On this episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast, IHSA’s Maren Gamble discusses the importance of understanding legal and other requirements when building an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS). Employers, supervisors, and workers need to understand their obligations under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) or the Canada Labour Code Part 2.

To determine which requirements should be addressed, Maren suggests brainstorming with the right stakeholders, such as Joint Health & Safety Committees, project managers, supervisors, frontline staff, health & safety staff, HR staff, worker trades committee, and union representatives, if applicable.

Maren states that the process of determining these requirements can be approached systematically—a good starting point would be to consider every project and identify what applies. For example, if a company works under provincial legislation and is covered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA), they should consider the Green Book, First Aid regulations, and others. Another consideration would be company requirements, such as audits, participation in the WSIB HSEp rebate program, and other mandatory measures. This systematic approach helps in creating a comprehensive inventory of requirements for any project.

IHSA offers resources such as the Construction Safety App, Training Requirements Chart, COR/HSEp requirements, manuals, and safety talks to help employers address their requirements effectively.

Free Resources

IHSA Construction Safety App

Training Requirements Chart

Construction Health and-Safety Manual

IHSA safety talks

COR requirements

HSEp requirements

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