Definitions Flashcards
1
Q
Accident
A
A dated term for an event that has led to some degree of harm.
The HRAC process asks us to think more broadly than just in terms of injury events. The term incident is most often used to mean any undesired event that leads to or could have led to harm to workers. This includes injury events as well as near miss events
2
Q
Acoustic trauma
A
Negative health effects caused by short, intense exposure to noise, usually of high frequency.
Exposure to this hazard can lead to a series of short- and long-term health effects. Short-term effects include a full sensation in the ears, sharp pain around the ear, nausea, or dizziness. Longer-term effects can include headaches, fatigue, anxiety, and hypersensitivity to sound.
3
Q
Act
A
An act is a federal, provincial, or territorial law that sets out the broad legal framework around OHS in each jurisdiction. This legislation is passed by the legislature that has the authority to regulate work in the jurisdiction.
4
Q
Administrative controls
A
A form of hazard control that entails changes to work process, policies, training, or rules designed to reduce exposure to hazards.
For example, policies restricting the time workers spend in contact with a chemical hazard, “no-go” zones that restrict workers’ movements in certain locations, mandatory training sessions, permit systems to control access to equipment or spaces, changes to schedules to prevent excessive shift work, or working-alone procedures that require regular check-in are all administrative controls. Administrative controls do not actually control a hazard. Rather, they attempt (via rules and processes) to limit workers’ exposure to the hazard.
5
Q
Alcohol testing
A
Measuring the amount of alcohol in a worker’s breath or blood to determine impairment.
There is some (but weak) evidence that workers who work while under the influence of alcohol are at greater risk of being involved in an incident or being injured. The evidence that alcohol testing (e.g., measuring the amount of alcohol in a worker’s breath or blood) reduces the incidence of errors is strongest in the transportation and construction industries. This likely reflects the nature of the hazards in those industries.
6
Q
Area monitoring
A
Measuring the level of a hazard in a geographic space.
Less effective control for chemical hazards
Some workplaces provide special facilities (e.g., showers, lunch rooms) to minimize workers’ exposure to chemicals. Some organizations will also undertake extensive medical and environmental monitoring and record keeping.
7
Q
Arises out of employment
A
Part of the arises-and-occurs test of injury compensability that assesses whether or not an injury was caused by the nature, conditions, or obligations of employment.
That is to say, injuries arise from employment when they are caused by an employment hazard.
8
Q
Arises-and-occurs test
A
A test used by a workers’ compensation board to assess whether an injury claim is compensable. To meet this test, an injury must arise from and occur during the course of a worker’s employment.
It is easier for workers with acute physical injuries to show that this is the case than it is for workers who have developed an occupational disease. This is because occupational diseases often take years to manifest themselves and the cause of the disease may be unclear. Not surprisingly, then, the majority of accepted workers’ compensation claims are for acute physical injuries.
Arises out of employment is a part of this test
9
Q
Balance of probabilities test
A
Used in determining whether or not an injury occurred as a result of work
A standard of proof wherein a proposition is deemed to be true if is it more likely to be true than not based upon the evidence at hand.
Acute physical injuries in the workplace with clear causal mechanisms are almost always accepted. When the facts of a claim are ambiguous, WCBs use the balance of probabilities test to assess compensability (i.e., is it more likely than not that the injury arose from and occurred in the course of employment).
10
Q
Behaviour-based safety
A
An approach to OHS that views the workplace as a venue of measurable behaviour that can be shaped via feedback to prevent injuries.
Training is often said to be an effective means of reducing the incidence of workplace injury. For example, training workers to work safely is a key component of behaviour-based safety (BBS), a popular approach to OHS among employers. BBS
As its name implies, BBS draws heavily on a behaviourist view of learning and focuses on modifying worker behaviour via training-reinforced positive and negative feedback. For example, safety metrics (e.g., number of days without a time-loss injury) may be publically posted and linked to rewards (e.g., cash bonuses or workplace events such as free pizza lunches). Such rewards certainly can shape worker behaviour.
11
Q
Behaviourism
A
A learning theory that asserts that attaching rewards and punishments to specific worker actions can shape how workers behave.
In effect, workers can be conditioned to act in desired ways via positive and negative reinforcement.
12
Q
Biological hazards
A
Workplace hazards potentially giving rise to injuries caused by organisms—such as bacteria, molds, funguses—or the products of organisms that harm human health.
There are three types of organisms that give rise to biological hazards:
Bacteria
Viruses
Fungi
Insect stings and bites, poisonous plants and animals, and allergens are also biological hazards. Biological hazards can enter our bodies via respiration, skin absorption, ingestion, and skin penetration and can cause both acute and chronic health effects
13
Q
Bona fide occupational requirement
A
A rule or requirement necessary for the proper performance of a job, which can prevail even if it causes otherwise prohibited discrimination.
For example, it is unlawful for an employer to refuse to hire a worker because the worker is blind. Yet, if an employer were hiring a pizza delivery driver, requiring the worker to hold a valid driver’s licence (which a blind worker cannot acquire) would be a bona fide occupational requirement. This requirement is permissible because holding a driver’s licence is rationally connected to the job and reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of a legitimate work-related purpose.
Ontario suggests a three-part test to determine if drug and alcohol testing is a BFOR:
the standard or test has been adopted for a purpose that is rationally connected to the performance of the job
the particular standard or test has been adopted in an honest and good faith belief that it was necessary to the fulfillment of that legitimate work-related purpose
the standard or test is reasonably necessary to accomplish that legitimate work-related purpose (i.e., it is impossible to accommodate individual employees sharing the characteristics of the claimant without imposing undue hardship upon the employer)
14
Q
But for standard
A
A test used in cases where it is difficult to assess whether an injury arises and occurs from work that asks whether an injury would have arisen and occurred in the absence of work.
In cases where it is very hard to sort out whether an injury is caused by work, WCBs will often use the but for standard. If the injury would not have occurred but for the work, the injury is deemed to have arose and occurred. This means the work does not have to be the sole, predominant, or major cause of an injury, but work must be necessary for the injury to have occurred.
15
Q
Capital accumulation process
A
The way in which goods and services are produced in a capitalist economy.
On the one hand, government must facilitate the capital accumulation process—that is, it must act in ways that allow employers to produce goods and services in a profitable manner and thereby encourage private investment. Failing to do so may result in an economic downturn, for which the government may well be held responsible.
On the other hand, government must maintain its own legitimacy with voters (so it gets re-elected). It must also maintain the legitimacy of the existing capitalist economic system.
16
Q
Capitalism
A
An economic system wherein the means of production are mostly owned by private individuals, the distribution of goods mostly occurs through market mechanisms, and employers face significant pressure to maximize profitability.
A recurring issue for governments in such economies is that workers (who comprise the majority of the electorate) are often negatively affected by the operation of the system. We see this in the form of low pay, poor working conditions, and the spectre of workplace injury and death. These effects can cause a loss of confidence in a particular government or, more broadly, in capitalist social formation.
17
Q
Careless worker myth
A
The notion that workers are accident-prone, careless, or even reckless in the execution of their duties and that these characteristics are the primary cause of workplace injuries.
A good example of the contested nature of workplace injuries and the importance of distinguishing root and proximate cause is the careless worker myth. The idea that workers are accident-prone, careless, or even reckless in the execution of their duties and thus cause their own injuries has wide currency.
While workers’ behaviour often features in explanations of the proximate cause of an injury (e.g., “the worker fell off of the roof”), it is useful to probe the root cause of injury. Who sent the worker onto the roof and why? Why wasn’t the worker given fall protection equipment? Most injuries are ultimately caused by unsafe working conditions, and working conditions are under the control of employers, not workers.
18
Q
Catastrophic stressors
A
A subset of acute stress, but differing in their intensity, threatening life, safety, or property.
One of the four types of stressors
Robbery and physical assault are examples of catastrophic stressors.
19
Q
Ceiling exposure value (CEV)
A
The concentration of a substance that should never be exceeded in a workplace.
one of the three types of occupational exposure limits (OELs)
20
Q
Chemical hazards
A
Workplace hazards potentially giving rise to injuries caused by a chemical substance that harms human tissue or interferes with normal physiological functioning.
Some chemicals irritate our tissue while others poison our systems or organs. Chemicals can asphyxiate us or negatively affect the functioning of our central nervous systems. Chemicals can also cause our immune systems to overreact, change our DNA, cause cancer, or damage a fetus.
There are four routes of entry by which chemicals can get into a worker’s body, the most common being through respiration (i.e., breathing in contaminated air) and absorption through the skin. Chemicals can also enter our bodies through ingestion (i.e., we can eat them—usually accidentally) and through cuts in our skin.
Chemical hazards have varying levels of toxicity (i.e., ability to cause injury).
21
Q
Chronic stressors
A
Stressors that persist over a sustained period of time and include job insecurity, work overload, or lack of control.
One of four types of stressors
22
Q
Chronic toxicity
A
Harm caused by exposure to a substance that manifests itself over a longer period of time.
The time between exposure to a chemical hazard and the development of symptoms from that exposure is called the latency period
23
Q
Circadian rhythms
A
The daily (24-hour) cycles our body follows to ensure high activity during the day and low activity at night.
The primary concern about shift work is its potential to disrupt a worker’s circadian rhythms.
