Specialized Professional Services compliance plan 2020-2021
Specialized Professional Services staff conduct inspections from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Read about the focus of health and safety inspections and ergonomics initiatives, and get resources to help workplaces comply with the law.
In response to COVID-19, the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development plans to adjust the current 2020-21 health and safety compliance initiative schedule. Further updates will be provided as necessary.
We thank you for your continued efforts in keeping workplaces safe in Ontario during this time.
Overview
Health and safety inspection initiatives are part of the province’s Safe At Work Ontario compliance strategy.
These initiatives are announced to sectors in advance. However, individual workplaces are not identified in advance.
Results from provincial initiatives are posted on the ministry’s website. The initiatives are intended to raise awareness of workplace hazards and promote compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations.
As part of the Safe At Work Ontario strategy, the ministry decides on the focus of initiatives using a risk-based process. This process takes into account:
- injury, illness and fatality rates
- compliance history
- the nature of the work (for example, hazards that come with the job)
- current events
- the vulnerability of the workers
- strategic priorities
- advice from stakeholders and the field
The focuses can be on specific sectors, hazards, issues or topics.
Ergonomists will support the construction, health care, industrial and mining sector initiatives, including two all-sector initiatives for:
- motor vehicle and mobile equipment hazards
- healthy workers healthy workplaces occupational health initiative
Ergonomics – warehousing
Phase 1: Compliance assistance
Dates: April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021
Partner: Workplaces Safety and Prevention Services (WSPS)
Phase 2: Focused inspections
Dates: July 2, 2020 to March 31, 2021
Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) ergonomists will conduct proactive inspections in warehouses, as well as workplaces that have a warehousing area (for example, larger retail stores).
Rationale
Injury data from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) warehousing rate group shows that:
- musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) and lost-time injury (LTI) rates were above the provincial average in 2018
- the MSD rate (number of MSDs per 100 full-time workers) has risen from 0.46 in 2014 to 0.71 in 2018
- 42% of all injuries were MSDs in 2018
Initiative focus
Ergonomists will focus on the following key priorities:
- musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) prevention
- manual material handling on ladders
- visibility hazards
Resources and compliance support
- The ministry’s webpage on:
- ergonomics in the workplace explains occupational health and safety laws related to ergonomics and includes resources and guidance on ways to address hazards from poor ergonomics
- manual material handling provides information on occupational health and safety laws related to manual material handling and guidance on preventing injuries due to unsafe manual material handling and complying with the law
- ergonomics and fall hazards contains information and links to four documents on ladder ergonomics
- ergonomics and visibility hazards contains information and a link to visibility hazards at industrial workplaces
- The MSD Prevention Guideline for Ontario includes fact sheets, step-by-step guidelines on organizing a workplace program to prevent MSDs, a risk assessment tool, quick summaries of basic MSD hazards and a large resource library
Other inspection focuses
Ergonomics
Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development ergonomists will also focus on workplaces that have a history of MSDs. The ministry will develop a list of workplaces from Workplace Safety and Insurance Board data. They will be looked at based on their MSD history and whether or not they have received a previous proactive inspection focusing on MSD prevention.
Resources and compliance support
The ministry’s ergonomics in the workplace page explains occupational health and safety laws related to ergonomics and includes resources and guidance on ways to address hazards from poor ergonomics.