This month, as part of the Safety at Work strategy, the Ontario Ministry of Labour launched a blitz on safety inspections for personal protective equipment in the health care and industrial sectors. For health and industrial workplaces across Ontario, this means a blitz of safety inspections with a focus on making sure that equipment is the appropriate choice for protection, is being properly used, and is well-maintained.
Every year, thousands of workers and companies lose time to preventable injuries and incidents involving personal protective equipment (PPE). In 2010, more than 1,500 head injuries were recorded in Ontario and another 1,120 suffered foot injuries caused by crushing, puncturing or dousing with hazardous substances. Another 1,075 workers suffered injuries that caused temporary or permanent vision loss due to impacts with objects.
So the need for a safety blitz was clear. At Field ID, we see safety initiatives for various industries as being important tasks year-round, but a blitz like this can be an important wake-up call about implementing or reviewing your safety management processes. Workplace injuries can result in serious lost time and productivity interruptions for a lot of businesses, but more importantly, neglecting safety can lower the quality of life for workers and their families. Ineffective or irregular safety inspections on personal protective equipment can lead to a wide range of injuries that can mean big setbacks for workers, both on the job and at home. Eye injuries due to flying particles or chemicals, or head/foot injuries from falling objects, can affect a person outside of his or her workplace, for extended periods in some cases. Effective Inspection and Safety Compliance Management can prevent these injuries from happening.
Canadian Occupational Safety reported this week on the specifics that Ministry safety inspectors will be looking for throughout the blitz. In general, the Ministry of Labour’s Personal Protective Equipment Enforcement Blitz will focus on safety inspections across a number of sectors, including:
- Wood & metal fabrication
- Vehicle sales and service
- Food & beverage
- Wholesalers
- Education
- Hospitals
- Long term care homes
Ministry safety inspectors have performed more than 266,000 field visits and 34 safety inspection blitzes since 2008. They’ve also issued more than 426,000 safety compliance orders. If you’re in safety management, it’s a good time to ask yourself if your safety inspection processes are in order, and if they’re doing the job.
At Field ID, we aim to make safety simple. Inspection software can make meeting safety requirements an easy routine to follow, so when a another blitz like this comes around, you’ll be ready to pass.