Sleeping and waking, eating, adrenalin, body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and many other bodily functions are regulated by circadian rhythms. When work occurs outside of that daily rhythm, it places strain on the body as it is forced to alter the cycle. A second concern is that shift work is associated with behaviour contributing to poorer health, including smoking, poor diet, and increased alcohol consumption. Shift work also disrupts family and social activities. This disruption adds stress and reduces the support that workers can draw upon to manage stress.
24
Q
The Meredith principles underlying workers’ compensation remain the basis for workers’ compensation in Canada:
A
No fault: How the injury occurred is irrelevant. Compensation is paid on a no-fault basis and workers cannot sue their employer.
Accident fund: The WCB maintains an accident fund to guarantee the availability of benefits over time.
Collective liability: All employers pay premiums and thereby share the cost of injuries collectively.
Independent administration: The WCB—which operates independently of employers, workers, and the state—administers the workers’ compensation system.
Exclusivity: The WCB is the only provider of workers’ compensation. This differs from arrangements in some US states where multiple private insurers offer compensation. The WCB is also the final arbiter of all claims.
25
Collective liability
One of the Meredith principles underlying workers’ compensation, stating that the cost of injury is shared among all employers in an industry.
26
Complaint-driven enforcement
A policy wherein workplace inspections are triggered by individual complaints or in response to incidents (i.e., a serious injury or fatality).
Complaint-based investigations may at times be supplemented by targeted inspections of specific industries (e.g., residential construction) or working situations (e.g., employers of migrant workers). Complaint-based enforcement has been adopted due to the limited resources allocated to OHS inspections relative to the number of employers in the jurisdiction.
27
Consequence
The severity of injury/ill health that will result from an incident.
Part of risk assessment calculation
28
Control along the path
An approach to hazard control that addresses the hazard at some point between its source and when workers encounter the hazard.
Some types of engineering controls (e.g., machine guards, local ventilation) control the hazard along the path.
Part of the location of the control approach
29
Control at the source
An approach to hazard control that prevents the hazard from entering the workplace via elimination, substitution, or some type of engineering controls.
Part of the location of the control approach
30
Control at the worker
An approach to hazard control that controls the hazard only after it reaches the worker.
These controls are designed to prevent or reduce the consequences of the hazard, rather than control the hazard itself. PPE and administrative controls are both examples of control at the worker because they both require that the burden of the control be placed almost exclusively upon the worker.
Part of the location of the control approach
31
Cost-benefit approach
An approach to injury prevention that compares the cost of an injury with the cost of injury prevention.
Since perfect safety is unattainable, employers often adopt a cost-benefit approach to safety: safety should only be improved when it costs less to prevent the injury than the injury itself costs. This isn’t to suggest that employers actively wish to see their workers injured or don’t take safety seriously. Rather, it highlights that employers and managers face structural pressures (e.g., the profit imperative of capitalism) and that these pressures shape how they behave and, indeed, how they view issues like workplace safety.
32
Dermatitis
Irritation of the skin that often begins with a rash and can lead to severe itching, burning, flaking, cracking, blistering, and bleeding.
Many food service workers cope with a chronic rash on their hands. This dermatitis is caused by exposures to chemical substances such as cleaners and food products as well as by frequent handwashing—all of which can irritate a worker’s skin. Workers can develop severe itching, burning, flaking, cracking, blistering, and bleeding of their hands. Over time, repeated exposures to chemical substances can also make workers allergic to those chemicals. Allergic reactions mean workers can develop symptoms on other parts of the body. There are over 1000 workers’ compensation claims for dermatitis in Ontario alone each year.
33
Disability
The condition of being unable to perform a function or task as a consequence of a physical or mental impairment
That definition seems pretty straightforward. But definitions are social constructions. In this case, being unable to perform a function is only meaningful if performing the function is an expectation of a situation. What this means is that the existence of impairment (i.e., a cognitive or physical difference) does not cause a disability. Rather, it is the nature of the tasks in the workplace that turn impairment into a disability.
34
Disability management
A set of employer practices designed to prevent or reduce workplace disability and help workers to recover normal functioning as quickly and to the maximum degree possible.
Return to work programs are part of the broader field of disability management.
35
Three interrelated aspects of disability management
Prevention: Employers may seek to prevent injuries and illnesses that give rise to disabilities through injury prevention efforts as well as employee assistance and wellness programs.
Accommodation: Workers who have disabilities may require accommodation. This may include assistive technologies and modifications to work, work processes, and the workplace.
Recovery: Some disabilities are temporary in nature. Sick leave, modified work, disability benefits (including workers’ compensation), and return to work programs can assist workers during the period of time required for them to recover.
36
Domino theory
An accident analysis model premised on five factors (background, personal defects, unsafe acts and conditions, incident, and injury), the elimination of any one resulting in the prevention of an incident.
A model to help investigators get to root cause
Each domino represents factors reaching back from an incident. The first (closest) domino is labelled Injury, followed by Incident, Unsafe Acts and Conditions, Personal Defects (e.g., equipment failure, personal factors), and finally Background (e.g., lack of management control). The theory contends that injury results from failure at all five levels. If any of the failures does not happen (i.e., one of the dominoes is removed from the chain), an injury will not occur. For example, if a worker is taught to work safely, an injury might be prevented even though failures in background decisions still occurred.
37
Drug testing
Determining the presence (or absence) of a drug or its metabolic residue in a worker’s body, typically by testing a sample of a worker’s saliva, blood, urine, or hair.
To the surprise of many, there is little evidence that drug use is associated with a heightened risk of workplace injury. This may explain the more ambiguous outcomes of research into the effect of drug testing on workplace injuries. While there is some evidence that pre-employment drug testing is associated with a lower incidence of injury, there is little credible evidence that randomly testing workers affects injury rates.
Human rights legislation limits the use of alcohol and drug testing in the workplace, although there are significant differences between jurisdictions
38
Due diligence
Standard of conduct wherein employers take every reasonable precaution to ensure safety.
It is assessed using a three-part test:
Foreseeability: Reasonable employers are expected to know about the hazards of their business. Injuries that arise from events that other operators in the industry expect might occur are foreseeable events.
Preventability: Reasonable employers are expected to take steps to prevent injury. The normal steps include identifying hazards, preparing and enforcing safe working procedures, training and monitoring worker safety, and ensuring compliance with safety procedures. Injuries that arise because an employer did not take these steps are preventable injuries.
Control: Reasonable employers are expected to take action on hazards that they can control. Injuries that arise from such hazards suggest the employer failed to control these hazards.
39
Duration
The length of time a worker is exposed to a phenomenon.
One of the three characteristics of noise affect whether it becomes a hazard
Even short-term exposure can cause damage, especially if the noise is sudden and at a high frequency.
40
Duty to accommodate
Employers’ legal obligation to alter work, work practices, or the workplace to the point of undue hardship in order to allow workers with disabilities to perform meaningful work.
41
Elimination
A form of hazard control that removes the hazard from the worksite.
For example, relocating work performed at a height to ground level eliminates the risk of falling. This control is most easily implemented at the design stage, thereby preventing the hazard from entering the workplace.
42
Emergency
A sudden event that poses a hazard to workers’ health and safety and requires immediate action.
Obvious examples include weather or transportation events such as the 2013 flood in Calgary, Alberta, or the tanker-car explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. Fortunately, most emergencies are of a much smaller scale. The release of hazardous gases at the Burnaby mushroom farm is an example. The workers had no warning that they would be exposed to a powerful chemical hazard in a confined space, and the exposure rapidly incapacitated, injured, and killed them. While preventing such events is ideal, emergency plans can significantly mitigate the harm caused by emergencies.
43
Emotional labour
Work requiring workers to regulate their emotions to meet organizationally defined rules and to display the required emotions to customers.
In other words, workers engage in emotional labour when they are asked to display an emotion—empathy, happiness, friendliness— that they may not actually feel. Emotional labour is a key part of work in many occupations involving clients, patients, or customers and is required of a wide variety of workers, including nurses and doctors, store clerks, restaurant/bar servers, airline attendants, and teachers
44
Employee assistance program (EAP)
Employer-funded access to short-term psychological counselling to help employees to cope with personal problems.
These programs normally provide access to short-term psychological counselling to help employees to cope with personal problems. The underlying logic of EAPs is that personal issues can affect work performance and, if untreated, can sometimes become more profound.
45
Employment Strain Model (ESM)
A holistic model of how employment uncertainty, effort, and support affect precarious workers’ health.
ESM looks at the employment relationship in its entirety to understand how workers’ health is affected by engaging in precarious work. The model suggests that the strain of being uncertain about employment combined with the stress of having to make extra effort to maintain and attain work are the cause of the worsened health outcomes.
46
Engineering controls
are modifications to the workplace, equipment, materials, or work processes that reduce workers’ exposure to hazards.
For example, installing guards on machinery, building guard rails, installing ventilation systems, or purchasing ergonomically designed workstations all isolate workers from hazards, but they do not eliminate the hazard. These controls can be incomplete, become inoperative due to lack of maintenance, or be overridden and therefore are less effective than elimination or substitution.
47
Episodic stressors
Events similar to acute stressors, but occurring more frequently, having a longer duration, and often of lower intensity
One of the four types of stressors
48
Ergonomic hazards
Workplace hazards potentially giving rise to injuries caused by the interaction of work design and the human body.
49
Ergonomics
It is a broad-based approach to OHS that considers how the design of work affects the human body and its health. Ideally, ergonomics starts with job design. Job design comprises the decisions employers make about what tasks will be performed by workers and how that work will be performed.
