Administrative Procedure
Office of Risk Management 14-1
Date effective: 2010-07-14
Authorized by: Vice-Rector, Resources
INTERNAL RESPONSIBILITY PROCEDURE FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES
PURPOSE
1. This procedure is based on the University’s Policy 77 Occupational Health and Safety Policy, which establishes the University’s policy on occupational health and safety. The purpose of this procedure is to define the roles and responsibilities for health and safety matters as they apply to members of the University’s community and to explain the University’s health and safety accountability structure.
APPLICATION
2. All members of the University of Ottawa community, including the University’s officers, directors, managers, supervisors, faculty, staff, volunteers, students and visitors must comply with this procedure. Contractors hired by the University are also expected to observe and comply with this procedure where warranted.
INTERPRETATION AND DEFINITIONS
3. This procedure and the definitions set out below must be applied in conjunction with the principles set out in the University’s Health and Safety Policy, the applicable health and safety legislation and the applicable collective agreements governing employment conditions.
“Accident” means an unexpected event causing injury, illness or even death (see also critical injury), or involving exposure to harmful substances.
“ORM” means the University’s Office of Risk Management.
“Critical Injury” means an injury of a serious nature that
- a) places life in jeopardy;
- b) produces unconsciousness;
- c) results in substantial loss of blood;
- d) involves a fracture of a leg or arm, but not a finger or toe;
- e) involves the amputation of a leg, an arm, a hand or a foot, but not a finger or toe
- f) consists of burns to a major part of the body; or
- g) causes the loss of sight in an eye.
University Occupational Health and Safety Committee” or “UOHSC” means the committee established by the University to provide a consultative forum for review of the responsibility systems that govern health and safety, and is more particularly described in this Procedure.
“Directive” or “procedure” means a University practice, instruction or process to outline specific courses of action or explain how to apply a University policy or applicable health and safety legislation.
“Employer” means the University or a person who employs a worker or contracts for the services of a worker, and includes a contractor or subcontractor who performs work or supplies services. Examples of individuals who may be considered an employer under applicable health and safety legislation are the University’s Board of Governors, the President, Deans or Directors.
“Contractor” means an individual, company or other entity hired by the University to provide services, and includes a constructor as defined in the applicable health and safety legislation.
“Student” means a person who is registered in a course or program of study at the University and who is not receiving remuneration for services.
“Incident” means an undesired event resulting in damage to property or environment, for example, fire, spill, or breakage of material.
“Applicable health and safety legislation” means those statutes and regulations governing occupational health and safety that apply to the University, such as the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and its regulations, as amended from time to time, or any similar legislation enacted, whether federally or provincially, on health and safety.
“Competent person” means a person who,
- a) has the knowledge, training and experience to organize and perform the work;
- b) is familiar with the applicable health and safety legislation; and
- c) has knowledge of any potential or actual danger to health and safety in the workplace.
“Supervisor” means a person who has charge of a workplace or authority over a worker or another person. A supervisor is any person, academic or non-academic, who provides guidance and/or instruction regarding the activities of another person in the workplace. A supervisor may include the President, Vice-Presidents, Directors, Deans, Managers or Principle Investigators. The determination as to whether a person is a supervisor does not depend on that person’s job title.
“Internal Responsibility System” or “IRS” is the University’s accountability framework for occupational health and safety matters as set out in this procedure.
“Worker” means a University employee and includes a person who performs work or supplies services for monetary compensation.
INTERNAL RESPONSIBILITY SYSTEM
UNIVERSITY
4. The University has a general duty to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect health and safety and prevent accident, incident, occupational disease and injuries in its workplace. Due diligence is the level of judgment, care, prudence, determination and action that a person would reasonably be expected to do under particular circumstances. The University, as the employer, having regard for the protection of workers, without limiting the requirements imposed by applicable health and safety legislation, must ensure the following:
- a) that equipment, materials and protective devices are provided, and maintained in good condition, and that they are used as prescribed under the applicable health and safety legislation. (When allowed by the granting agency, equipment, materials and protective devices required for research projects will be paid from the grant supporting the research project.);
- b) that the safety measures and procedures prescribed are carried out in the workplace;
- c) that information, instruction, and supervision are provided to workers to protect their health or their safety;
- d) that when appointing supervisors, they are competent with respect to their responsibilities under applicable health and safety legislation;
- e) that assistance and co-operation are provided to the UOHSC or any of its members in fulfilling their responsibilities under applicable health and safety legislation;
- f) that the UOHSC is provided with the results of reports prepared respecting occupational health and safety;
- g) that, where applicable, workers are advised of the results of occupational health and safety reports;
- h) that safety measures are in place to safeguard workers from undue exposure to biological, chemical, biomechanical or physical agents as prescribed under applicable health and safety legislation;
- i) that workers are provided with written instructions as to the measures and procedures to be taken for the protection of workers, where prescribed in applicable health and safety legislation;
- j) that such training programs are carried out for workers, supervisors and UOHSC members as may be prescribed under applicable health and safety legislation and that work is carried out according to the established internal directives;
- k) that the workplace is monitored to ensure that workers follow the safety directives.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE
5. The UOHSC is a joint committee comprised of elected workers and nominated management representatives, and is regulated in accordance with the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act.
6. There are five sectoral occupational health and safety committees segregated according to geographical area of the University’s premises (Northern, Central, Science and Engineering, Smyth Road, Protection and Physical Resources). Each sectoral committee reports to the UOHSC.
7. The UOHSC is predominantly concerned with university-wide issues, with emphasis on health and safety policy recommendations, matters of concern to the sectoral occupational health and safety committees and coordination of information received from the sectoral occupational health and safety committees.
