in a written agreement. Contractors include those performing maintenance, renovations or construction, operations security, cleaning and on-site service providers. Examples of contractor services include:

• construction/renovations
• snow removal
• utility service and repair
• equipment maintenance, servicing or repair
• janitorial
• pest control
• food services
• information technology
• security

Having a contractor management program ensures the contractor, their employees and your workplace are safe.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that must include:

• criteria for selecting contractors that have the capability and capacity to meet the health and safety requirements of your business
• a plan to monitor and evaluate contractors' health and safety performance, including:
  • requirement to communicate your health and safety rules, emergency response procedures and notice of any changes affecting the specific work to contractors. Contractors must also communicate relevant health and safety information to the employer.
  • requirement to hold contractors accountable for their health and safety responsibilities (e.g., performance rating system and contract incentives)
  • consequences for unsafe behaviour (e.g., not working in compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and regulation, policy or procedure violations)
  • the identification of hazards, control of risks and the competency and ability of the contractor to control the risk(s) to your business's employees arising from the contractor's activities and materials
  • the identification of hazards, control of risks and the competency and ability of the contractor to control the risk(s) to the contractor and the contractor's employees arising from your business's activities and materials
  • communication with contractors when changes affecting the specific work or circumstances surrounding the work
• acceptance/sign-off documentation by the contractor that they’ll abide by the employer's (e.g., general contractor) health and safety program and/or rules and regulations at the worksite

There may be circumstances where there is more than one employer or contractor present at a job site. In these situations, your business must establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard for, and lead the coordination and integration of, relevant portions of your business's health and safety management system with the affected contractors.

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place
• you’re interested in promoting wellness in the workplace and at home

Summary:

Workplace health promotion is the combined efforts of your business, employees and community to improve the health and well-being of people, both at work and at home. It may include things like offering healthy food options in the workplace, promoting physical activity and exercise, providing education and resources on mental health, promoting a strong health and safety culture, and promoting general well-being.

Your workplace health promotion program could include initiatives such as:

• employee assistance program
• wellness initiatives
• mental health promotion
• psychological/mental health first aid
• vehicle safety
• personal health and safety
• health and safety at home
• off-the-job health and safety

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that promotes healthy and safe lifestyles both on and off the job.

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed all foundation level topics or have a foundational health and safety program in place.

Summary:

Health and safety objectives are established by your business to improve health and safety performance. These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and have timelines.

Objectives can be set:

• for the whole business (e.g., reduce slips, trips and falls across your business)
• at individual facilities (e.g., reduce slips, trips and falls on ice during winter in the storage yard)
• for projects, processes, or specific activities (e.g., reduce slips, trips and falls by ensuring all truck drivers wear proper footwear)

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard for health and safety objectives. The objectives should consider all locations, all employees and all work activities within your business.

The written standard must include:

• documented health and safety objectives with an action plan for implementation, including target activities, dates and who is responsible
• schedule for review (objectives are evaluated at least once a year and revised as needed)
• requirement to communicate status of objectives to all employees
• review and approval by senior management

The objectives will:

• be measurable
• be consistent with the health and safety policy
• take into account:
  • review of previous objectives
  • year-to-year statistics and comparisons
• consider leading and lagging measures:
  • health and safety hazards and risks
  • health and safety management system deficiencies or non-conformance
  • opportunities for continual improvement
• consider:
  • physical, mechanical and technological options
  • operational business and financial requirements of your business
  • other requirements or opportunities
  • views of workplace parties

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed all foundation level topics and all other intermediate level topics.

Summary:

Corrective action means making changes or improvements to fix problems in a businesses’ processes and prevent issues from happening again. When a problem is identified, the corrective action process helps evaluate and prioritize it. Responsibilities are assigned to fix the problem and to follow up to ensure the problem has been corrected. 

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard to address health and safety management system non-conformities, including:

• a process for identifying, investigating and correcting non-conformities and potential non- conformities (e.g., they can be identified through audits, inspections, investigations, hazard reporting, process review, employee feedback and other sources)
• a process to address ineffective health and safety hazard controls, corrective actions and preventive actions
• taking action to eliminate hazards and effectively control risks
• assignment of responsibility and timeframe for corrective action
• conducting a risk assessment of the recommended corrective actions to ensure that new hazards are not being created
• ensuring actions implemented are recorded, communicated and tracked to ensure they prevent and correct the occurrence of the non-conformity
• monitoring, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of the implemented corrective and preventive actions and updating the health and safety management system

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed all foundation level topics and all other intermediate level topics.