50
Exit/Voice/Patience/Neglect
A typology of possible worker responses to occupational health and safety issues.
Exit: The worker decides to get away from the undesired situation, either by quitting the employer or transferring to another location or job within the same employer.
Voice: The worker decides to speak up in an attempt to change the situation. Voice can take a number of forms, including attempting to repair the situation directly, lodging a complaint, filing a grievance or, less constructively, retaliating with their own inappropriate behaviour.
Patience: The worker decides to do nothing in the hopes that the situation will eventually improve. Workers adopt a patience approach when their loyalty to the organization or the cost of exiting is greater than the price of experiencing the negative situation.
Neglect: The worker does nothing, based on the belief that the situation will not change or might grow worse. The worker might try to avoid the source of the situation but will generally take no action to change the situation. Workers choose this option when the costs of exiting are too high and their relationship to the organization is sufficiently damaged to prevent either voice or patience.
51
Experience rating
A system of adjusting an employer’s workers’ compensation premiums based upon the employer’s claims record
Manitoba employers can receive reductions of about 40% in their premiums if they have low claims costs compared to other employers. Employers with high costs can see their premiums increased by up to 200%. This has created a significant incentive for employers to minimize the cost of the workers’ compensation claims filed by their workers.
52
Exposure
How often or regularly workers come in contact with the hazard.
Part of risk assessment
53
Fatigue
The state of feeling tired, weary, or sleepy caused by insufficient sleep, prolonged mental or physical work, or extended periods of stress or anxiety.
Acute, or short-term, fatigue can be caused by failure to get adequate sleep in the period before a work shift and is resolved quickly through appropriate sleep. Chronic fatigue can be the result of a prolonged period of sleep deficit and may require more involved treatment. Chronic fatigue syndrome is an ongoing, severe feeling of tiredness not relieved by sleep. The causes of chronic fatigue syndrome are unknown.
54
Flexible work arrangements
Altering the normal hours of work in order to accommodate the needs of workers.
Some wellness initiatives that do actually modify the workplace are things like flexible work arrangements, such as compressed workweeks. In a compressed workweek, a worker puts in slightly longer hours but fewer days per week. Some workplaces will also allow job sharing, wherein two workers share a single position with each worker working some portion of the full-time job. Another option is telecommuting, wherein workers perform work away from the office (e.g., at home). This option can allow workers to better balance otherwise conflicting work and home responsibilities.
55
Frequency
The vibration of the medium through which energy moves
One of the three characteristics of noise that affects whether it becomes a hazard
We measure frequency in Hertz (Hz) (i.e., the number of vibrations per second). We experience sound frequency as the pitch of noise. Fast vibration yields a higher-pitched noise than slow vibration. We can normally hear sounds with frequencies between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz. Sounds extending beyond the low and high end of our hearing range are not registered by our brains (i.e., we cannot hear them), but they can still harm our ears.
56
Fungi
Plants that lack chlorophyll, such as mushrooms, yeast, and mould.
Many fungi contain toxin or produce toxic substances. For example, stachybotrys chartarum (black mould) produces toxins called mycotoxins that cause nausea, fatigue, respiratory and skin problems, and organ damage when the toxic spores are inhaled.
57
Gaming
Behaviour whereby an employer maximizes the return it receives from the experience-rating system by means other than improving safety.
Gaming may include suppressing claims as well as disputing worker claims, thereby undermining the no-fault basis of workers’ compensation.
58
Hand-arm vibration
A form of segmental vibration affecting a worker’s hands and arms, often caused by gripping power tools.
Hand-arm vibration syndrome (sometimes called Raynaud’s phenomenon or “white finger”) is caused by restriction of blood and oxygen supply to fingers and hands, which causes damage to blood vessels and nervous systems.
59
Hazard assessment
The process of determining which of identified hazards need to be addressed most urgently.
Second step of HRAC process
60
Hazard control
Implementing corrective measures to eliminate or mitigate the effect of a hazard.
Third step of HRAC process
61
Hazard recognition
The systematic act of identifying all hazards present, or potentially present, in a workplace.
First step of HRAC process
62
Hazard recognition, assessment, and control (HRAC)
The process of identifying, prioritizing, and eliminating or mitigating workplace hazards.
The key to preventing workplace injuries and fatalities is to identify hazards and control them. In the case of Andrew James, the process of Hazard Recognition, Assessment, and Control (HRAC) would have identified the risks posed by the trailer’s inadequately latched gate, the unsafe unloading practices, the absence of an emergency plan, and other issues. It might also have raised questions about the adequacy of the training provided to James, the legality of his employment, and the OHS complexity of mobile workplaces—workplaces where the hazards are ever-changing.
63
Impairment
A cognitive or physical difference that, in a specific context, may give rise to a disability.
That the existence of impairment (i.e., a cognitive or physical difference) does not cause a disability. Rather, it is the nature of the tasks in the workplace that turn impairment into a disability.
64
Incident
Any undesired event that leads to or could have led to harm to workers.
The term incident is most often used to mean any undesired event that leads to or could have led to harm to workers. This includes injury events as well as near miss events (i.e., where the event did not lead to harm but only because of happenstance or luck). When talking about incidents, we also need to be mindful that incidents can include specific, time-bounded events (e.g., a slippery floor) as well as general conditions or the presence of something harmful (e.g., long-term exposure to a carcinogen).
65
Incident investigation
The process of determining what caused an incident and identifying ways of preventing its recurrence.
Not conducting the investigation in a careful and thorough manner can undermine the results and create the risk of a repeat incident. Any incident where significant injury occurs should be thoroughly investigated, but there is value in investigating minor injury and near miss events as well, as they can reveal important insights that might prevent a future injury.
Sometimes, incident investigations are used to place blame (usually on the worker) for the events that transpired in the workplace. This misuse of an investigation often occurs when investigators become too focused on the proximate (i.e., immediate) cause(s) of the incident and do not seek out root causes
66
Incident report
A written document outlining the findings of an incident investigation, including recommendations for preventing future incidents.
The incident report will be the permanent record of the incident and its causes and thus should clearly outline what happened and why it happened. It may even have future legal ramifications, as its recommendations may be used by government inspectors to determine if an employer met the standard of due diligence in controlling hazards after the incident.
Incident reports can take different forms depending on context, organization, and situation. All incident reports should include the following elements:
Who performed the investigation
Details of the incident, including date, time, persons involved, outcomes
Details of the investigation and how it was conducted, timelines, etc.
An outline of the factors that led up to the incident
Clear identification of the root causes of the incident
Specific recommendations designed to prevent future incidents
67
Industry safety associations (ISA)
Bodies formed by employers in an industry to deliver safety services and advocate on behalf of the employers on safety issues.
ISAs have become more involved in establishing regulatory standards and delivering training and education to workers. In some jurisdictions, ISAs have been authorized to conduct workplace safety audits to determine eligibility for safety incentives, such as workers’ compensation premium reductions.
68
Instructional design
The process of systematically developing training to meet particular goals and objectives.
The process begins by conducting a needs assessment to determine what kind of training is required to meet organizational goals. Organizational goals for health and safety training often include meeting legislative requirements or seeking to reduce injury rates, enhancing (or remediating!) the organization’s reputation for safety, or qualifying for workers’ compensation premium rebates. Employers seek to meet these goals by changing workers’ knowledge, skills, or behaviours via training.
69
Internal responsibility system (IRS)
System of shared responsibility for occupational health and safety.
Canadian OHS is based upon the internal responsibility system (IRS)
The IRS assumes that workers and employers have a shared responsibility for workplace health and safety. Employers are obligated to take steps to ensure that workplaces are as safe as reasonably practicable. Employers are also required to advise workers of hazards and to require workers to use mandated safety equipment. The decision by governments to give employers the power to determine how to address workplace hazards bolsters employers’ broader management rights to control and direct work.
70
Ionizing radiation
Radiation with enough strength to remove electrons from a molecule as it passes through, such as x-rays, gamma rays, alpha particles, and neutrons.
Ionizing radiation can occur naturally at low levels from a variety of sources but is uncommon in workplaces. It is most often found in medical, nuclear, and research facilities. When ionizing radiation is present in a workplace, it poses a significant safety hazard. Both short exposures to high levels of radiation and long-term exposure to lower levels have serious health consequences.
Long-term, lower-level exposure is also a concern as it, too, can lead to increased risk of cancer.
71
Job Demands-Control Model
A model of workplace stress analyzing the interaction of job demands with job control.
Karasek developed a model that analyzed the interaction of job demands with job control. He created a matrix that included four types of work
Low-strain and passive jobs are associated with low stress, although passive jobs can lead to low motivation and dissatisfaction. The important boxes are active jobs, associated with high job demands but where workers possess a high degree of decision latitude (i.e., control) in the work, and high-strain jobs, which contain high demand but little job control.
72
Job design
Decisions employers make about what tasks will be performed by workers and how that work will be performed.
Job design includes establishing the physical dimensions of work. This includes the size and location of the workspace, and what furniture, tools, and equipment will be used, as well as the temperature or lighting of the workspace. Job design also determines the nature of the tasks, including their complexity, pace, and duration and how individual tasks and jobs relate to one another. Finally, job design often includes making decisions and assumptions about the characteristics of the workers who will perform the work, including their height, weight, sex, and other physical and mental abilities.
73
Joint health and safety committees (JHSCs)
Committees comprising both worker and management representatives responsible for enhancing workplace health and safety.
