Health and Safety

What would you consider highest priority in your internal H&S Policy?

  • Full in depth company policies

    Votes: 3 33.3%

  • Extra set a side training time

    Votes: 5 55.6%

  • Continues education

    Votes: 2 22.2%

  • Other, please post

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    9
Yeah ours is 74 pages long now. Funny thing is it was a few of the older co's around that handed in chicken scratch with their submissions! They are the ones still natural crotching everything ( I mean don't even use or own blocks) and climbing on 1970's climbing systems !!! Also have isa certified logos on their trucks and have and never will be one (s) ok I've almost given them away now I'll stop ! That's just what I have to deal with up here. Lol


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deevo said:
Hey Kevin I like the direction your going and Mangoes and Frashdog gave some great input also! I saw this thread yesterday morning before I headed out for the day. Funny thing is I just re did ours as well as new daily activity reports and tailboard forms in January. It paid off huge for me also as I was awarded a decent sized municipal contract yesterday afternoon, all bids submitted had to have a health and safety policy included in the submission, certified arborists on site with min. 5 years experience, current WSIB, current EUSA or EHAP ( which I have) and the first thing the person at the township said was how much better ours was then everyone else's that submitted bids, some didn't hand one in period or even knew what they were she said! So right off the bat that got rid of some of the hack bids! My one head climber used to be a health and safety rep for Davey, and he helped me better develop ours, so I owe hime big! But yeah with EAB up in our parts now there are going to be more accidents, incidents and death with un trained unqualified people ( hacks) and it's going to show up when the ministry of labour shows up at an incident asking to see their health and safety policy........ummmmm what's that most of em are going to ask! So companies that care about our industry, and their people should have one that best fits their company and always be updating and adding things to it as needed and hammering it in to their employees best they can! Not the most exciting thing to talk about all the time but it's there for a reason.
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One thing I have to do is an ash protocol. Do you guys have any thing like that? Around here ash are the #1 worrisome tree we've been seeing more and more blown down with rotted of roots. It makes it a bit tense working on some of these ash.
 
deevo said:
Yeah ours is 74 pages long now. Funny thing is it was a few of the older co's around that handed in chicken scratch with their submissions! They are the ones still natural crotching everything ( I mean don't even use or own blocks) and climbing on 1970's climbing systems !!! Also have isa certified logos on their trucks and have and never will be one (s) ok I've almost given them away now I'll stop ! That's just what I have to deal with up here. Lol


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I hate seeing any tree workers name in the paper for an accident but it happens. But I'll be damned if I'm not going to do everything I can to never have it be one of my guys
 
deevo said:
Yes actually I just finished up a draft for ash trees and using our tracked lift. I'm just working them into it now between 10 million other things I have on the go!




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When you are done if you are willing to share please post it or pm me I'd appreciate it
 
frashdog said:
I ski patrol with a local retired (big) utility line man. He retired early due to their lack of safety culture. New guys were dying, like one a year. The old cowboys were smart enough to bypass the rules and the young guys just thought that was how it was done. Near misses makes a company look bad, no one wants to talk about them. All a company wants to talk about is how many loss of work days. When you are dead you miss no days.

I was a general industry OSHA 40 hr trainer years ago, worked for a general industry for 9 years. The health and safety department was threatened by anyone "pointing things out". Cause they were over paid and under qualified, cause they did not do the work and fully understand the scope of operations. They were more concerned with msds sheets and band aids, then the crane that slipped when picking up 120tons. We had a 150ton bridge.

During my OSHA training I learned why...."OSHA's rules are written in blood" Sad as it is, safety has not always been first when bu$ine$$ is involved.
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Pointing things out is one of the most sure ways of evolving. Constructive criticism is great if done in a professional way. Not just point laugh and raz. This is what people worry about and hinder things being reported and handled properly
 
I took from ihsa, myself and a bit from frashdog. It's a first go so if anyone has the time to tear it apart and point out where to improve that'd be great. Hopefully I don't blunder on anywhere.

I can only load so much at a time. So this will come in parts

Health and safety training is the foundation of a successful health and safety program. Such training should give management, supervision, and workers an appreciation of their personal responsibilities for health and safety within the framework of the minimum standards outlined by legislation.

It is not, however, a question of training only new workers and apprentices. All levels of management, from the president to site supervisors, must be involved in health and safety training.

In addition to the transfer of knowledge and skills, training promotes positive attitudes and a culture in which all parties within a firm collaborate to establish and maintain worksite health and safety.

Workers need training in specific health and safety topics. In addition, there are several different situations where employers have a duty to ensure that workers are trained (e.g. Traffic Control).

An orientation is good way to familiarize new employees with how your company functions and the value of occupational health and safety in their work. An orientation should include a review of your company Health and Safety Policy and Program to determine what further training and information the employee needs to do the job safely.