Summary:

The purpose of a change management and procurement procedure is to ensure that health and safety risks are assessed and controls are put in place when adding or changing equipment and/or processes. This also helps to ensure that new hazards are not introduced and any current hazards are controlled.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that must include:

• requirement to conduct hazard identification, risk assessment and control procedures when:
  • there is a significant change to work processes, control measures (e.g., pre-start reviews), procedures, equipment, organizational structure, staffing, products, workplace parties, physical locations or services
  • new developments in health and safety knowledge or technology are available and introduced or there are changes to legal requirements, other requirements and agreements, where applicable
  • functions or processes are outsourced
• health and safety requirements in purchasing when products, equipment, materials and other goods and services are procured
• requirements for a pre-start review before first use of new equipment, processes or materials and providing the pre-start review report to the Joint Health and Safety Committee or health and safety representative
• identification of the roles and responsibilities of employees involved in procurement
• communication and training requirements to affected workplace parties

The written standard for identifying hazards, assessing risks and determining controls of procured goods and services must follow the same methodology established, implemented, monitored and maintained for identification of hazards, risk assessment and control of hazards.

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics and intermediate level topics
• you’re also working on the review health and safety trends topic

Summary:

To achieve the goals of the health and safety management system, businesses need to evaluate their health and safety program. This topic will help you find ways to monitor, measure and analyze.

We use the following terms:

• monitoring – which means checking, supervising, observing and maintaining records of those activities
• measurement – which specifies a value
• analysis – which means looking for patterns and trends, and then draw conclusions

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard to regularly monitor, measure and analyze that the intended outcomes of the system have been achieved.

The written standard must:

• be reflective of the operations and/or activities of the organization
• provide for the monitoring of the extent to which the organization's health and safety policy and objectives are being met, as well as conform to the health and safety management system
• provide for the monitoring of the effectiveness of the control measures
• include leading and lagging performance measures

Examples of what could be monitored and measured could include, but are not limited to:

• qualitative measures such as use of interviews, reviews of documented information and observation of work performed
• quantitative measures (e.g., noise levels and air quality levels)
• the extent to which your business's health and safety policy and objectives are being met
• effectiveness of the control measures (e.g., hearing protection)
• requirement to calibrate and maintain any equipment needed for monitoring and measuring health and safety in the workplace

Once your business has identified the above, you will compare or benchmark these measurements against:

• legislative requirements
• your industry (access this information from the WSIB's online services portal) to compare your injuries to your industry average)
• standards and codes
• your own objectives
• health and safety statistics

Results of the monitoring, measurement and analysis should be used to take actions to continually improve your health and safety management system.

The results of these evaluations must be recorded and communicated with interested workplace parties.

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics and intermediate level topics
• you’re also working on the measurement and analysis topic

Summary:

Reviewing health and safety trends helps you identify ways to improve your health and safety management system and set goals for your program. It also helps management allocate resources and meet legal requirements.

Businesses should review trends for both leading and lagging indicators. Leading indicators can inform your business of its progress toward annual targets and objectives (e.g., having 100 per cent of employees receive workplace hazardous materials information system training). Lagging indicators (e.g., injury reports) can show where past controls may need to be updated.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard to identify health and safety trends. Your written standard must include:

• roles and responsibilities for those reviewing health and safety trends
• requirement for senior management to review the trends
• a list of all indicators to be reviewed, e.g.,
  • workplace inspections
  • incident investigations
  • incident reports
  • hazard reports
  • permits (hot work, confined space entry)
  • Joint Health and Safety Committee/health and safety representative recommendations and meeting minutes
  • injury/illness data, including information from the WSIB's online services
  • medical aid and first aid records
  • critical injuries
  • lost-time/no-lost-time injuries
  • near misses
• a schedule for reviewing all indicators (e.g., quarterly review of incident reports against the pre-determined targets)
• requirement for the results of the trends review to be considered when revising objectives and the continual improvement plan

You may want to choose this topic if you’ve completed all foundation level topics and all intermediate level topics.

Summary:

An audit of your health and safety management system identifies what is being done well, system failures and opportunities for improving health and safety performance. The purpose of the audit is to measure and verify the extent to which the health and safety management system has been implemented and maintained.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard for annual internal auditing of your health and safety management system. The written standard must include:

• purpose of audit
• roles and responsibilities of the auditor, management, employees and anyone else affected by the audit
• auditor competency requirements
• scope of the audit: locations, departments, activities that will be audited
• frequency of audit
• audit methodology: interviews, observations, sampling, document review, etc.
• reporting of audit activity and results
• prioritization of identified non-conformities

Audit findings and conclusions must be documented and include:

• conformities
• non-conformities
• opportunities for improvement
• acknowledgement of successes
• communication to relevant parties

Non-conformities must be prioritized and addressed using the corrective action process and incorporated into the continual improvement plan. Senior management must monitor and evaluate actions taken to address the non-conformities until they’re resolved.

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics and all other intermediate level topics
• you’ve completed or are working on the review health and safety trends, monitoring, measurement and analysis, and internal audit topics

Summary:

The purpose of a management review is for senior management to review the business’s health and safety program at least once a year to make sure it is meeting its objectives and is working. 

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement monitor and maintain a written standard for senior management to review your business's health and safety management system at planned intervals (annually as a minimum) to verify and ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness.