JHSCs comprise employer and worker representatives who regularly meet to discuss health and safety issues. The “logic” of these committees is that they marry the job-specific knowledge of workers with the broader perspective of managers to identify and resolve OHS issues.
The legislative requirements for JHSCs vary by jurisdiction and organization size.
How workers behave on JHSCs can influence the effectiveness of worker participation.
74
Jurisdiction
Geographic district or industry sector which is subject to the authority of the federal Parliament or a provincial or territorial legislature.
The distribution of powers under the Canadian constitution means Canada has 14 jurisdictions (federal, 10 provincial, and 3 territorial) when it comes to health and safety laws.
This sounds complicated, but in practice most employers and workers are covered by the OHS law of the province or territory in which they work. For example, approximately 90% of workers and employers in Alberta are subject to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
75
Learning theories
Conceptual frameworks that describe how learners absorb, process, and retain information.
Over time, educational theorists have identified several different approaches to training. These learning theories are conceptual frameworks that describe how learners absorb, process, and retain information. These descriptions of learning often contain prescriptions about how to teach. Two learning theories that are broadly used to structure OHS training are behaviourism and social cognition.
76
Lethal dose
The amount of a substance required to cause death upon ingestion, thereby quantifying a substance’s acute toxicity and allowing us to compare the toxicity of substances.
77
Location of control
An approach to hazard control focusing on where and when the hazard is controlled in the context of where the worker is in the production process.
more worker-centered approach is to consider the location of the control. In this approach, the focus is on where and when the hazard is controlled in the context of where the worker is in the production process. In this approach, hazards can be controlled at three locations:
Control at the source
Control along the path
Control at the worker
78
Loudness
The amount of energy that is being transported through the medium.
One of the three characteristics of noise affect whether it becomes a hazard
Loudness is measured in decibels (dB). The key feature of decibels is that they are a logarithmic scale. Unlike linear scales (where each step on the scale represents the same increase, such as a car’s speedometer), each increase on a logarithmic scale is an order of magnitude greater than the previous increase. For example, a sound measured at 10dB is 10 times more intense than a sound measured at 0dB (the lowest audible sound). But a sound measured at 20dB is 100 times more intense than the sound measured at 0dB. Noise over 85dB is generally considered hazardous for human hearing.
79
Male norm
The tendency of workplace equipment and processes to assume that workers will be men of average size and ability.
Women’s physiology and the greater role women typically shoulder in social reproduction are often ignored.
80
Management rights
The right of an employer to manage and direct the operation of a business bound only by limits set out in law and contract.
The decision by governments to give employers the power to determine how to address workplace hazards bolsters employers’ broader management rights to control and direct work. (part of IRS)
81
Medical benefits
Benefits paid by a workers’ compensation board to cover the costs of treating an injury, thereby relieving workers and the taxpayer-funded health care system of these costs.
Injured workers can also receive medical and vocational rehabilitation benefits only once an injury has been found to be compensable
82
Medical monitoring
Measuring the presence of a chemical or its metabolic residue in a worker’s blood, body fluids, or tissues.
Less effective control for chemical hazards
Some organizations will also undertake extensive medical and environmental monitoring and record keeping.
While not hazard controls per se, monitoring and record keeping can provide data that can help to adjust administrative controls, assess the effectiveness of PPE, and identify early signs of health effects.
83
Modified work
An altered set of duties and responsibilities that a worker is able to perform despite an injury or disability.
A way that employers commonly accommodate disabilities. The duties of worker may be modified so that the worker is able to perform them despite the disability
Accommodating permanent disabilities may also entail retraining workers to perform jobs they are presently unqualified to perform.
84
Needs assessment
A process to determine what kind of training is required to meet organizational goals.
Part of instructional design process. Which is done when preparing to train workers.
85
Negative reinforcement
Removing undesirable stimulus when a worker demonstrates a desired behaviour, in order to elicit further instances of the desired behaviour.
Part of behaviouralism
(Negative reinforcement is different from punishment, wherein undesired behaviour results in sanctions.) Over time, behaviourism asserts, workers begin to exhibit the desired behaviour even when there is no more positive or negative reinforcement.
86
Meredith principles
The Meredith principles underlying workers’ compensation remain the basis for workers’ compensation in Canada:
No fault: How the injury occurred is irrelevant. Compensation is paid on a no-fault basis and workers cannot sue their employer. It does not matter who is at fault
Accident fund: The WCB maintains an accident fund to guarantee the availability of benefits over time.
Collective liability: All employers pay premiums and thereby share the cost of injuries collectively.
Independent administration: The WCB—which operates independently of employers, workers, and the state—administers the workers’ compensation system.
Exclusivity: The WCB is the only provider of workers’ compensation. This differs from arrangements in some US states where multiple private insurers offer compensation. The WCB is also the final arbiter of all claims.
87
No fault
One of the Meredith principles underlying workers’ compensation, stating that who caused the injury is not a factor in the awarding of compensation.
88
Noise
Sound energy transmitted by small air-pressure changes caused by the vibration of molecules.
A type of physical hazard
Noise can damage the structures of our ears and lead to hearing loss. Noise can also cause other health effects (see below). Three characteristics of noise affect whether it becomes a hazard: frequency, duration, and loudness.
89
Non-ionizing radiation
Radiation without enough strength to remove electrons from a molecule as it passes through but which may cause other effects, and includes microwaves, radio waves and ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light.
Non-ionizing radiation, in comparison, has less dire health effects, but should not be ignored. Longer-wave non-ionizing radiation (such as microwaves) can cause deep tissue damage, cataracts and other eye issues, and skin rashes as well as interfere with the operation of pacemakers. Infrared radiation can lead to corneal and retinal burns and other eye injuries.
The most common non-ionizing radiation exposure is ultraviolet light (UV). UV radiation damages our skin, leading to burns and permanent skin darkening as well as heightened risk of skin cancer. It also damages our eyes and can cause pain and swelling in the eye and blurred vision, a condition variously called snowblindness, welder’s flash, or flash burn. The sun is the most common source of UV radiation, but UV radiation can also be produced by welding equipment, black light lamps, mercury lamps, counterfeit currency detectors, fluorescent tubes, and nail-curing lamps.
90
Observer effect
A form of testing error stemming from temporary workplace behaviour change due to the act of testing.
Compliance with Occupational exposure limit (OEL) is often assessed via air sampling. Periodic air samples do not necessarily capture normal working conditions because the act of testing may temporarily change workplace behaviour. This dynamic is called the observer effect.
91
Occupational exposure limit (OEL)
The maximum acceptable concentration of a hazardous substance in workplace air.
In theory, workers exposed to a chemical substance at the OEL for their entire working life will experience no adverse health effects. Each jurisdiction in Canada sets its own OELs.
Provincial and territorial regulations can set three types of OELs, depending on the nature of the substance’s toxicity:
A time-weighted average exposure value (TWAEV) is the maximum average concentration of a chemical in the air for a normal 8-hour working day or 40-hour working week.
The short-term exposure value (STEV) is the maximum average concentration to which workers can be exposed for a short period (e.g., 15 minutes). The STEV is often higher than the TWAEV.
The ceiling exposure value (CEV) is the concentration that should never be exceeded in a workplace.
92
Occupational segregation
The tendency of men and women to work in different occupations, thereby facing different workplace hazards.
Effects social constructs (carpal tunnel syndrome) and PPE (often designed for men)
93
Occurs during the course of employment
Part of the arises-and-occurs test of injury compensability that assesses whether or not an injury has happened at a time and place consistent with the obligations and expectations of employment.
This can include injuries that occur outside of normal hours of work or off the employer’s premises (e.g., running an errand for your employer on your drive home) so long as there is some relationship between employment expectations and the time and place of the injury.
94
Organizational goals
The outcome(s) an organization expects to realize from training.
Needs assessment is done to figure out organizational goals.
Organizational goals for health and safety training often include meeting legislative requirements or seeking to reduce injury rates, enhancing (or remediating!) the organization’s reputation for safety, or qualifying for workers’ compensation premium rebates. Employers seek to meet these goals by changing workers’ knowledge, skills, or behaviours via training.
95
Pandemic
A sudden outbreak of disease that is widespread and affects a large portion of the world due to a susceptible population, often with a high mortality rate.
Biological hazard
Pandemics are caused by the widespread outbreak of a new strain of a virus that spreads quickly (due to a lack of immunity) and for which there is no immediately available vaccination. While they are relatively rare, the workplace impact of a pandemic could be severe and many employers have developed plans for coping with such an event.
96
Performance-based regulations
Regulations that identify desired outcomes and leave the specifics of how to achieve them to the employer.
governments changed the roles that government, employers, and workers play in enforcement. While the details of this shift differ between jurisdictions, there is a clear pattern across Canada away from enforcement and toward education and collaboration. Governments conduct fewer unannounced inspections, implement intermediary steps before issuing compliance orders, and conduct fewer inspections and prosecutions overall. Employer groups have been given a larger role in drafting of regulations, which has shifted OHS from prescriptive regulations toward performance-based-regulation, which identifies desired outcomes and leaves the specifics of how to achieve them to the employer.
97
Permanent threshold shift
Permanent loss of hearing due to exposure to noise.
Temporary threshold shift (TTS) is a signal that the noise exposure was harmful and that continual or repeated exposure can accumulate and lead to permanent threshold shift (PTS). Men typically have higher rates of PTS. Some of this gender effect is due to job segregation (i.e., men typically work in louder workplaces than women). It is also possible that some of this effect reflects physicians failing to link female hearing loss to occupational exposures. Women are often exposed to noise in food, bottling, and textile factories as well as service industry jobs.
