Ontario Health and Safety Compliance Initiatives: 2023-2024 Schedule
Falls from heights in single-family residential
Inspections: April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024
Sector: Construction
The goal of this initiative is to prevent falls from heights in single and multi-family residential construction projects such as roofing and framing activities.
Inspectors will be checking:
Whether employees have completed the required working at heights training
Use of fall protection pre-planning
Guardrail systems
The effectiveness of the Internal Responsibility System (IRS)
Struck-by equipment in specific settings
Inspections: April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024
Sector: Construction
From 2015-2023, there have been 228 critical injuries as a result of employees being:
Struck by or run over by vehicles or equipment
Crushed between equipment and other objects
Struck by material moved by construction equipment
This initiative will focus on activities where employees could be struct by material, vehicles or equipment to prevent “struck-by” incidents.
Inspectors will be checking:
Equipment is being safely operated, maintained, and inspected
Materials are being safely stored and handled
Whether employees have training for material handling activities
Prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
Inspections: June 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024
Sector: Healthcare
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the most common lost-time injuries in Ontario’s healthcare sector. The goal of this initiative is to prevent MSDs and ensure that workplaces are taking precautions to protect employees from MSDs.
Inspectors will check whether employees are protected from MSDs when they are doing activities such as:
Providing care to clients
Handling materials such as laundry or moving heavy objects
Responding to situations such as client falls, fire alarms, or evacuations
Materials Handling
Inspections: May 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024
Sector: Industrial
This initiative will focus on manufacturing and farming workplaces where large objects are lifted, carried, or moved. The goal of this initiative is to raise awareness of material handling hazards and prevent employees from being injured when large objects are being moved.
Inspectors will visit workplaces that belong to these sectors:
Agricultural services and farming
Automotive
Chemical, rubber and plastics
Food, beverage and tobacco
Industrial services
Primary metals
Pulp and paper
Transportation
Wood and metal fabrication
Here are some of the areas that inspectors will focus on during an inspection:
The effectiveness of the Internal Responsibility System (IRS)
Joint Health & Safety Committee (JHSC) representation
Training provided by the employers (for example, supervisor competency training, worker awareness training, JHSC training for committee members)
Safety of lifting devices/mobile equipment/cranes
Manual material handling
Machine guarding, blocking and lockout
Workplace layout and design including storage systems
