Criminal Charges Laid in Toronto Scaffolding Collapse

Well Ontario leads the way again on health and safety related criminal charges.

The owner of a Toronto construction company and two others charged in a deadly scaffolding collapse in Toronto last Christmas Eve have each been released on $10,000 bail.

Four migrant workers who were repairing concrete balconies at an apartment building died when they plummeted 13 storeys to the ground when their swing stage scaffolding broke.

A fifth suffered serious injuries but a sixth man, who had attached himself to a lifeline, was uninjured.

Joel Swartz, 51, of Toronto, owner of Metron Construction Corp., Vadim Kazenelson, 35, of Gormley, Ont., and Benny Saigh, 52, of Toronto, surrendered to police Wednesday morning.

The three men and Metron Construction Corp. each face four counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

The maximum penalty for criminal negligence causing death is life in prison.

The next court appearance in the case is Nov. 3.

The case is "precedent setting,'' said lead Toronto police Det. Kevin Sedore in an interview.

"I think it's also going to be a wake-up call for supervisors and persons who are directing work and details,'' said Sedore, who called the deaths a preventable tragedy.

A publication ban was imposed on evidence presented at the bail hearing. None of the allegations has been proven in court.

Metron, along with Swing N Scaff of Ottawa, had previously been charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Following the construction deaths, inspectors from Ontario's Ministry of Labour conducted an enforcement blitz at hundreds of construction sites.

Ontario also launched a review into how to better protect workers after a string of deaths on construction sites across the province.

Stay tuned for more on this case as it evolves.

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Ontario MOL Ergonomics (MSD) Blitz

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) will be the focus of an upcoming enforcement blitz being conducted by Ontario's Ministry of Labour (MoL).

The blitz will run from September 15 to November 15 and will focus on industrial retail, construction (home building), mining (vehicles and stationary work stations) and health care (hospital) sectors.

"MSD" is a term used to cover a variety of musculoskeletal diagnoses. These include repetitive strain injury, cumulative trauma, back strain and tendonitis.

In retail inspectors will be keeping an eye out for manual materials handling, which means "lifting, pushing, pulling, carrying objects and, in particular, [working] at heights on ladders."

The retail blitz will also examine cashier work stations, cart use and unnecessary materials handling due to aisle obstructions particularly relevant in the back section of the large stores that have a huge volume of products being moved through them.

The home building aspect of the blitz will look at equipment maintenance and access to excavation sites, she reports.

The blitz will also examine access to mining vehicles. For mining, inspectors will be examining large vehicle access and whether the equipment has enough clearance for body parts. They will also make sure roadways in surface mines are well maintained, so workers "don't have a whole lot of whole-body vibration jarring them as they move along."

Finally, for health care will focus on patient lifting, transferring and repositioning, which are the most common musculoskeletal-type task that causes injuries in that sector. Inspectors will also review cart use among support staff, as well as repetitive work and postures among laboratory workers.

For assistance in setting up your Ergonomics Program and Training call PHS Solutions at 416-270-7689.

Bill 168 Is Now Law - Are You Prepared?

Well the long awaited Bill 168 (now the amendments to Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act) can now be enforced by MOL Inspectors. Rest assured that as inspectors now doing their visits to employers will be asking about your Workplace Violence and Harassment Policy and Program.

In order to avoid getting compliance orders you should have the following:

• A Workplace Violence and Harassment Policy (one document or combined is ok) posted in a conspicuous place at all you work locations
• Developed and implemented a Workplace Violence and Harassment Program that contains all the requirements as noted in the legislation
• Carried out risks assessments for workplace violence at each workplace and implement action plans to address the findings of the assessments
• Shared the results of the work violence risk assessment with your Joint Health and Safety Committee/Safety Representative
• Carried out training for managers on their role and responsibilities related to your program
• Carried out training for employees on their role and responsibilities related to your program

If you need some advice contact me at jebidia@phssolutions.ca

Ontario MOL May Blitzes - Falls From Heights & Young Workers

Ontario Ministry of Labour plans 2 enforcement blitzes in May involving falls from heights, and young workers.

For the falls from heights inspection blitz, inspectors will look for hazards involving platforms, raised floors, mezzanines and ladders, check fall-arrest equipment and guardrails, and watch for dangerous practices (e.g., working on storage racks) and improper use of ladders.

This is the same blitz that occurred in November 2009 where inspectors visited 1,572 workplaces and issued 4,611 orders, including 149 stop-work orders. Falls represent more than 17% of lost-time injury claims, based on Workplace Safety and Insurance Board statistics.

May through August, Ministry of Labour inspectors will also visit workplaces with a high likelihood of hiring young workers, who are at greater risk of injury than other workers.

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board reports that an average of 42 young Ontario workers — aged 15 to 24 — are injured, made ill, or killed on the job every day. That's almost 2 young workers every hour of every day and every night, seven days a week. Between 2001 and 2008, 27 of these young workers were killed. The highest number of allowed lost-time claims occurs among young workers employed in occupations such as sales and service, transport/equipment operators, and labourers in processing, manufacturing and utilities.


For assistance with your health and safety program please visit PHS Solutions or call 416-270-7689.

MOL Releases a Guide to Workplace Violence & Harassment

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has released a 50 page guide that explains what workers, supervisors, employers and constructors need to know about the workplace violence and harassment requirements in the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It describes everyone's rights and responsibilities and answers, in plain language, the questions that are most commonly asked about the requirements. Download a copy of from here

Canadian organizations at different stages in development of health and wellness programs

OTTAWA, March 15 /CNW Telbec/ - A large majority of Canadian organizations surveyed by The Conference Board of Canada take the overall health of their employees into consideration in the design of their benefit programs. However, only about one-quarter of respondents feel that their organization has developed a comprehensive wellness strategy, and one-in-ten have not done so at all.
"During tough economic times, organizations face pressure to make cuts to programs viewed as non-essential. Often, workplace health and wellness initiatives are among the first to be cut. However, it is in these turbulent times, where stress is high and employee morale is a concern, that workplace health and wellness initiatives are needed most," said Karla Thorpe, Associate Director, Compensation and Industrial Relations.
"Canadian organizations are at different stages when it comes to workplace health and wellness. Some struggle with implementing health and wellness initiatives, while others have successfully integrated health and wellness into their overall corporate strategy and identity. The leading-edge organizations are also making issues such as mental health and presenteeism priorities in their health and wellness strategy."
This report, Beyond Benefits: Creating a Culture of Health and Wellness in Canadian Organizations, discusses the link between workplace health and wellness programs, employee health and greater organizational health and features case studies of Canadian organizations that have implemented innovative health and wellness practices. These include:
- BC Hydro, British Columbia
- Lighthouse Publishing, Nova Scotia
- Pfizer Canada, Quebec
- TELUS, British Columbia
- The City of Calgary, Alberta
- The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario, Ontario
- UBC Okanagan, British Columbia
The report also includes tips to help employers that are looking to either develop or improve their workplace health and wellness strategies. For example, the report highlights how organizations can move forward by starting small-focusing on the fundamentals before expanding their programs.
This report is part of a series that contains data collected from The Conference Board of Canada's inaugural survey of 255 Canadian organizations' employer-sponsored benefit programs. Additional information on extended health-care plans, dental plans, life and accident plans, and paid time off can be found in the recently released report, Benefits Benchmarking 2009: Balancing Competitiveness and Costs. The third report in this series will focus on the subject of disability plans and casual absences, and will be released in spring 2010.