Going behind the scenes of a Labour Inspector’s visit
As a business owner or someone with workplace health and safety responsibilities, do you dread a visit by a Ministry of Labour inspector? Do you often wonder, “Why did they pick my firm?”, “What hazards does the Ministry look for in my kind of business?”, “What does an inspector look for?”
The REGIONAL (TR) caught up Neil Martin (NM), Health and Safety Inspector, Ministry of Labour, in an attempt to get you some answers. Neil agreed to an interview and here’s what he had to say:
TR: How does the Ministry of Labour select firms to be visited?
NM: The Ministry uses many criteria for proactive visits. The presence of hazards and a firm’s lost-time injury (LTI) rate are just two. If we believe a particular hazard exists at certain workplaces we may make a visit irrespective of whether the company has had an injury in the past. We also use historical data like LTI rates from the WSIB in our selection of firms to be visited.
TR: How much of an inspector’s time is spent on proactive visits?
NM: It really depends on the area. Roughly 70 per cent of the time. The other 30 per cent goes towards reactive visits; that’s when we respond to incidents or complaints from workplace parties.
TR: What kinds of hazards might prompt a proactive visit?
NM: Hazards that pose an immediate danger and could result in a critical injury or fatality. Lifting equipment and falls from heights are two such examples. The Ministry has posted its sector plans on its web site providing information on hazards related to every industry sub-sector, and how the Ministry proposes to respond. You can find it in our sector plans. This could help firms identify the hazards their kind of business is exposed to.
(Editor's note: The Ministry’s sector plans for 2009-2010 can be viewed at http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pdf/sp_09ind.pdf)
TR: How does an Inspection Blitz in a particular month influence visits?
NM: Added emphasis is placed on that particular hazard during the month of the blitz but other hazards are never ignored irrespective of whether or not they are the focus of that month’s blitz. If we see an unsafe practice or an obvious hazard we will will take action to ensure adequate steps are taken to control the hazard.
TR: Could you please tell us the powers of an inspector?
NM: Inspectors carry out duties and have powers under the OHS Act and Regulations. These include:
An inspector would offer a worker representative the opportunity to accompany him / herwhile on the premises.
TR: Could you please describe what generally happens when an inspector first walks into a workplace?
NM: To start with, we always identify ourselves and explain the reason for our visit. Inspectors will then ask to meet with the person in charge of health and safety at the workplace.
TR: What would an inspector look for during an inspection?
NM: We look for contraventions of the Act and regulations. We look for the presence of a good occupational health and safety (OHS) culture and a well functioning internal responsibility system (IRS). These are demonstrated by OHS documents posted and available in the workplace and the health and safety knowledge of workplace parties and the absence of contraventions.
TR: What are the overtly visible cues that indicate a poor OHS culture or IRS?
NM: There are many. Let me list out some of the more salient ones:
TR: What kind of documentation might be sought once the inspector is introduced to the person(s) in charge of health & safety?
NM: Some of the most important documents an inspector might want to see are:
(To be continued next month. Stay tuned)
That you have to have an emergency plan for your workplace covering procedures in case of fire, explosion, workplace violence, etc.