Overview

This campaign aimed to prevent injuries that could arise from unsafe workplace conditions or practices, raise awareness about the risk of injury from slips, trips and falls (STF), enhance the Internal Responsibility System (IRS), especially regarding internal workplace inspections to identify STF hazards and to ensure workplace parties are complying with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations.

Education, outreach and awareness

We began by focusing on education, outreach, and awareness. We partnered with Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA), to provide training and education to workplace parties. The goal was to help promote STFs prevention to health care and community care workplaces so that they could understand and comply with the requirements under the OHSA and its regulations prior to focused inspections.

To prepare workplace parties, we provided information and compliance assistance resources, including:

  • holding a joint webinar to launch the campaign on April 23, 2024
  • additional webinar on developing and enhancing a STF program hosted by PSHSA

The PSHSA developed workplace resources and tools to improve knowledge and practices around STF prevention. They promoted the campaign through their monthly newsletters and shared regular updates on social media to raise awareness.

MLITSD inspectors included links to compliance assistance resources in their field visit reports where applicable. During the enforcement phase, they also referred workplace parties to health and safety partners for additional training and compliance support when appropriate.

Enforcement phase

Beginning June 3, 2024, inspectors conducted focused inspections of workplaces to check that employers were complying with the regulation under the OHSA, such as the Health Care and Residential Facilities Regulation. As a result, inspectors:

  • conducted 1,181 field visits with 148 support role activities
  • visited 939 workplaces
  • issued 2,365 orders and requirements

“Support role activities” are professional services staff (such as a hygienist, ergonomist or engineer) or another inspector who accompanies an inspector on a field visit to provide professional support and/or expertise.

Background

STFs represent a large contributor to the number of critical injuries occurring in the health and community care sectors. MLITSD analysis shows that critical injuries related to STFs affect all types of health and community care workplaces in the sector, at all times of the year. According to WSIB data, falls on the same level are consistently among the top contributor to LTIs in all subsectors of the health care sector.

Full report

Workplace inspection campaigns

Inspection campaigns are part of our compliance strategy. We announce to the sector, in advance, that we will be conducting a campaign. Individual workplaces are not notified in advance. Inspectors’ findings may impact the number and level of future inspections of individual workplaces.

Inspectors may also refer employers to health and safety associations for compliance assistance and training.

Focus of the campaign

This campaign focused on activities at health and community care workplaces where workers may be exposed to STF hazards.

Inspectors checked that workers were protected from STF hazards, including:

  • poor maintenance and housekeeping practices, such as not:
    • Clearing up spills and picking up dropped items
    • Clearing ice and snow from outdoor areas
    • Keeping work surfaces free of cracks, holes or bumps
    • Keeping work areas and walkways clear of obstructions or trip hazards such as equipment and electrical cords
  • Unsafe ladders or use of ladders

At the workplaces visited, inspectors checked whether the employers were taking the proper precautions given the circumstances. Inspectors also checked that workers had received appropriate instruction, information and supervision to protect workers from STF hazards.

At workplaces where the Health Care and Residential Facilities regulation applies, inspectors checked that the employer had:

  • established written measures and procedures on STFs prevention in consultation with the joint health and safety committee (JHSC) or health and safety representative (HSR)
  • reviewed the measures and procedures at least annually, and revised these as required considering current knowledge and practice related to STFs prevention
  • provided training to workers on STFs prevention

Inspectors took appropriate action if contraventions were found under the OHSA or its regulations. This included issuing orders to comply with requirements of the OHSA and regulations made under the OHSA.

Inspection activity summary

Visits to workplaces

Most frequent contraventions addressed

A total of 1,458 contraventions were addressed under the OHSA. The most frequently issued OHSA contraventions involved employers’ failure to:

  • take reasonable precautions for the protection of a worker [s. 25(2)(h)]
  • ensure that equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are maintained in good condition [s. 25(1)(b)]
  • provide information, instruction and supervision to workers to protect their health and safety [s. 25(2)(a)]

A total of 714 contraventions addressed under O. Reg. 67/93: Health Care and Residential Facilities. Orders were issued under the following sections (among others):

  • work surfaces [s. 33(1)]
  • safe handling, storing and disposing of materials [s. 103]
  • measures and procedures, training and education on measures and procedures [s. 8 and 9]

Observations

It is important that workplace parties strive to improve work conditions and practices to reduce the risk of STF injuries at the workplace. The results of this campaign indicate that workplace parties need to improve compliance with respect to STF prevention. Key aspects to focus on include:

  • assessing the risk of STFs (regular inspections of walkways, equipment and other areas) and putting measures and procedures in place to address the risk
  • Reviewing the measures and procedures regularly so that they stay current
  • Training, re-training and supervising workers to ensure that they are aware of the risks of STFs and the measures and procedures in place to reduce the risks
  • Maintaining equipment in good condition
  • Ensuring workers safely remove, transport, place and store materials Removing clutter and obstructions, cleaning up spills, securing mats and rugs to keep work surfaces free of STF hazards

Conclusion and next steps

Demonstrated leadership and dedication by employers to STF prevention will help to address the risk of injuries due to STFs. Employers, supervisors, workers, joint health and safety committees and health and safety representatives must continue to work together to identify and control STF hazards. A key to workplace health and safety in Ontario is the IRS. Workplace parties are encouraged to work together to identify and control all hazards.

Help for employers

Please contact our health and safety partners, including the PSHSA, for more information, resources, and tools.

For more information please contact the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development Health and Safety Contact Centre:

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