98
Personal monitoring
Measuring the dose experienced by a worker.
Less effective control for chemical hazards
Some organizations will also undertake extensive medical and environmental monitoring and record keeping.
While not hazard controls per se, monitoring and record keeping can provide data that can help to adjust administrative controls, assess the effectiveness of PPE, and identify early signs of health effects.
99
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
is equipment worn by workers that is designed to protect them should they come into contact with a hazard.
For example, helmets, goggles, gloves, and fall protection systems are forms of PPE. PPE is considered the least effective control because it does not control the hazard or restrict workers’ contact with the hazard and is heavily reliant upon human action for its effectiveness. PPE places the burden of implementation on the worker. Workers may choose not to wear or be pressured into not wearing the PPE. Further, most PPE has been historically designed for a male body, which can compromise its effectiveness when worn by women.
100
Physical hazards
Workplace hazards potentially giving rise to injuries typically (but not always) caused by a transfer of energy that result in an injury.
Physical hazards are the most widely recognized hazards and include contact with equipment or other objects, working at heights, and slipping. This category also includes noise, vibration, temperature, electricity, atmospheric conditions, and radiation.
employers often underestimate the prevalence of (and thus fail to control) physical hazards. For example, an extension cord lying across a hallway floor is often seen as no big deal because it is a readily apparent and easily understood tripping hazard that we expect workers to avoid as a matter of course (“pick up your feet!”).
101
Political-economy approach
A way of looking at workplace injury that emphasizes issues of power and financial gain.
The political-economy approach to explaining workplace injury examines issues of power and financial gain to reveal why some hazards are remediated and others are not. This approach recognizes that employers and workers have differing interests in the workplace and therefore view workplace injuries differently. For employers, risk is mostly an economic issue. Employers are rarely injured themselves, and the most prominent impact of a workplace injury from an employer’s perspective is the interruption of work (i.e., ultimately, loss of profit). Not surprisingly, employers tend to view the risk of workplace injury as minimal, unavoidable, and acceptable
102
Positive reinforcement
Rewarding a worker when the worker demonstrates a desired behaviour, in order to elicit further instances of the desired behaviour.
Part of the behavioural learning theory
103
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Ill health typically brought on by a terrifying event, with symptoms including flashbacks, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the event.
In extreme cases, bullying and harassment can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is typically brought on by a terrifying event, and symptoms include flashbacks, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the event.
104
Precarious employment
Paid work characterized by limited social benefits and statutory entitlements, job insecurity, and low wages and associated with a high risk of ill health.
It can be part-time or temporary, and is under-protected by regulation. Precarious workers lack control over how or when the work is performed. Benefits are rare and usually the wages are insufficient to support a family. Women and racialized workers are more likely to be found in precarious employment. Precarious work is also linked to increased risk of work-related injury and poorer health outcomes, including increased stress and poorer physical well-being. The precariousness of the employment relationship leads to worse OHS conditions. Further, gender and race have OHS implications because certain groups of workers are more likely to hold precarious jobs.
105
Precautionary principle
The position that responsibility to establish that the activity will not (or is very unlikely to) cause harm falls to the proponent.
The precautionary principle suggests that it falls to the proponent of an activity to establish that the activity will not (or is very unlikely to) cause harm. The precautionary principle recognizes that the world is a complex place and the absence of scientific certainty should not preclude regulating potentially hazardous materials or activities.
The precautionary principle is premised upon the notion that decision makers have a social responsibility to protect workers and the public from harm when there is a plausible case that a substance is harmful.
106
Prescriptive regulations
Regulations that stipulate specific requirements an employer must meet (e.g., standards for fall protection equipment).
While OHS enforcement has changed over time, most of these changes have eroded the effectiveness of the system. In comparison to today, OHS enforcement in the 1970s and 1980s was more active: governments conducted more inspections, laid more charges, and achieved more convictions than they do today. The move away from active enforcement was caused by pushback from employers, who were unhappy with practices such as unannounced inspections, prosecutions, increased workers’ compensation premiums, and a growing list of prescriptive regulations, which stipulated specific requirements an employer must meet (e.g., standards for fall protection equipment).
107
Pressures, Disorganization, and Regulatory Failure (PDR) model
A model that explains the increased health and safety risks associated with precarious employment as the result of precarity’s effects on the workplace structure and practice.
heir model looks at three groups of factors that shape practices at precarious workplaces. First, precarious workers experience economic pressures because of income insecurity and competition for work which lead them to accept work intensification and dangerous work while making them reluctant to report injury and ill health.
Second, the contingent nature of the work relationship breaks down structures that facilitate workplace safety, such as safety procedures, training, and communication.
Third, the effectiveness of government safety regulations is reduced because enforcement is more difficult, some forms of work are not protected by regulation, and some workers lack knowledge of their health and safety rights. The result of these factors is workplaces that are less safe.
108
Presumptive status
Instances where a workers’ injury is assumed to have arisen and occurred in the course of work unless proven otherwise.
Where it is not possible to determine if an injury arose or occurred, workers’ compensation legislation generally gives the benefit of the doubt to the injured worker. Some workers’ compensation systems also grant presumptive status to certain types of injury. Certain diseases, for example, are so closely linked with certain kinds of work (e.g., farming and farmer’s lung) that claims are presumed to have arisen and occurred unless there is evidence otherwise.
109
Probability
The likelihood that the hazard will result in an incident.
Part of the risk assessment calculations
110
Proximate cause
The event that is immediately responsible for the injury.
A good example of the contested nature of workplace injuries and the importance of distinguishing root and proximate cause is the careless worker myth. The idea that workers are accident-prone, careless, or even reckless in the execution of their duties and thus cause their own injuries has wide currency.
Part of an incident investigation.
While workers’ behaviour often features in explanations of the proximate cause of an injury (e.g., “the worker fell off of the roof”), it is useful to probe the root cause of injury.
111
Psycho-social hazards
Workplace hazards potentially giving rise to injuries caused by the social environment and psychological factors in the workplace.
Psycho-social hazards can be hard to isolate in the workplace because they reside in the dynamics of human interactions and within the internal world of an individual’s psyche. Yet it is increasingly recognized that social and psychological aspects of work have real and measurable effects on workers’ health. Harassment, bullying, and violence are examples of psycho-social hazards. Other forms include stress, fatigue, and overwork. Even the absence of social interaction, in the form of working alone, produces its own hazards. Much of the challenge is recognizing that these hazards pose real threats to workers’ health.
Stress and Fatigue
Violence
Bullying and Harassment
Working Alone
112
Racialized workers
Individuals perceived to be a part of a race or ethnicity (e.g., Black, Hispanic, Asian) to which particular characteristics, often negative, are ascribed.
Women and racialized workers are more likely to be found in precarious employment.
Racialized workers are also more likely to be injured among both men and women. This means that racialized men have the highest injury rates overall. Further, immigrants, in particular racialized immigrants, also possess disproportionately high injury rates.
Racialized workers are said to be less risk-averse due to lower education levels and lower income levels.
113
Radiation
Energy emitted from a source, including heat, light, x-rays, microwaves, and other waves and particles.
114
Reasonably practicable
Precautions that are not only possible but are also suitable or rational, given the particular situation.
Meeting the reasonably practicable standard means taking precautions “that are not only possible but that are also suitable or rational, given the particular situation.” The generally accepted test is that of due diligence. Due diligence is taking reasonable precautions and steps to prevent injury, given the circumstances.
115
Re-enactment
Recreating the events of an incident to provide a deeper understanding of what happened and why it happened.
Can be part of incident investigation
A re-enactment might entail asking witnesses to act out the events that took place before the incident, or re-establishing a set of conditions relevant to what occurred. The value of the re-enactment is that it can identify how circumstances, events, or behaviours interacted to cause the incident.
116
Reliability
The degree to which the results of a scientific measurement will produce the same result when repeated.
Part of the scientific process. Science plays an important role in both injury prevention and compensation. It has identified hazardous chemical and biological agents, determined the mechanism(s) by which these substances cause harm, and suggested ways to control hazards and treat injuries.
The scale in our example would be reliable if it produced the same result every time you step on it (assuming your weight has not changed).
The questions of validity and reliability plague scientific researchers, and achieving them is a key element of the scientific method. They are particularly challenging for the kinds of research usually associated with OHS-related matters because most of those issues involve human behaviour and physiology.
117
Reproductive hazards
Workplace hazards that give rise to injuries to workers’ ability to reproduce or, in the case of pregnancy, to injuries to a fetus.
There is significant research about how workplace hazards can affect fetuses. The most common response to such risks is to remove the female worker from the workplace (to control exposure), rather than removing the hazard from the workplace (which would likely benefit all workers). This response is likely economically efficient for employers: redeploying pregnant workers is less costly than redesigning work. Yet reassignment effectively penalizes women for bearing children.
118
Return to work (RTW)
Programs designed to reintegrate injured workers into the workplace via practices such as modified work.
“Our research shows that if you don’t get a worker back within 90 days of their injury, the chances that they ever go back to work drop by 50 per cent.
Modified work may also be used to help workers to recover from a temporary impairment that causes disability. Work hardening entails providing a worker with the opportunity to gradually return to work (via increasing hours and work demands) in order to build stamina.