A yearly review for all employees ensures that new procedures or rules are communicated to everyone.



Employers should have effective systems in place to communicate important health and safety information to all affected employees. Companies often conduct regular Safety Talks for this function.



Inspecting sites to ensure that appropriate controls are in place is another key element of an effective health and safety program.

Informal inspections should be done by all supervisors whenever they are out on site.



Formal documented inspections must be done weekly by supervisors and monthly by health and safety representatives or Joint Health and Safety Committee members.



Even where inspections are not legally required, a well-managed inspection program can help to identify problems and assess risks before accidents or injuries occur.

A proper inspection program can:

  • identify potential problems.
  • identify deficiencies in equipment and/or machinery.
  • assess and determine the degree of compliance.
  • demonstrate management support for the health and safety program.


Frontline supervisors and members of the Joint Health and Safety Committee do the majority of planned general inspections.

The person(s) conducting the inspection should be knowledgeable about the kinds of hazards that may be present and the legal requirements that apply as well as the requirements of the company's health and safety program.
 
Any health and safety deficiencies identified during the inspection should be noted and corrective action should be taken.



The company's program should address the following points:

  • frequency of inspections
  • who conducts the inspection
  • use of inspection checklists
  • communication of inspection results
  • follow up on corrective actions required
  • retention/forwarding of inspection reports




If the inspection protocols are in place along with safe work practice protocols are being used by competent workers, it should lead to a safe work environment.

However even with guidelines and guards in place unfortunate accidents can take place.

If an accident on your site does occur it is important to have a safe work structure in place to deal with the event.



The prime objective of accident investigation is prevention.

Finding the causes of an accident and taking steps to control or eliminate it can help prevent similar accidents from happening in the future.

Accidents can rarely be attributed to a single cause. Work environment, job constraints, and supervisory or worker experience can all play a part, these factors must be examined.

Investigators must always keep in mind that effective accident investigation means fact-finding, not fault-finding.

To explain why and how an accident happened, investigators must collect information on the events that took place before and during the event. Investigators can then determine accident conditions by examining physical evidence and interviewing witnesses, as soon as possible.

It is also helpful to have a policy that any damage or injury is photographed on site as soon as safely as possible.





In order for an investigation to be a valuable tool in accident prevention, three things must take place:

  • 1. the information gathered must be analyzed;
  • 2. corrective action must be taken; and
  • 3. the action must be monitored for effectiveness.


Once step one is complete the employer has up to 21 days to respond in writing, to the health and safety representation.

The second and third step often fall to the supervisor or health and safety representative. To document and report to the health and safety representative and employer.
 
There are legal requirements to report accidents to the MOL.

These include fatalities, critical injuries, occupational illness and the following prescribed incidents:

  • A worker falling a vertical distance of three metres or more.
  • A worker falling and having the fall arrested by a fall arrest system other than a fall restricting system.
  • A worker becoming unconscious for any reason.
  • Accidental contact by a worker or by a worker's tool or equipment with energized electrical equipment, installations or conductors.
  • Accidental contact by a crane, similar hoisting device, backhoe, power shovel or other vehicle or equipment or its load with an energized electrical conductor rated at more than 750 volts. Structural failure of all or part of falsework designed by, or required by this Regulation to be designed by, a professional engineer.
  • Structural failure of a principal supporting member, including a column, beam, wall or truss, of a structure.
  • Failure of all or part of the structural supports of a scaffold.
  • Structural failure of all or part of an earth- or water-retaining structure, including a failure of the temporary or permanent supports for a shaft, tunnel, caisson, cofferdam or trench.
  • Failure of a wall of an excavation or of similar earthwork with respect to which a professional engineer has given a written opinion that the stability of the wall is such that no worker will be endangered by it.
  • Overturning or the structural failure of all or part of a crane or similar hoisting device.


There is a legal requirement to not only report what happened, but also the steps taken to prevent a recurrence.



Other than the above legally required reports you should have ahealth and safety programs that covers the importance of the following items. Addressing the requirements regarding accident investigation of:

  • What kinds of accidents must be investigated?
  • Who should investigate what?
  • What training should investigators have?
  • Who reviews the investigation report and follows up on any observations or recommendations?
  • What should be investigated: All Lost Time Injuries? All Medical Aid Injuries? All with more than $ X in property damage? Any with a potential for serious injury or major financial loss?
Your policy should also identify who reviews the investigation report and is responsible for ensuring that follow-up is done regarding any corrective actions/deficiencies that were found.



If your company polices are not clear or leave you with any questions, the Occupational Health and Safety Act is a full comprehensive set of rules and guidelines that will have clear objective findings.
 
If your company polices are not clear ,on any issue that you may come across, mark it and make a point of attending to that with what ever level of management that it requires.

Not having a proper policy in place to be clear on any issue is a concern that needs to be dealt with at a managerial level. Policies must be in place to inform and protect workers.

