CCOHS Health & Safety Training

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) promotes a safe and healthy working environment by providing occupational health and safety information and advice. The objective of education and training is to instruct recipients about health and safety procedures or specific job practices and to raise awareness or skill levels to an acceptable standard.

Workplace inspections help to identify existing hazards so that appropriate corrective action can be taken. Health and safety legislation requires workplace inspections as a proactive action to ensure workplace health and safety. Occupational Health and Safety Training (CSA Standard Z1001-18) also outlines suggested training for supervisors.

The standard states that a supervisor “should be competent (ex. have adequate knowledge, training, and experience) on all processes and tasks over which they are exercising authority. Supervisors are responsible for conducting their inspections (for the areas they are responsible for) and for taking action on unsafe conditions and acts as they are reported or encountered.

The frequency of planned formal inspections may be set out in legislation. Records of previous incidents and the potential for incidents are factors to be included when determining if more frequent inspections are needed. Organizations should define what constitutes an acceptable combination of knowledge, training, and experience with the supervision of others performing tasks.

Health and safety education should start with worker orientation when a worker joins the organization or is transferred to a new job. It has been found that inexperienced workers, in general, are involved in incidents at a higher rate than others.

While experience can only be gained through time, both health and safety education and job skills training can be used to improve this record. Orientation sessions normally cover such items as an explanation of the function of the work unit, organizational relationships, administrative arrangements, and various policies and rules.