119
Right to know
Workers’ right to be apprised of workplace hazards under the internal responsibility system.
120
Right to participate
Workers’ right to engage in workplace health and safety activities (often through joint health and safety committees) under the internal responsibility system.
121
Right to refuse
Workers’ right to decline to undertake unsafe work under the internal responsibility system.
122
Risk
Likelihood that a hazard will result in injury/ill health.
123
Risk assessment
A risk assessment quantifies the likelihood of injury or ill health by assessing the probability, consequences, and exposure posed by the hazards:
Probability is the likelihood that the hazard will result in an incident.
Consequences refers to the severity of injury or ill health that will result from an incident.
Exposure refers to how often or regularly workers come in contact with the hazard.
simplified tool for assessing the probability, consequences, and exposure associated with a hazard. Assessors use the description (e.g., rare, possible, probable, or likely). Each descriptor is then assigned a numerical value (e.g., 1, 2, 3, or 4).
124
Root cause
The ultimate or “real” cause of an injury.
Part of incident investigation
For example, if a worker falls down, the proximate cause may be that the worker lost her footing on a wet surface. Yet why was the surface wet? The root cause of the injury may have been an inadequately maintained hose that leaked. Considering both the proximate cause and root cause of an injury results in a better understanding of what caused the injury and, consequently, what can be done to prevent it.
While workers’ behaviour often features in explanations of the proximate cause of an injury (e.g., “the worker fell off of the roof”), it is useful to probe the root cause of injury. Who sent the worker onto the roof and why? Why wasn’t the worker given fall protection equipment? Most injuries are ultimately caused by unsafe working conditions, and working conditions are under the control of employers, not workers.
Focusing on workers’ behaviours (at work and at home) obscures the root cause
125
Routes of entry
The four ways chemicals can get into a workers’ body: inhalation, ingestion, skin absorption, and skin penetration.
Chemicals can also enter our bodies through ingestion (i.e., we can eat them—usually accidentally) and through cuts in our skin. Our bodies excrete some chemicals in our sweat, exhaled breath, urine, or feces, while retaining other substances. Our bodies metabolize some chemicals into other substances, which may be more or less toxic than the original substance.
126
Safety management systems
Programs that construct goals and performance measures related to safety, often with the assistance of an outside consultant.
nt. These systems may engage workers at a rhetorical level (e.g., by involving them in the creation of “value” statements), but mostly they further concentrate control over safety in the hands of employers who set and measure safety targets. Some employers also create workplace wellness systems that promote forms of wellness that financially benefit employers. In this way, the growing professionalization of safety also undermines workers’ right to participate.
127
Safety orientation
Training for new workers that addresses workplace hazards, emergency procedures, PPE training, policies, and job-specific OHS.
Some workplaces may offer more thorough safety orientations to new workers that address workplace hazards, emergency procedures, PPE training, policies (e.g., how to report injuries and near misses), and job-specific OHS skills (e.g., robbery prevention, fire suppression). Training on how to use equipment and other job-related orientation can also enhance workplace safety. Governments can also provide various kinds of broad safety education
128
Scientific certainty
When the risk that a research finding was caused by random chance is less than 5%.
Scientific certainty means researchers are 95% certain that cause and effect have been correctly identified. The rigour associated with scientific certainty is frequently a barrier to protecting workers from hazardous substances.
The precautionary principle recognizes that the world is a complex place and the absence of scientific certainty should not preclude regulating potentially hazardous materials or activities.
129
Scientific hypothesis
A proposed explanation of a phenomenon that can be empirically tested to confirm, refine, or refute this explanation.
A scientific hypothesis is a proposed explanation of a phenomenon that can be empirically tested to confirm, refine, or refute this explanation. We conduct measurement, observation, and experimentation to gather data that is compared against the hypothesis. If the data agrees with our hypothesis, we may conclude the hypothesis to be true.
130
Scientific method
A process of formulating, testing, and modifying hypotheses.
131
Segmental vibration
When part of a worker’s body experiences shaking due to contact with the vibration.
Physical hazard
Segmental vibration occurs when only parts of the body are affected by the vibration. This is usually caused by higher-frequency vibration. The most common and concerning form of segmental vibration is hand-arm vibration. Hand-arm vibration results from gripping power tools such as jackhammers, saws, and hammer drills.
132
Shift work
Work that occurs outside of regular weekday hours.
It may include regular evening or night work, rotating schedules, split shifts, irregular shifts, or on-call work. Shift work is a growing trend in Canada.
Can mess with health as it can effect circadian rhythms (commonly known as the biological clock)
133
Short-term exposure value (STEV)
The maximum average concentration to which workers can be exposed for a short period.
One of the three types of occupational exposure limits (OELs)
134
Sick leave
Paid leave designed to help workers recover from short-term illness or injury.
Sick leave is so widely available because it is sometimes specifically required by employment standards legislation and generally seen as a reasonable accommodation required by human rights legislation.
135
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
Workplaces employing between 1 and 99 workers (small enterprises) or between 99–499 workers (medium enterprises).
The growth in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is problematic from a safety perspective. In 2013, there were 1,160,977 small enterprises (1–99 employees) and 20,356 medium-sized enterprises (100–499 employees) in Canada. The majority of small enterprises had only 1–4 employees, and all SMEs together comprised 99.8% of all enterprises. The sheer number of SMEs compounds the problems of under-inspection by the state. Further, SMEs are frequently part of complex subcontracting chains where it is unclear who is responsible for OHS. SMEs also have a higher injury rate than larger firms.
136
Social cognition theory
A learning theory that asserts that learning occurs through observation and imitation and thus through formal and informal interactions with others.
Social cognition theory asserts that learning occurs through observation and imitation and thus through formal and informal interactions with others. The social learning process typically begins by workers observing how others act and the consequences of those actions. Workers may then emulate safety behaviours that appear successful for others, assuming the worker has the confidence and skill necessary to perform these actions.
137
Social construction
A phenomenon that is determined (or “constructed”) by social or cultural practices.
138
Social reproduction
The tasks necessary to ensure that workers are able and available to work each day (e.g., cooking, cleaning, child care, elder care) and over the longer term (e.g., child bearing, education).
139
Standard employment relationship
Employment characterized by full-time permanent employment with a single employer.
While the standard employment relationship (SER), the term for permanent, full-time, secure employment with a single employer, is still the most common form of job, its proportions are dropping. Fewer than two thirds of jobs in Canada fit the definition of SER. The fastest-growing segment of non-SER jobs is precarious employment, which now comprises 20% of jobs in the country.
140
Stop-work order
An order made by a government occupational health and safety inspector that requires work to stop until a workplace hazard is remediated.
Where inspectors find violations of OHS rules, they may order employers to remedy the situation. This is the most common response of OHS inspectors and can sometimes include issuing a stop-work order
141
Stress
A change in one’s physical and mental state in response to situations perceived as challenging or threatening.
Stress can have a positive effect, making us more alert or more prepared to take on an important challenge. Stress can also have a negative effect, causing a range of physical and mental ailments
Canadians report work to be the biggest source of life stress
Related to stress is the experience of fatigue
142
Stressors
Situations or factors causing stress.
```
There are four types of stressors:
Acute stressors
Episodic (or daily) stressors
Chronic stressors
Catastrophic stressors
```
143
Substitution
ntails replacing something that produces a hazard with something that does not. For example, we might replace chemical-based cleaning solvents with plant oil–based solvents. Substitution is similar to elimination but is less effective because the new object or process may introduce different hazards or fail to completely remove the original hazard.
144
Swiss cheese model
A more recent revision to domino theory is the Swiss cheese model. This model retains the five factors giving rise to injuries that are outlined in domino theory. Each of these dominoes is then given “holes” that represent various subfactors that influence whether an incident occurs or not, such as organizational influences, local working conditions, unsafe acts, and defences, barriers, and safeguards. In the Swiss cheese model, an incident requires that the holes in the dominoes line up—in other words, a failure must occur in each domino. This model emphasizes that injuries are the result of multiple failures. If one of the subfactors is functioning properly, then weakness in the other four may still not lead to an incident. For example, bad organizational culture (an organizational influence) around safety may not lead to injury if there are appropriate guards (a defence, barrier, or safeguard) to prevent injury.
145
Synergistically
An increase in an effect (e.g., toxicity) caused by two chemicals interacting.
Toxicity data is also based upon animal experiments, and these results may not be perfectly applicable to humans. Perhaps most concerning is that toxicity experiments typically assess the toxicity of a single substance in isolation. This ignores the reality that most workplaces expose workers to multiple chemicals and these exposures may interact synergistically. That is to say, exposures to multiple chemicals may increase the toxicity of each chemical out of proportion to its toxicity in isolation.
146
Systemic toxicity
Reaction to a toxic substance at a point in the body other than the point of contact.
Allergic reactions after prolonged exposure to latex would be an example of systemic toxicity
147
Targeted inspections
Identifying specific industries (e.g., residential construction) or working situations (e.g., employers of migrant workers) for additional inspection activity.
Complaint-based investigations may at times be supplemented by targeted inspections of specific industries (e.g., residential construction) or working situations (e.g., employers of migrant workers)
148
Task analysis
Mapping out the flow of work to allow for a systematic examination of how a job is supposed to be conducted.
It is important to compare this data with worker interviews to identify instances where work practices differ from formal procedures.