If you are not able to come up with a comprehensive policy, on any issue that includes the employees health and safety, you are urged to contact the Ministry of Labour or Infrastructure Health and Safety Association.

Delegates from these agencies will come out to help you set programs and policies in place to help avoid future incidents.



An example of some key things to look at after an incident are:

Address:



Crew Supervisor:



Crew Members:



Tree Description:



Job Site Description:



Incident Description:



Cause of incident (Ask why 3 times to get to the root cause):

1.



2.



3.



What steps are being taken so this problem can be avoided in the future:


You are encouraged to photograph and/or draw diagrams to assist you in detail recollection.
 
An example of a witness statement form would include:
Date of injury incident:

Injury/incident number:

Name of witness:

Date:

Name of interviewer:

Details of interview:

Signature of witness:

Signature of interviewer:

Once the investigation is completed a copy should be kept with the health and safety meeting notes so they can be addressed in detail at the next formal company safety meeting.

As a review, not as to put blame on any one person or crew. The purpose of this is educational and to help the next person/crew from making the same mistake.

Any incident report and/or investigation should be filed with a copy of that job’s tail board.

Working with your employees and making sure lines of communication stay open between supervisors and workers is key, in promoting a safe work environment.

The root cause of the problem is what can often require the most attention, to help the worker or crew get through. The underlying problem is not often the obvious one.
 
The silver lining of any accident is the education of lessons learned.



An example of a corrective action form would include:



Date of injury/incident:



Injury/incident number:



Date:



Recommendations:



Date assigned:



Responsibility assigned to:



Details of what has to be done:



Who has completed it?



When was it completed?



Taking corrective action is the next step in safe work place prevention safety. No health and/or safety concern should be left unaddressed by the appropriate people, as to pose a reoccurring problem to a worker in the future.



Hopefully your health and safety program is helped by this information. Again as sad as it is, OSHA's rules are written in blood, be sure to read and understand them. We all aim for more readers and less writers of this publication. By working together sharing to build we can make it so everyone goes home at night.
 
Additionally RE: Communal Near Miss/Incident Reporting

Thoughts:
- forum model will permit much dialogue, a great deal of which may be counter productive
- a web app could easily be created in which a participating company would fill out a form with standard and mandatory fields
- contact fields could be optional
- contact fields could permit an interested party to initiate a private dialogue about the circumstances and lessons learned
- data collected from the reporting form would/could be summarized in a related webpage in chart form
- chart of reported incidents could be reviewed by participating companies or made public
- chart would show all fields from the reporting form, so if privacy was preferred only the incident details could be logged

This would have potential to be a great tool:
- lobby MoL & Province for funding and training resources based on aggregate data which proves a need
- lobby Insurers for discounted rates based on industry performance as compared with others
- help educators, Ontario College of Trades, and private training bodies determine GAPS which required focused curriculum and training augmentation
- help team/industry leaders determine which daily tasks have high probabilities for incident and require a mentoring focus
 
It would be helpful to outline some of the questions to be asked in an interview or even to organize them by field in a form such that their is a searchable database.
How would a near miss form differ? Or could that be part of this form?
 
Mangoes said:
Additionally RE: Communal Near Miss/Incident Reporting

Thoughts:
- forum model will permit much dialogue, a great deal of which may be counter productive
- a web app could easily be created in which a participating company would fill out a form with standard and mandatory fields
- contact fields could be optional
- contact fields could permit an interested party to initiate a private dialogue about the circumstances and lessons learned
- data collected from the reporting form would/could be summarized in a related webpage in chart form
- chart of reported incidents could be reviewed by participating companies or made public
- chart would show all fields from the reporting form, so if privacy was preferred only the incident details could be logged

This would have potential to be a great tool:
- lobby MoL & Province for funding and training resources based on aggregate data which proves a need
- lobby Insurers for discounted rates based on industry performance as compared with others
- help educators, Ontario College of Trades, and private training bodies determine GAPS which required focused curriculum and training augmentation
- help team/industry leaders determine which daily tasks have high probabilities for incident and require a mentoring focus
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It just goes to show how many people know so much more than me but hey you don't ever hear anyone talk about the downhill battles
 
treehumper said:
It would be helpful to outline some of the questions to be asked in an interview or even to organize them by field in a form such that their is a searchable database.
How would a near miss form differ? Or could that be part of this form?
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This is one thing I am already starting I've contacted a few companies I'm trying to gather up as many accident investigation policies, tailboards, safety head lines, as well as looking through the safe work practice guides and come up with a master list of questions or things that should be in place. talking to the mol,isha, etc would help but they all say it has to be industry based so while including them it can't be there project due to privacy laws.
An online forum platform is the goal.

As far as near misses they don't get reported and investigated so they may have to be separate but a very big part.
 
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