December 2006

On the MOL High Risk or Last Chance List...
...and want to know why?


The Ministry of Labour has posted information on its web site about the High Risk and Last Chance initiatives that will help firms determine if they are at risk of landing on the list, as well as help those who are on the list understand the reasons why. The information appears in an easy-to-read Q&A format and includes the criteria the MOL uses in selecting firms.

The web site includes answers to these popular questions:

•	What data, specifically, does the Ministry of Labour look at?
•	What is a high-risk firm? What is a priority firm? How does the Ministry treat them differently?
•	What determines that a firm is not/no longer categorized as high-risk or priority?

The MOL will launch phase two of its web site in a few weeks. The updated site will provide more specific information to help individual organizations determine if they are at risk of landing on the list. It will also provide additional information about the priority firms. In the meantime, if you are facing MOL orders, help is at hand. Don't walk this road alone.

Five Things We Know for Sure* About the WSIB Workwell Program
*And want to share with you

1.	The WSIB has completed its 2007 Workwell list, and 239 service sector firms with poor safety records are scheduled to receive a visit by a Workwell auditor, leading to possible premium increases and surcharges. If you're on the list, you'll have received a letter of notification from the WSIB.
2.	Workwell auditors will begin visiting the 239 firms starting in January 2007. After that initial interview, the auditor will tell you one of three things:
	a. I plan to proceed with an audit. b. Instead of auditing you, I am putting you on a risk management program. Here's an action plan I expect you to complete by this date. c. You are doing better than expected so there will be no audit or action plan. Instead, I will be back in six months to monitor your progress.
3.	Option b and c are better than option a.
4.	We have evidence that those firms who call the OSSA for help with developing and implementing a health and safety program immediately after receiving their notification (and before the auditor arrives), are far more likely to be marked for option b or option c. Why? Two reasons:
	a. Two hundred and thirty-nine is a lot of firms, and time is a factor. Workwell auditors would rather focus on those organizations with the worst records. b. Workwell auditors have come to know and trust the OSSA. Their confidence in us could translate into confidence in you and the progress you're making on improving your health and safety record, with our help.
5.	We have further evidence that many companies who have undergone an audit, have, with OSSA's help, passed it and gone on to develop robust health and safety programs.

Companies on the Workwell list have two immediate lines of defences: one, understand how Workwell audits work ; and two, move quickly to demonstrate a proactive stance during the short window of time between notification and your first visit from the auditor.

Do You Grapple with How to Prevent Workplace Violence?
Ontario's prevention partners pool resources to help you manage your risk


Some of our most vulnerable workers--young people--are increasingly at risk of workplace violence. They typically work in the service sector--fast food chains, retail, hospitality, gas stations with attached convenience stores--where working alone and late shifts are the norm. To make an impact and defeat workplace violence, the MOL and WSIB have partnered with Ontario's 14 health and safety associations on a zero-tolerance prevention initiative that includes sharing resources and knowledge.

The Ministry is defining violence as "the attempted or actual exercise of any intentional physical force that causes or may cause physical injury to a worker," and "any threats which give a worker reasonable grounds to believe he or she is at risk of physical injury."

The WSIB has posted an information and resource-rich web site that offers:

•	Methods you can use to prevent workplace violence;
•	Two checklists (one from Ministry of Labour, another from the Education Safety Association of Ontario) to help you control the risk;
•	Additional resources, including an idea-rich Q&A offered by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety.

Becoming informed can help you champion the cause, put measures in place and save lives in your firm. Start the dialogue and begin the training with effective tools: Certification Part II: Violence Hazards Modules; a self-directed program with video and facilitated session support; and Preventing Work-Related Aggression & Violence Resource Guide, all offered by the OSSA.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act holds every employer accountable for taking every reasonable precaution possible in protecting an employee's health and safety.

WSIB Unveils New Draft Policies for Early and Safe Return to Work (ESRTW)
"Suitable work" and workplace-worker responsibilities redefined


As you may know, the Early and Safe Return to Work policies have been under the microscope for many months now. The first set of revisions, released in October 2005, were found wanting and were rescinded last spring. In October 2006, the WSIB released a second set of drafts, which streamlined and clarified the intent and reduced the number of policies from eight to six. The deadline for the public consultations on this latest round is February 15, 2007. If returning injured workers back to work looms large on your list of risk factors, we encourage you to review the revisions and submit your questions or recommendations. You'll find everything you need to know--a summary, letter to stakeholders, highlights and copies of the revised policies--on the WSIB web site.