149
There are a variety of hazard-identification techniques, and these are often used in combination to create a fuller picture of a workplace’s hazards:
Inspecting the workplace: Physically observing the workplace and how work is performed within it is a powerful step in identifying hazards. The inspection should not be limited to considering physical objects, such as machines, tools, equipment, and structures, but should also include observing processes, systems, and work procedures.
Talking with workers: Passive observation can miss many important aspects of how work is performed. Getting the perspective of the people conducting the work will reveal other insights. This can be done informally through discussions or through more formal means such as surveys or interviews.
Job inventory: Acquiring job descriptions and specifications can also reveal hazards. Mapping out the flow of work to create a task analysis allows for a systematic examination of how a job is supposed to be conducted. It is important to compare this data with worker interviews to identify instances where work practices differ from formal procedures.
Records and data: Reviewing records of previous workplace incidents, safety reports, and other documentation can yield useful information about the hazards in a workplace.
Measuring and testing: Sometimes, to discover if something is a hazard, you will need to measure or test it. This is particularly true for noise, chemical hazards, and biological hazards.
Research: Knowing something is present in the workplace may be insufficient to determine if it is a hazard. You may need to conduct research on a substance, material, design, or environment to assess its potential for harm.
150
Technical approach
A way of looking at workplace injury that emphasizes the mechanism(s) of injury.
The technical approach to injury emphasizes the mechanism(s) of injury. Such explanations of injury are laudable in that a better understanding of how an injury occurred allows us to alter work to prevent similar injuries in the future. Yet there are many cases where well-known hazards have gone un-remediated for decades. For example, fluorspar (a colourful mineral used in manufacturing) miners in the remote Newfoundland community of St. Lawrence developed a variety of diseases from their working conditions, including lung cancer and silicosis. Yet the employer ignored the problem and the provincial government delayed its recognition and compensation of these injuries for decades.
151
Telecommuting
An arrangement wherein workers perform work away from the main worksite (e.g., at home).
is a growing trend. This trend is enabled by technological change (e.g., mobile devices), worker demands (e.g., to improve work life balance) and employer desires to minimize cost (e.g., by reducing office space). In Canada, employers continue to be responsible for the safety of their workers regardless of the location of work. This means that employers have obligations around hazard recognition, assessment, and control when telecommuters work from home, cafes, or other locations.
Most employers cope with these challenges via administrative controls such as policies directing the employee to act in particular ways or to have certain systems in place.
152
Temporary threshold shift
A temporary loss of hearing following exposure to noise.
meaning the normal range of human hearing has been reduced. This effect usually reverses itself over a short period of time. Nevertheless, TTS is a signal that the noise exposure was harmful and that continual or repeated exposure can accumulate and lead to permanent threshold shift (PTS)
153
Thermal comfort
The condition in which a person wearing normal clothing feels neither too cold nor too warm.
A lack of thermal comfort may not pose a direct health risk, but it can exacerbate existing hazards or be a factor that increases risk of an incident occurring. For example, thermal discomfort may lead to rushing, heat-induced fatigue, or mental distraction.
154
Thermal stress
Stress produced when temperature extremes prevent our bodies from properly self-regulating to maintain temperature homeostasis.
Temperatures that are too high can lead to heat stroke. Early signs of heat stroke include fatigue, dizziness, confusion, lightheadedness, nausea, and sudden, unexplained mood swings. Prolonged exposure leads to fainting and death. Heat stroke can cause damage to muscles, the heart, kidneys, and the brain. Humidity interferes with the body’s ability to shed heat (through sweating) and, therefore, can lower the temperature at which thermal stress occurs. Conversely, when temperatures are too low, we can experience hypothermia. Initial symptoms of hypothermia include dizziness, fatigue, nausea, sudden euphoria, or irritability. Pain in extremities and severe shivering may also occur. Advanced hypothermia can lead to frostbite and frozen extremities, and unconsciousness leading to death. Wind can intensify the effects of cold, as it strips heat away from the body.
155
Time-loss injuries
Accepted workers’ compensation claims where a worker could not report to work due to the injury.
are accepted workers’ compensation claims where a worker could not report to work due to the injury. But not all workers must (or can) report their injuries to a workers’ compensation board (WCB). In fact, only about 85% of workers are covered by workers’ compensation in Canada. So, right out of the gate, we know time-loss claims represent only 85% of all time-loss injuries. Second, WCBs don’t accept every time-loss claim filed by workers. Exact data on acceptance rates is unavailable, but approximately 5% of all workers who submit a claim have that claim rejected and thus those injuries are excluded from the total above.
156
Time-weighted average
A measure of loudness that factors in the frequency of the noise.
All jurisdictions in Canada regulate workers’ exposure to noise. Most jurisdictions utilize an exposure model that factors in duration and loudness, known as a time-weighted average (TWA). Government regulations use dB(A), which is a weighted measure of loudness that factors in the frequency of the noise. Lower-frequency noises are weighted in the calculation so that their dB(A) is lower than their unadjusted dB. This reflects a belief that lower-frequency noises are less harmful than higher-frequency noises.
157
Time-weighted average exposure value (TWAEV)
The maximum average concentration of a chemical in the air for a normal 8-hour working day or 40-hour working week.
One of the three occupational exposure limits (OELs)
158
Toxic workplaces
Workplaces characterized by relentless demands, extreme pressure, and brutal ruthlessness and representing the extreme of stressful workplace environments.
It is also possible for negative effects of stress to manifest themselves in groups of workers and not just individuals, due to workplace dynamics and environment. Group manifestation can arise from so-called toxic workplaces
159
Toxicity
The ability of a substance to cause injury.
Chemical hazards have varying levels of toxicity (i.e., ability to cause injury). Toxicity can be local or systemic. Local toxicity is a reaction at the point of contact. For example, you might experience a burn on the skin of your fingers after handling spicy peppers in a restaurant kitchen. Systemic toxicity occurs at a point in the body other than the point of contact. Allergic reactions after prolonged exposure to latex would be an example of systemic toxicity
160
Training
Teaching a worker knowledge, skills, or behaviours with the expectation that the worker will apply that training in ways that reduce the risk of a workplace injury.
Training entails providing workers with the knowledge, skills, or behaviours to reduce the risk of a workplace injury. Training is most effective at preventing injuries when the risk of injury is caused (or exacerbated) by a lack of knowledge or skill. Conversely, training will be less effective if the risk of injury is caused by some other factor or if workers are prevented or discouraged from applying the training by some aspect of the job.
161
Training methods
The strategies and techniques used to meet training objectives.
After the training objectives have been established, it becomes necessary to determine what training methods will be used to accomplish the objectives.
Lecture- or demonstration-style training may not be the most effective way to teach OHS skills and procedures. Experiential training (e.g., hands-on training or real-world simulations) may be more effective. It may also take more than a single demonstration or opportunity to practice for workers to become proficient at OHS skills and then integrate them into their work practices.
162
Training objectives
What the worker is expected to know or be able to do or how they will act as a consequence of the training, often expressed as some level of acceptable post-training performance.
Training objectives typically identify what the worker is expected to know or be able to do at the end of the training and establish some level of acceptable post-training performance. Training objectives may also help employers identify materials (e.g., MSDSs, PPE, administrative procedures) required for workers to apply the training in the workplace. Carrying on with the earlier WHMIS training example, workers might be expected to identify the ways in which each type of hazardous material can cause harm and be able to perform any physical skills associated with the control strategy adopted for each hazard (e.g., monitoring ambient levels of a gas). They might also be expected to always comply with the control strategies when working with the materials after the training and face periodic evaluation of their compliance and potential sanction for non-compliance.
163
Tripartite consultations
Policy discussions involving representatives of government, employers, and labour.
Research has shown that so-called tripartite consultations, which involve government, employers, and labour as equal partners at a table to discuss OHS issues, reproduce power imbalances and provide a structural advantage to employers in determining the shape of new safety regulations. The partnerships model of OHS works in concert with the professionalization of OHS to remove safety issues from the work floor, where workers are active agents, and place them in boardrooms, where workers become passive recipients of negotiated agreements between employers and governments.
164
Undue hardship
The point at which an accommodation is economically unsustainable, interferes with a legitimate operational requirement, or poses a health-and-safety threat.
The duty to accommodate requires employers to make any necessary efforts to accommodate the worker’s disability-related needs up to the point of undue hardship. The threshold of undue hardship varies from workplace to workplace. To claim undue hardship, typically, an employer is required to demonstrate that an accommodation is economically unsustainable, interferes with a legitimate operational requirement, or poses a health-and-safety threat. In these circumstances, an employer is still required to provide whatever accommodation is possible short of undue hardship.
165
Vaccination
An administrative control that can reduce worker susceptibility to viruses through inoculation.
providing workers with vaccinations is an administrative control that can reduce worker susceptibility to viruses. Mandatory vaccinations are, however, controversial. Public health officials in Alberta have been attempting to increase the rate of annual vaccination for influenza among health-care workers (which sits at about 55%) and are considering mandatory vaccinations. In British Columbia, workers who do not receive a flu shot must wear a mask when interacting with patients.
166
Validity
The results of a scientific experiment or observation accurately reflect the real world.
167
Vibration
The oscillating movement of a particle around its stationary reference position.
Vibration becomes a hazard when workers come into contact with the vibration, causing energy to be transferred to the worker. Two types of workplace vibration are important for OHS.
Whole-body vibration
Segmental vibration
168
Virus
A group of pathogens that cause disease.
