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Worker Safety

From 2013–2017, VCH had nearly $29 million in WorkSafeBC claims cost due to occupational incidents and illnesses. A healthy and safe workplace can only be achieved when every employee makes safety their responsibility. VCH aims to foster behaviours that demonstrate a commitment to building a strong safety culture.

CASE STUDY

What are the greatest health and safety risks for Zahra?

Zahra is an administrative assistant. She provides clerical support to her manager and team.

3 KEY THINGS

The most important information I need to know.

Rights and
Responsibilities

Workplace Hazards
and Controls

Reporting Unsafe Work
or Conditions

Employee Rights

  • The right to know about hazards in the workplace
  • The right to participate in health and safety activities in the workplace
  • The right to refuse unsafe work without getting punished or fired

Workers’ rights and responsibilities are protected by the Worker’s Compensation Act and WorkSafeBC’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.

Employee Responsibilities

  • Working in a safe manner at all times
  • Carrying out work in accordance with established safe work procedures
  • Using or wearing personal protective equipment, devices and clothing as required
  • Reporting all unsafe acts or conditions to your supervisor or manager
  • Seeking first aid or medical treatment for work-related injuries
  • Co-operating with joint occupational health and safety committees, worker health and safety representatives, WorkSafeBC officers, and your VCH Workplace Health team

Employer/Supervisor Responsibilities

  • Establishing occupational health and safety programs to protect workers
  • Training and supervising employees to safely perform their work
  • Ensuring employees are made aware of all hazards and that employees have appropriate personal protective equipment, devices and clothing
  • Investigating incidents or near misses to prevent future recurrence
  • Ensuring first aid equipment, supplies and trained attendants are available
  • Organizing joint occupational health and safety committees, or worker health and safety representatives

Hazard Identification

SLIDE 1/3

Hazard Identification is a process in which a job, task or a situation is assessed for its potential to cause injury or damage. Hazards can be found in these aspects of work:

  • The physical work environment
  • Equipment, materials, and substances used in the workplace
  • Work tasks and how they are performed
  • Work design and management

Examples of Hazards

SLIDE 2/3

Physical – indoor air quality, noise, radiation
Chemical – cleaning agents, laboratory chemicals, hazardous drugs
Biological – blood and body fluids, bacteria, viruses
Psychosocial – stress, violence

Physically remove the hazard (eg. mercury)
Replace the hazard (eg. chemical substition)
Isolate people from the hazard (e.g. self-sheathing needles)
Change the way people work through education (e.g. spill response training)
Protect the worker with PPE (e.g. gowns)
 

Controls

SLIDE 3/3

Controls protect workers from workplace hazards by eliminating or minimizing the risk of the hazard to cause harm. Controls are implemented by following the hierarchy of controls and by weighing the decision against what is most feasible and effective.

 

Reporting Unsafe Work or Conditions

Reporting incidents and near misses is critical in preventing recurrence, increasing awareness for the hazard, and may reduce the severity of similar incidents in the future.

Unsafe work, conditions, injuries and near misses should all be reported to the Provincial Workplace Health Call Centre at 1-866-922-9464.

WHAT CAN I DO?

Tips to help me take care and stay safe.

Identify hazards

Identify any hazards in the workplace. As you are knowledgeable in your work, offer suggestions for potential control measures to your supervisor.

Report injuries or near misses

Report any injuries or near misses to the Provincial Workplace Health Call Centre at 1-866-922-9464.

Promote the culture of safety

Work in a manner that is conducive to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace. Advocate for changes that may benefit you and your peers by sharing your thoughts with your team.

PRACTICE

Checking my confidence in this subject.

MY ACTION ITEMS

In preparation for your new position at VCH, think about which hazards you may encounter and how you might control them.

Click below to access and complete the required Worker Safety quiz.

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