8. Members of the UOHSC are responsible for the following:
- a) conducting inspections of all work spaces at least once yearly;
- b) investigating and inspecting a workplace where a fatality or a critical injury has taken place
- c) investigating with the supervisor a work refusal;
- d) reviewing health and safety reports submitted to the UOHSC.
9. For additional information, review the terms of reference for the UOHSC. (Note that they are under review).
SUPERVISORS
10. A “supervisor” is defined by this Procedure and applicable health and safety legislation. Generally, a supervisor is a person who provides direction to a worker in carrying out his or her duties or who has authority over a worker or a workplace.
11. A supervisor has several legal obligations under the applicable health and safety legislation, including ensuring worker compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, informing workers about hazards and providing instruction on preventative procedures. The list below is not meant to be a complete list of legal duties, but rather, a summary. Supervisors must
- a) keep informed of the health and safety needs of workers under their authority;
- b) initiate the necessary preventive measures to control health and safety hazards associated with activities under their authority;
- c) incorporate preventive measures in all functions and activities in which there may be some incident or accident with health-related consequences;
- d) ensure that workers under their authority work in the manner, and with the protective devices, measures and procedures required, under the applicable health and safety legislation;
- e) ensure the safety of people or workplace areas under their authority;
- f) before commencing new work or a new task, ensure that health and safety orientation, instruction and information are provided by a competent person to people under their authority;
- g) ensure that workers under their authority use or wear the equipment, protective devices or clothing required;
- h) ensure that mandatory safety training is provided by a competent person to people under their authority prior to conducting the task;
- i) provide safety training opportunities for all their staff or people under their responsibility;
- j) ensure, where health and safety-related training has been provided, that an updated list is maintained containing the names of persons who have received the training, the name(s) of the person(s) who provided the training, the date on which the training was given and the type of training provided;
- k) monitor the safety performance of their workers;
- l) provide assistance and co-operation to the UOHSC and to the members of the sectoral occupational health and safety committee members in the carrying out of their functions as stipulated in the terms of reference under which they must act;
- m) report accidents and incidents according to the internal procedure (see accident and hazard reporting procedure (http://www.uottawa.ca/services/ehss/docs/instructionsreportaccident.pdf and http://www.uottawa.ca/services/ehss/documents/hazardreporting2010_002.pdf)
- n) ensure that fatalities and serious and critical injuries are immediately reported to Protection Services. Protection Services will immediately inform the ORM, which will inform the Ministry of Labour.
- o) ensure, with the assistance of Protection Services, that the scene of an accident where a fatality, serious injury or critical injury has taken place is preserved such that there is no interference, disturbance, destruction, alteration or removal of anything at the scene until an investigation is conducted and ORM indicates that the cleaning or moving of evidence from the scene be allowed; (http://www.uottawa.ca/services/ehss/docs/instructionsreportaccident.pdf and http://www.uottawa.ca/services/ehss/documents/hazardreporting2010_002.pdf).
- p) ensure that Protection Services and/or a designated first-aid responder are contacted immediately for assistance in providing first-aid to injured persons;
- q) investigate all accidents and incidents, to ensure appropriate and necessary action is taken;
- r) immediately investigate any work refusal process;
- s) ensure that telephones for emergencies are in working order and accessible in University laboratories with increased risk due to the presence of or use of hazardous materials in quantities capable of causing injury, or where the type of activity performed is at a level where there is a risk of injury, or where a room is isolated from public areas and there is limited access to a telephone; and
- t) monitor external contractors under their responsibility to ensure that they adhere to the applicable health and safety legislation.
WORKERS
12. Workers are also responsible for health and safety issues in the performance of their duties. As well, workers must
- a) work in compliance with the provisions of the applicable health and safety legislation and all health and safety procedures that are made known to them;
- b) use or wear equipment, protective devices or clothing as required by the University, and report to their supervisors the absence of or defect in any equipment or protective device of which they are aware and which may endanger themselves or other workers;
- c) report all known health and safety hazards or any violation of the applicable health and safety legislation or University procedures to their supervisor;
- d) not use or operate any equipment, machine, device or thing or work in a manner that endangers themselves or other workers, and not remove or make ineffective any protective device required by the applicable health and safety legislation or by University procedure, without providing an adequate temporary protective device; when the need for removing the protective device has ceased, the original protective device shall be reinstalled immediately;
- e) not engage in any prank, contest, feat of strength, unnecessary running or rough and boisterous conduct or otherwise endanger their co-workers or themselves;
- f) report accidents and incidents to the University’s Human Resources Service and to the ORM (http://www.uottawa.ca/services/ehss/docs/instructionsreportaccident.pdf and https://web30.uottawa.ca/v3/riskmgmtfrm/aioreport.aspx?lang=en)
- g) attend mandatory safety training sessions related to their work environment.
13. A worker may refuse to work if there is reason to believe that the working conditions may endanger herself or himself or another worker (refer to hazard reporting procedure and the section on work refusal at: http://www.uottawa.ca/services/ehss/documents/hazardreporting2010_002.pdf).
STUDENTS
14. Students are not workers and are not subject to the health and safety legislation applicable to employees; however, the University applies the principles of this legislation to students. Students are responsible for conducting themselves in a proper manner to ensure their own safety as well as that of others and must adhere to University procedures and directives on health and safety.
CONTRACTORS
15. Contractors must adhere to the applicable health and safety legislation and all contracts between the University and contractors must include a requirement for adherence on their part.
INTERPRETATION
16. The Office of Risk Management is responsible for the development and implementation of this procedure.
EXCEPTION
17. No exception or amendment may be made to this procedure without the approval of the Office of Risk Management and the Vice-President, Resources
Published July 14, 2010
(Office of Risk Management)