169
Vocational rehabilitation benefits
Programs and other benefits provided by a workers’ compensation board to increase the probability of an injured worker returning to employment.
Once an injury has been found to be compensable, workers are eligible to receive it
170
Wage-loss benefits
Benefits paid by a workers’ compensation board to workers whose income is reduced by an injury.
Once an injury has been found to be compensable, workers are eligible to receive it
171
Walk-through
A preliminary step in an incident investigation designed to provide a basic overview of the incident and assist investigators to determine what future investigative steps are appropriate.
he second step in an investigation is to gather evidence. There are a number of techniques for collecting the relevant information. They will be used in various combinations depending on the nature of the incident and the workplace. Gathering might begin with a walk-through, which is an inspection of the incident scene to get an overall picture of the environment. A walk-through may also clarify which additional evidence-gathering techniques are appropriate. These further techniques should include recording the scene through photos or video or drawings (if photos or video are not practical) to create a visual record of the scene.
172
Web of rules
The interlocking set of laws that limit employers’ right to manage.
Occupational health and safety laws are part of a broader web of rules that regulate employment. Other laws passed by legislatures that impact OHS include fire and building codes, occupational-specific regulations, laws regulating hazardous materials (both in the workplace and the broader environment), employment (or labour) standards, human rights, and workers’ compensation schemes.
173
Whole-body vibration
When a worker’s entire body experiences shaking due to contact with the vibration.
Whole-body vibration occurs when a worker’s entire body experiences shaking caused by contact with the vibration. This is most common with low-frequency vibration (below 15 Hz), as when driving in a car or working near a large machine, such as an air compressor. The health effects of whole-body vibration include a general ill feeling, nausea, motion sickness, and increased heart rate. Extended exposure to whole-body vibration can lead to lower-spine damage and, sometimes, internal organ damage.
174
Work hardening
Providing a worker with the opportunity to gradually return to work (via increasing hours and work demands) in order to build stamina.
Work hardening entails providing a worker with the opportunity to gradually return to work (via increasing hours and work demands) in order to build stamina. Employers may also provide coaching or other forms of support to workers who are returning to work. As noted below, the beliefs underlying these return-to-work strategies and their manner of implementation are the subject of some controversy.
175
Workers’ compensation
The system within a jurisdiction providing injured workers with wage-loss, vocational rehabilitation, medical, and fatality benefits.
t the beginning of the 20th century, provincial governments enacted workers’ compensation systems to provide injured workers with wage-loss benefits, medical treatment, and vocational rehabilitation. Prior to the creation of workers’ compensation, workers injured on the job were forced to sue their employers for compensation. Workers often could not afford to sue, and if they did sue they rarely won, which meant injured workers often ended up financially dependent upon their families or charity. The unfairness of this system was a source of significant social instability, and governments enacted workers’ compensation laws to partly address workers’ needs and thereby stave off industrial and social conflict.29 In exchange for immediate, predictable, and stable compensation, injured workers gave up their right to sue their employer for workplace injury. This exchange is often called the historic compromise.
176
Workers’ compensation board
A government agency established by the legislature of a province or territory that operates that jurisdiction’s workers’ compensation system.
which provide injured workers with wage replacement and other benefits—use the “arises-and-occurs” test to determine whether an injury was work-related (and thus whether the worker will receive compensation).
177
Working alone
A situation where a worker is performing tasks out of contact with persons capable of offering assistance in case of emergency.
If an incident were to occur (e.g., if the worker became unconscious) there would be no one available to respond, increasing the risks of harm to the worker. The key to working alone is that the worker is isolated in some fashion from co-workers or responsible individuals. A worker can be working alone even if there are other people present in the workplace. For example, a receptionist in the front room is working alone if others in the office cannot hear or see him.
178
Workplace harassment
Behaviour aimed at an individual (or group) that is belittling or threatening in nature.
This can include actions (e.g., unwanted touching) or words (e.g., insults, jokes) that have the effect of causing psychological harm to victim(s). Harassment can take a variety of forms, including racial/ethnic harassment, sexual harassment, and general workplace harassment.
179
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
A national system that requires the labelling of hazardous materials.
WHMIS protects workers by requiring employers to label hazardous materials and provide material safety data sheets (MSDS) which outline the hazards of the substance. This information assists workers in exercising their right to know about workplace hazards. Each of Canada’s 14 jurisdictions have included aspects of WHMIS in their own OHS systems
180
Workplace hazards
Any source of potential injury or illness in a workplace, including objects, processes, contexts, people, or sets of circumstances.
For example, a puddle of water on a floor creates a slipping hazard that could result in a worker sustaining injuries from a fall. Similarly, the presence of lead in the workplace could result in lead poisoning. Yet work-related hazards are not always so obvious
181
Workplace injury
Any form of ill health—such as a physical or mental injury or illness—that arises due to a worker’s employment.
Broadly speaking, a workplace injury is any form of ill health—such as a physical or mental injury or illness—that arises because of a worker’s employment. Instances of work-related ill health can encompass a vast array of injuries and illnesses. Most work-related injuries will be minor and temporary (such as a slight burn), while others will be permanent (such as an amputation) or life-threatening (such as cancer). Some injuries will be acute (such as a laceration) and some will take years to manifest themselves (such as silicosis). Despite the vast range of potential injuries, when most people think of a workplace injury, what comes to mind is an acute injury caused by an obvious physical cause. For example, a fall from a height may break a worker’s wrist.
182
Workplace modification
Alterations to work processes or the workplace in order to accommodate a worker’s disabilities.
Employers may also make workplace modifications in order to accommodate disabilities. A common and obvious change is adjusting buildings, equipment (e.g., work stations), and tools to accommodate workers with mobility impairments. Less obvious changes to the workplace including providing nitrile gloves to staff members who are allergic to latex products or adopting scent-free workplace policies to accommodate workers with chemical sensitivities.
183
Workplace safety audits
An assessment of whether a workplace has an appropriate safety system in place to deal with safety matters.
In some jurisdictions, Industry safety associations have been authorized to conduct workplace safety audits to determine eligibility for safety incentives, such as workers’ compensation premium reductions. Audits differ from inspections in that they do not identify hazards or non-compliance with regulations. Instead, audits assess whether a workplace has an appropriate safety system in place to deal with safety matters. They evaluate the quality of paper flows and communications systems, the presence of training and safety manuals, and whether appropriate paperwork is completed. Employers prefer audits to inspections, as audits are educative in nature rather than punitive.
184
Workplace stress
Stress that is brought on by work-related stressors.
Workplace stress is stress that is brought on by work-related stressors. Canadians report work to be the biggest source of life stress. Almost three quarters of Canadian workers report that their work entails some stress, with 27% reporting that work is “quite a bit” or “extremely” stressful.4 The most frequently identified workplace stressors are heavy workloads, low salaries, lack of opportunity, unrealistic or uncertain job expectations, and lack of control over work.5 Researchers typically identify five factors contributing to workplace stress:
1. characteristics of the job being performed, such as workload, pace, autonomy, and physical working conditions,
2. a worker’s level of responsibility in the workplace, including the clarity of their role,
3. job (in)security, promotion, and career development opportunities,
4. problematic interpersonal work relationships with supervisors, co-workers, or subordinates, including harassment and discrimination, and
5. overall organizational structure and climate, including organizational communication patterns, management style, and participation in decision making (job control).
185
Workplace violence
Any act in which a person is abused, threatened, intimidated, or assaulted in his or her employment.
Workplace violence is any act in which a person is abused, threatened, intimidated, or assaulted in his or her employment. It can include physical attack, threats of physical attack, threatening language or behaviour (e.g., shaking a fist), or physically aggressive behaviour. The data around the prevalence of workplace violence is mixed.
186
Workplace wellness programs
Health and well-being services provided by or through the employer that focus on health promotion and illness prevention.
Such programs are health promotion activities designed to help workers to improve their health and well-being. These programs often focus on specific issues (e.g., smoking cessation, weight loss, stress management).
Some wellness initiatives that do actually modify the workplace are things like flexible work arrangements, such as compressed workweeks. In a compressed workweek, a worker puts in slightly longer hours but fewer days per week. Some workplaces will also allow job sharing, wherein two workers share a single position with each worker working some portion of the full-time job. Another option is telecommuting, wherein workers perform work away from the office (e.g., at home). This option can allow workers to better balance otherwise conflicting work and home responsibilities.
187
Worksite inspections
An examination of a worksite by a government inspector to ensure compliance with occupational health and safety requirements.
Governments also employ OHS officers who perform worksite inspections in order to identify health and safety violations and ensure their remediation. Inspections may be random or targeted (e.g., focusing on high-injury industries, such as residential construction). Inspections may also be triggered by worker complaints. Inspectors will also investigate serious workplace injuries and fatalities. Where inspectors find violations of OHS rules, they may order employers to remedy the situation.
188
Meredith principles
The Meredith principles underlying workers’ compensation remain the basis for workers’ compensation in Canada:
No fault: How the injury occurred is irrelevant. Compensation is paid on a no-fault basis and workers cannot sue their employer.
Accident fund: The WCB maintains an accident fund to guarantee the availability of benefits over time.
Collective liability: All employers pay premiums and thereby share the cost of injuries collectively.
Independent administration: The WCB—which operates independently of employers, workers, and the state—administers the workers’ compensation system.
Exclusivity: The WCB is the only provider of workers’ compensation. This differs from arrangements in some US states where multiple private insurers offer compensation. The WCB is also the final arbiter of all claims.
