OHS8011 WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
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Introduction
Recently a Health & Safety Inspector from the Ministry of Labour, Training & Skills Development (“MLTSD”) visited Capstone Fabricators Inc. (“CFI”). Contraventions were found, so you and your assignment partner have been hired to help the employer, CFI, to meet their legal requirements for health & safety in their workplace.
You have arrived at the CFI workplace 10 days after the MLTSD inspector came to CFI and issued a report with orders that now urgently need compliance.
Step 1 – MLTSD Report Review
To start, you review the MLTSD Inspector’s report, and you find that the Inspector conducted a proactive inspection and identified these contraventions:
Administrative Review:
1) No Health & Safety program is in place
2) No Joint Health & Safety Committee is in place
3) No monthly workplace inspections are being conducted
4) No records are available to show that any safety training is taking place
5) No Workplace Violence and Workplace Harassment Policy and Program is in place
Physical Inspection of the Workplace:
1) No WHMIS Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are available in the workplace for the metal cutting fluids being used in the production area
2) Several fire extinguishers and an emergency exit in the warehouse were blocked by skids of boxed product
3) Three workers were wearing prescription glasses in the production area where there were eye hazards present, but none of their glasses were safety-rated
Step 2 – Your Health & Safety Review of CFI
Next, you perform your own administrative review of CFI’s health & safety program by conducting interviews with the company president, the office manager and the plant supervisor. Here’s what you find…
A. Company Details:
Capstone Fabricators Inc. (CFI) is a small custom metal fabrication company located at 1234 Main St., Anywhere, Ontario.
The company started operations three years ago but have expanded both in workers and building area so that they now have doubled the size of the workplace and currently employ 58 people full-time (8 management workers, 50 production workers (25 production workers for each of two shifts…7:00 am-3:30 pm, 3:30-12:00 pm). There are no other workers used from outside the company (i.e. no temporary agency workers).
B. Worker Injury History
1) Three office workers told you that they have experienced aches and pains in their necks and backs during the last year or so.
2) One office worker is on leave due to the stress caused by several alleged incidents of workplace harassment
3) 6 days ago, a worker tripped on some debris on the floor in the Shipping/Receiving Dept. and broke several bones in their wrist. However, no one from CFI notified the MLTSD of this critical injury.
4) Metal cutting fluids are used in the production area. Two machining workers who are exposed to the metal cutting fluids don’t wear any gloves and complained to you about skin itchiness and rashes on their hands.
C. During your tour, you also observe or find the following…
1) In the past four months, two workplace harassment complaints were filed with the Human Resources Manager.
2) There are no WHMIS Safety Data Sheets (SDS) in the workplace for various hazardous products used throughout the workplace.
3) When you spoke to some of the workers, less than half seemed to know what WHMIS was all about. The rest of the workers you interviewed had heard the term “WHMIS” spoken but didn’t really know what it meant.
4) Two production workers were hired last week but they told you that they haven’t received any safety training yet. You check with the production supervisor and he tells you, “I like to see how well they work for the first two weeks before I give them lots of training.”
5) As you spoke with supervisors you found out that they don’t understand work refusal process.
6) You find out from the production workers that anywhere outside of the air conditioned office gets very hot in the summertime. They also tell you that if it’s also humid outside, the production areas are really bad for heat and humidity. In fact, last summer during the afternoon shift, two workers went home feeling sick, and one worker almost fainted from the heat.
Step 3 – Written Assignment
Using what you have learned so far in your OHS8011 course this semester, your review of the safety violations found by the MLTSD Inspector, and the issues that you have identified in your review of CFI’s operations, you must create the following items for CFI’s Health and Safety Management Program:
1. Prepare business case for senior management identifying areas of concerns in respect to the employer’s compliance with occupational health and safety.
2. Present written recommendation to senior managers specifying what is required to ensure compliance with the Act.
3. Pick one item from your list of recommendations and write a complete Health & Safety management procedure under CFI’s overall Health & Safety Program that will ensure compliance with the Act.
**INSTRUCTOR’S NOTES FOR THE WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT**
There is flexibility in the size of your completed report. However, as a guide, the task elements can be completed in a 5-7 page document.
Keep in mind: This must be written in such way as you would be addressing an employer in real world not professor at College.
Also, for each specific task above:
Task 1: The business case must be elaborated and strong enough to convince employer to approve your plan. Assignment will fail if you can’t convince employer to invest in H&S. (Hint: what happens if they don’t, due diligence, direct+indirect cost, etc.).
Task 2: Looking at orders issued by MLTSD and your own observations address each contravention separately and identify what is wrong and what must be done to ensure compliance. (Hint: sections of the Act and Regulatins, what would you do to comply)
Task 3: Write procedure or policy for one of the items of your choice. (Hint: document could be a policy, terms of references, training procedure, etc.). The emphasis is on your understanding vs. length of the document. So be concise but precise. This could be done in one to two pages.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY WILL BE FULLY ENFORCED!
The Tutor has to refer to Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act in order to complete the work.