Here are three highlights from the latest draft:

•	Return the worker to suitable work that is most comparable in nature and earnings to the pre-injury job;
•	Suitable work is defined as: safe, productive, consistent with worker's abilities, and when possible, restores pre-injury earnings ("remunerated" and "sustainable" removed from definition);
•	Identifies the workplace parties' responsibilities in working together to initiate and maintain communication, identify and secure suitable work, and provide information to the WSIB.

See also information about OSSA's Training Workshop on Early and Safe Return to Work.

The WSIB Unleashes a Highly Effective and Controversial Ad Campaign
The target? Our collective fatal apathy


The WSIB is taking direct aim at our collective apathy with its groundbreaking social marketing campaign. If you haven't seen any of the advertisements yet, it is only a matter of time until you do. The broad-based campaign features grisly images in a variety of formats including television and radio spots, print ads, transit shelter and bill-board ads, as well as Internet advertising.

Find out more in the winter edition of OSSA's Safety Mosaic magazine:

•	How many people were killed or suffered from injuries or illnesses in Ontario workplaces last year? You won't believe the statistics.
•	Why, on the same day that a worker died in a Northern Ontario mine, did Brigadier, the police horse that died in the line of duty, dominate the media's headlines?
•	How is it possible that there is no such thing as an accident--and if it is possible, then how many would be an acceptable number?

Let us know if you would like to receive regular print copies of Safety Mosaic, the OSSA's official quarterly publication--full of breaking news, useful information and insight about the world of health and safety in the workplace.

The Latest MOL Convictions for Service-sector Health & Safety Violations

•

A&P Canada Co. (grocery store chain), Toronto, fined $47,000: a safety mechanism intended to prevent a compactor used to bundle cardboard from operating while a door to the compactor was open, had been disabled. This allowed workers access to the interior of the compactor while the machine was operating which could have resulted in a worker's hand or arm becoming caught. No worker was injured. Failure to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 24 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments were carried out.

•

Ikea Holdings Canada Limited (retail furniture chain), Burlington, fined $80,000 for two violations: first, two workers were unloading a trailer in a shipping/receiving area when a section of product on skids fell on one of the workers (broken leg bone). Second, following the incident, the scene was not secured, two other workers removed the remainder of the load, and the MOL was not notified until six hours later. Contributing factors to the incident: carpets and door mats on top of the other products on the skids, and some of the load not stored in a secure manner.

Mark Your Calendars for Canada's largest H&S Conference and Trade Show
Even bigger in 2007 with the inclusion of IALI


In 2007, Canada's largest Health & Safety Canada 2007 Conference & Trade Show, sponsored by the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA), will have an even greater international presence with the overlapping participation of the International Association of Labour Inspection (IALI) Conference.

The IAPA conference is from April 16 to 18. The IALI conference--making its first-ever appearance in North America, and hosted in cooperation with the IAPA, Ministry of Labour and International Labour Organization--is from April 18 to 20. Both conferences take place in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building.

Visit the IAPA web site for more information on the conference's international round tables, plenary sessions, and workshops, and find out how registration can boost your:

•	Understanding of health and safety through an international perspective;
•	Knowledge of innovative and best practice strategies to promote healthy workplaces, practices and management breakthroughs;
•	Networking with professionals in labour inspection, enforcement, public institutions and organizations.

Call 1 877 494 9777 for Fast, Informed Answers to Your Health & Safety Questions
The OSSA reorganizes to serve you better


The OSSA has replaced its toll-free product ordering line with a "triage centre"-a one-stop customer service centre featuring a centralized toll-free phone number, and staffed with trained health and safety professionals who can assess your needs, answer many of your health and safety questions, and put you on a path without necessarily having to refer you to a field consultant-all in real time. However, if it turns out it's a field consultant you need for a face-to-face meeting, that individual will be in touch with you within 24 hours.

More service in less time. Call us--we are equipped and eager to help.

Advocate Past Issues

•	September 28, 2006 Issue.
•	June 29, 2006 Issue.
•	February 14, 2006 Issue.
•	October 4, 2005 Issue.
•	July 20, 2005 Issue.
•	March 30, 2005 Issue.
•	December 7, 2004 Issue.