The reviews must include:

• an assessment of the opportunities for improvement of the health and safety management system (e.g., changes to the health and safety policy, procedures, programs and/or objectives, review of current control strategies/programs)
• identification of emerging issues or trends (e.g., legislative changes, new industry standards)
• communication of outputs to applicable workplace parties
• implementation strategy for continual improvement
• a requirement for the review to be documented

Input to management reviews must include, as a minimum, the following information:

• results of audits, monitoring measuring and analysis, and health and safety trends review
• status of action items from previous management reviews
• evaluations of compliance with legal requirements
• results of participation and consultation with employees/health and safety representative/ Joint Health and Safety Committee
• communication received from external interested parties, including complaints
• health and safety performance of your business (e.g., injury and illness rates)
• evaluation of the extent to which health and safety objectives have been met
• evaluation of the effectiveness of procedures and processes to identify hazards and assess, prioritize and control risks
• status of incident investigations, trends identified, corrective actions
• changing circumstances related to health and safety, such as developments in legal requirements
• recommendations for improvement

Outputs from the management review must support your business's commitment to continual improvement, and include decisions and actions related to:

• health and safety performance, the health and safety policy and objectives, and the need for change, if any
• allocation of resources to achieve the improvements
• any other elements that are appropriate for the health and safety management system

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics and all other intermediate level topics
• you’ve completed or are working on the management review topic

Summary:

Continual improvement planning is a coordinated system of procedures, processes and other measures designed to promote continual improvement in workplace health and safety. When planning these improvements, your business needs to consider the following:

• what will be done
• the resources needed
• who will be responsible
• when it will be completed
• how the results will be evaluated, including indicators for monitoring
• how the actions to achieve the improvement will be integrated into your business's processes
• how the results of management review will be incorporated into your continual improvement plan

Requirements:

Your business must establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that identifies:

• specific goals/priorities to be achieved (e.g., all employees need to receive slips and falls training)
• target dates for completion of each goal
• assignment of responsibility for each goal
• resources required (e.g., people, time, money)
• provisions for the program or plan(s) to be reviewed at regular intervals (annually as a minimum) and revised as appropriate, to ensure the objectives are achieved

Senior management must approve the continual improvement plan. The continual improvement plan must:

• be relevant to your business's current needs
• include scheduled progress reviews
• include progress reports that must be communicated to the appropriate workplace parties
• include successes celebrated with employees as goals are achieved

You may want to choose this topic if:

• you’ve completed all foundation level topics and all intermediate level topics
• you’ve completed or are working on the health and safety continual improvement planning topic

Summary:

You arrange for an external third party to perform an audit when your business decides to validate its health and safety management system against a standard set of requirements. A qualified and competent independent auditor will compare and verify that all areas and activities within your health and safety management system meet the relevant criteria.

Audits by a third party will be completed along with internal audits as part of an audit strategy to show that your business is maintaining an health and safety management system and addressing any non-conformities that have been identified.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard to coordinate an external third-party audit of your health and safety management system. The written standard must include:

• purpose of audit(s)
• roles and responsibilities as they relate to the audit(s)
• auditor qualifications and selection
• audit plan
• scope of the audit(s)
• frequency of audit(s)
• audit methodology
• reporting of audit activity and results to internal and external parties, as appropriate

Audit findings and conclusions must be documented and include:

• conformities
• non-conformities
• opportunities for improvement
• acknowledgement of successes
• communication to relevant interested parties

Non-conformities must be prioritized and addressed using the corrective action process and incorporated into the continual improvement plan. Senior management will monitor and evaluate actions taken to address the issues until they are resolved.

Recommendations for program improvement as a result of the audit must be considered when completing the management review, setting health and safety objectives, and developing the continual improvement plan.

Networking and peer learning provide businesses with the opportunity to interact with and learn from the experiences of other companies and individuals.

Summary:

Networking and peer learning provides businesses with the opportunity to interact with and learn from the experiences of other companies and individuals.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard for networking and peer learning with other individuals or companies to share and gain health and safety information and best practices.
The process must identify:

• who will participate in networking and peer learning activities
• how the information will be shared, who the information will be shared with and how often 
• rules specifying what type of information can be exchanged with other businesses (e.g., policies, documents, guidelines)
• methods for networking and peer learning may include:
  • email, newsgroups, shared documents, conference attendance
  • personal contacts, such as visits or phone calls
  • consultation with professional associations
  • health and safety association events and training

Corporate social responsibility is when a business takes responsibility for its impact on the environment, its community, their people and the public.

Summary:

Corporate social responsibility is when a business takes responsibility for its impact on the environment, the communities where they operate, their employees, stakeholders and the public.

Requirements:

Your business will establish, implement, monitor and maintain a written standard that describes how your business:

• actively engages with local communities and community groups (e.g., encourage open discussions with neighbours about your operations, safety programs, environmental conditions and other aspects of your operations that may impact the communities in which your business operates)
• works with governments, community representatives and other businesses to support and undertake initiatives to help improve corporate social responsibility
• identifies how you’ll conduct business in a manner designed not only to protect the environment, but also the health and safety of employees, customers and the public