I recently worked with a logistics company which delivers goods across Canada. They were interested in improving their Occupational Health and Safety Management System and their overall safety strategy. This company had the basics covered but were eager to develop a system that met all jurisdictional requirements. Over several months, I met with the company …
Read moreA collaborative approach to safety strategy in Canadian logistics
The best fleet safety programs are designed to protect your staff against injury and you from liability. These programs set out the written policies and procedures you want followed as a preventive measure, and in the event of an unexpected emergency. In this blog, we are going to share five key elements of a good …
How to Create a Formal Hazard Assessment A formal hazard assessment is the basis for the organization’s entire occupational health and safety management system. It outlines the hazards, measures risk (to help prioritize hazards), and points to the necessary control measures. Levels of Hazard Assessment Formal hazard assessment Field-level hazard assessment Formal Hazard Assessment are …
Chemicals used in the workplace and the soup we enjoy at home share in a common problem. It comes down to what I call the soup theory for laboratory lone working. Nearly everyone loves soup, as a child of the 70’s, canned soup was the ideal comfort food on a cold winter day. Occasionally when …
Read moreChemicals in the Workplace – Soup Theory for Laboratory Lone Working
The HSE has released their latest figures about UK health and safety – and the results may be surprising for some. The annual HSE report always makes for sobering reading. The good news is that health and safety standards continue to improve – but as always there is still room for improvement. What may be …
Read moreWhat is the most dangerous industry in the UK? | Farm Safety and Working Alone
The first myth we need to disburse is that you are somehow not responsible for your sub-contractors health and safety while they are working on your job site or working in your name. This is not even a gray area anymore. For example Workers Compensation Board (WCB) in British Columbia looks at whether the sub-contractor …
The handling of biowaste by lone workers is an area we hear more about each month. Health and Safety Guidelines across Canada, USA, UK Australia and New Zealand all cover the unique risks assosiciated with biowaste. In this blog, the team at SafetyON have kindly shared their thoughts on the subject. ————————- There are several …
Read moreHealth and Safety Guidelines for Workers Exposed to Biowaste
I would like to share my views on lone worker duress communication, particularly when the clientele served is in high-risk situations. What I have found through my years as a crisis management consultant, leading various organization in minimizing risk and maximizing safety, needs to be shared. Individuals who are at the most risk are the …
Compliance with provincial and federal Occupational Health & Safety legislation plays an important role in the success of any business and contributes in worker productivity and morale.
Read moreBenefits of Environmental, Health & Safety Management System in an Organization
Home working has more than doubled in the US since 2005. In fact, the Huffington Post recently published an article about why the working from home trend is going to continue to grow or even explode. The social, economic and environmental arguments for this shift are very strong. In many major cities, a two hour …
Canadian Work Alone Legislation In Canada, lone worker legislation isn’t consistent from coast to coast. Not all provinces have enacted legislation regarding an employer’s responsibility toward their lone workers, and the ones that did put measures in place have slightly different regulations. To add to the confusion, work alone monitoring regulations also exist on a …
Read moreCanadian Work Alone Legislation: Understanding the rules
Ok Alone’s shows when a lone worker has left a designated “Safety Zone”. This feature may be very valuable if a person is working remotely, has limited phone coverage or in a designated work area.
Lone worker health and safety: Who is at risk? A lot has been written about lone worker health and safety. Oddly, you rarely see a list of jobs or occupations that fall into the lone worker category. It’s almost assumed you will know who you are. At a high level, there are three categories of …
What does lone worker risk really mean? We often hear about lone worker risk. It’s talked about in a generic sort of way – you are on your own, so you’re at more risk. While this is true, it’s less common to see these risks broken down into meaningful categories that can be analysed. This …
Health and safety is a term that’s been around for a long time. The general topic covers a wide range of activities from working with hazardous materials to agriculture. Health and safety legislation requires employers, amongst other things, to make sure all reasonable risks in the workplace have been reviewed and mitigated as much as …
Due to the isolated nature of their work, lone workers face unique challenges regarding health and safety. There are no colleagues around to watch their back, to lend a hand, or to intervene when their actions become unsafe. Instead, lone workers must rely on their own skills, knowledge and experience to carry out the job …
Read moreWhy Experiential Training Should Be a Key Part of Your Lone Worker Solutions
When it comes to assessing the risks associated with working alone, it’s easy to focus on the physical dangers that can easily set off a lone worker alarm. Heights, loud noises, chemicals, extreme temperatures, tripping hazards—these are all things you can see, hear, and feel. But under the surface, there’s a lot more going on …
Read moreAre you looking out for the mental health of your lone workers?
Work Alone Safety: Creating a Safe Space for Fixed-Site Lone Workers What comes to mind when you hear the term “lone worker?” An oilfield operator testing well production at an unmanned site? A biologist conducting fieldwork on a northern river? A truck driver making a delivery on an isolated stretch of road? These types of …
Read moreWork Alone Safety: Creating a Safe Space for Fixed-Site Lone Workers
Using Focus Groups to Gather Risk Information for Your Lone Worker Safety Policy Most often, the process of gathering risk information for your lone worker safety policy begins in a general sort of way. You might make a list of the obvious hazards, observe your employees in their working environments, or carry out a short …
Read moreUsing Focus Groups to Gather Risk Information for Your Lone Worker Safety Policy
When it comes to ensuring the protection and safety of lone workers, a blanket policy is rarely sufficient. Your lone working policy needs to be tailored to each task and to each location. In some instances, it will need to be to the individual needs of the lone workers themselves. With a bespoke strategy in …
Read moreLone Working Checklist: Essential Elements for Every Lone Working Policy