There are many tasks facing the employer trying to comply with WHMIS. The following checklist will help the employer to identify these tasks. The list contains questions that can be answered either yes or no. A question answered with a no may identify an area requiring attention. Please note that not all questions may be relevant to all employers.

General

  1. Do you know which materials in your workplace are classified as hazardous products under WHMIS?
  2. Have you assessed and classified all biological and chemical agents produced in-house for your own use against the criteria in Parts 2, 7 and 8 of the Hazardous Products Regulations to see which ones are hazardous products?
  3. Have you written out this assessment and made a copy available to workers and the joint health and safety committee, health and safety representative, if any, or a representative of the workers if there is no joint committee or health and safety representative?

Labelling and identification

  1. Do all containers of hazardous products received from a supplier have a supplier label?
  2. Have you made and attached workplace labels to hazardous products:
    1. produced in-house for use in your own workplace?
    2. decanted from the original supplier container into another container?
  3. Have you attached a supplier label to any containers of a hazardous product received as a bulk shipment?
  4. Have you posted a placard with workplace label information for any hazardous product not in a container?
  5. Have you provided identification for hazardous products (except intermediates) that are in pipes, process or reaction vessels, tank cars, etc.?
  6. Is all hazardous waste that is acquired or generated on site safely stored and identified?
  7. Do you have a process in place to update supplier and workplace labels with significant new data about a hazardous product?

Safety data sheets (SDSs)

  1. Do you have current SDSs for hazardous products received from a supplier?
  2. Have you prepared a SDS that meets the requirements for a supplier SDS for all hazardous products that you produce for use in your own workplace?
  3. Do you have a process in place to update SDSs with significant new data about a hazardous product?
  4. Are copies of SDSs readily available to workers? Do workers know how to access SDSs that are in electronic format?
  5. Does the joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative, if any, or a representative of the workers if there is no joint committee or health and safety representative have copies of all SDSs?

Worker education

  1. Have you identified all workers required to receive WHMIS training and instruction?
  2. Have workers been trained on the topics set out in section 7 of the WHMIS Regulation? Was the information provided to workers tailored to circumstances and conditions in your workplace?
  3. Did you consult the joint health and safety committee or a health and safety representative about the development and delivery of the worker training?
  4. Do workers understand the significance of any modes of identification (e.g. colour coding, pictures, etc.) in the workplace, where these have been used in place of labels on hazardous products?
  5. Do you have a process to verify that workers have understood their training and know how to safely handle any hazardous products they use? How to find SDSs? What to do in an emergency?
  6. Do you have a process for reviewing the worker education program at least once a year; or, whenever a new hazardous product enters the workplace; or when new information about a hazardous product becomes available? Does your review process include the joint health and safety committee or a health and safety representative?