Certification training - the why and how to
Firms with twenty or more employees are mandated by the Occupational Health and Safety Act to have a Joint Health and Safety Committe (JHSC) in place. If a firm has between 20 and 50 employees then the requirement is for the committee comprising two members and four members for firms with more than 50 employees. Half of the commitee should comprise worker representatives and the other half management representatives. The Act also stipulates that one worker rep and one management rep must be fully certified - have completed both, Certification Parts I and II.
Unfortunately, Ministry of Labour inspectors still find many firms in violation. In this issue we grapply with the issues behind why firms choose to be non-compliant and risk Ministry of Labour compliance orders.
Below, we provide the answers to some basic questions on certification training.
Q. The required number of members in my firm's JHSC are already certified. Is there any merit in have more than the required members certifed?
A. The service sector has perhaps the highest staff turnover among all employer groups. It might be a good idea to have more than the required number of JHSC members certified to ensure you have a quick replacement ready should the committee be affected by staff turnover. Many firms insist that the entire committee be certified irrespective of the minimun number of certified members. Humber College in Toronto has included OSSA's online cert 1 training as a requisite course in their chef's program.
Q. In-class certification training part I takes three days. Can this not be completed within two days?
A. The value of a three day course lies in the fact that participants have the opportunity to get a better grasp of the subject by participating in exercises that follow most topics. The last thing you'd want is members returning from a training that crams the entire course content in two days with little or no interactivity with the facilitator and no opportunity to perform activities that enhance learning.
Q. Are there options to the three day in-class training?
A. You could opt for the two self-paced options that OSSA offers. The first being a complete package of the resources that participants would need to complete the training. Participants need to take the test at the end of the course and fax in the test to us for onward despatch to the WSIB. The other option is SAFeLEARN which, as the name suggests is a web-based online option of taking cert 1 training. Click here for more on SAFeLEARN. Participants can review the material for both the options at their convenience.
Q. Are firms with less than 20 employees also required to have a JHSC with trained members?
A. If a designated substance is present at a workplace then the Act stipulates that the firm is required to have a JHSC with the requisite certified members.Click here to know more about designated substances.
Q. What are the next steps after completing certification part I?
A. JHSC members are fully certified only after they have completed certification part II which is workplace-specific hazard training. Firms are required to conduct a hazard assessment at their workplace and JHSC members take Cert II training based on the identified hazards. You could engage OSSA's service to conduct the hazarad or you could do it yourself with guidance from OSSA. Should you choose to do the assessment yourself the hazard analysis kit created by OSSA would be valuable to guide you through the process. The kit is available for $ 45 + tax.
Q. What are the Cert II training options?
A. Participants that are more comfortable with facilitator-lead in-class training may attend OSSA's Cert II training courses scheduled regularly across the province. The self-paced option is also available wherein you purchase individual Cert II participant workbooks based on the hazards common to your workplace / sector. Or you could simply get SafeWork, a subscription based online tool that has all the possible resources you will need for Cert II training. In addition to the printable workbooks you will also find a host of templates, check sheets, safe work guidelines, and hazard analysis forms. The hazard analysis kit mentioned above is also included.
Q. Is SafeWork more cost effective than purchasing the individual workbooks?
A. Let's assume a scenario where you need to train two participants. You identify five hazards at your workplace and accordingly purchase five workbooks per participant @ $33 per workbook. That's $ 330 for the workbooks, $ 45 for the hazard analysis kit, and $10 dollars for shipping to one location. Add 13% tax to the sub-total $385 and you end up with a total of $435.05. SafeWork, priced at $349 + 5% GST ($366.45) lets you print as many workbooks as you need and the hazard analysis kit is included. What's more, the check sheets and safe work guidelines included in SafeWork, if purchased invidually, would take the price well over $ 435. So there's temendous value in getting SafeWork if you have more than one participant taking Cert 2. Click here for more information on SafeWork.
Should you have any questions on certification training please feel free to call any of the following OSSA departments:
Training: Call Magda Nowak, Training Coordinator at 905-614-3003
Products: Call OSSA's Client Services Line at 1-888-478-6772
You should not hesitate to contact other people/companies in the same business to obtain references or recommendations when buying products or services.