INTEGRATED RISK MANAGEMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY
“Integrated R isk Management through Collaboration, Innovation & Leadership ”
Managing at Ryerson
Health & Safety for Managers
Presented by:
Catherine Drum, BASc (OHS), CHSC, CRSP
Environmental Health & Safety Officer
2014
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 Introductions
 Learning Objectives
 Why Should You Care?
 Internal Responsibility System
 Duties of Employers/Supervisors/Workers
 Due Diligence for Supervisors
 Demonstrating Due Diligence
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 Know and understand your health and safety responsibilities
 To understand the concept of due diligence and what you need to do to demonstrate it
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Evaluation of YOUR Health &
Safety System Within Your Department
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 Three Basic Reasons
 Human
 Legal
 Financial
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Each individual within the Ryerson community shares responsibility for
 the identification of environmental health and safety hazards,
 managing the related risks, and
 improving upon any processes with the idea of ensuring that the risk is as low as reasonably practicable
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Delegate:
Authority
& Responsibility
BOG
President
Vice Presidents
Senior Directors
Managers/Chairs/
Academic Directors
Supervising Faculty & Staff
Accountability
Workers/Students/Guests
Volunteers/Contractors
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Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act
 Take every precaution reasonable
 Ensure that there is a health and safety program in the workplace
 Inform, instruct and supervise all workers
 Appoint competent supervisors
 Assists Joint Health & Safety Committee (JHSC) in their roles and responsibilities
 Ensure proper training
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Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act
 Ensure workers work in a safe manner
 Ensure use of personal protective equipment
(PPE)
 Advise workers of hazards
 Provide written instructions
 Take every precaution reasonable
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Ontario Occupational Health & Safety Act
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Work in compliance with the law and the
University policies/procedures/guidelines
Use personal protective equipment (PPE)
Report hazards immediately
Ensure proper guarding is in place
Work in a safe manner
No rough, boisterous conduct
Do not remove any protective equipment
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Definition of Supervisor…
 means a person who has charge of a workplace or authority over a worker
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In a University setting the term “Supervisor” could be the President, a Senior Director, a
Chair/Academic Director, a Manager/
Coordinator, a Principle Investigator, Teaching
Assistant, Technician, Technologist, Lead
Hands, etc.
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 Supervisor is not limited by the position title but by the responsibilities held
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A supervisor must be “competent”…this has a specific meaning under the Occupational Health &
Safety Act
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Definition of Competent Person…
 Is qualified because of knowledge, training and experience to organize the work and its performance
 Is familiar with the OHS Act and the regulations that apply to the work, and
 Has knowledge of any potential or actual danger to health or safety in the workplace.
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Definition of Worker…
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A “worker” is considered as any person who receives monetary compensation for performing work or providing a service
 Everyone in an organization who receives monetary compensation is considered a worker
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 Right to Know
 What are the hazards in your job?
 Right to Participate
 through the joint health and safety committee or representative and by asking questions
 Right to Refuse Unsafe Work
 if you believe the job is dangerous, or you have not been trained to do the job
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What is Due Diligence?
 Due Diligence is the level of judgment, care, prudence, determination and activity that a person would reasonably be expected to do under particular circumstances…this is specific action taken at the level of the individual with the duty.
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What does Due Diligence really mean?
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 due diligence means that employers and supervisors shall take all reasonable precautions under the particular circumstances to prevent injuries, accidents or exposures in the workplace this definition presumes that you are following all the minimum legal requirements!
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Why is there special significance?
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“Due Diligence” is a legal defense for a person charged under the OHS legislation
 So, if charged, a defendant may be found not guilty if they can prove that on the balance of probabilities, the accused had been duly diligent by taking the steps necessary to ensure the regulations were complied with
 You are presumed GUILTY until proven innocent
– the defendant bears the burden of proof, NOT the prosecution
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Due Diligence Review
 Once a prosecutor has proven that the institution committed a safety violation, it can avoid being held liable if it successfully argues a “due diligence” defence.
 There are two types of due diligence defences:
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Due Diligence Review
 Reasonable efforts. The most commonly used type of due diligence defence —and the simplest to prove —requires a defendant to demonstrate that it made all reasonable efforts to protect workers’ health and safety, ensure compliance with OHS laws and prevent the offence.
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Due Diligence Review
 Reasonable mistake of fact. The second type of due diligence defence requires a defendant to prove that it reasonably relied on a set of facts that turned out to be untrue but had they been true would have made what it did (or didn’t do) legal. The socalled “reasonable mistake of fact” defence is harder to prove and gets raised less often than the reasonable efforts branch of due diligence.
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Consider three main factors of due diligence
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Was the event foreseeable?
Was the event preventable?
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Did you have control over the circumstances?
If it was within your authority to control the hazard, did you do it?
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Hand-outs
 Examples of Supervisor demonstrating lack of due diligence
 Checklist for Supervisor due diligence
 Key Court Measures Which Determine Whether
Due Diligence Steps Taken
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 Student Activities & Events
 Risk Assessments are required for all student events on or off campus
 Research Equipment for Lab
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PI purchased lab equipment and did not know that it was contaminated with radiation
Had to hire outside consultant company to test and then wipe down every surface of equipment
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 Research Equipment for Lab
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Technician filled out Risk Assessment prior to purchase and discovered that the equipment would not fit into the available space and it would be too heavy for the floor
Off-site space had to be leased for the research equipment
 International Travel
 More students, staff and faculty traveling to international destinations on academic related activities
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Machine Guarding
 Guard was not in place
 finger was amputated and later reattached
Cleaning of Grinder
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Grinder was not properly cleaned after use
Was not checked prior to next use
 Student went to use it and a small explosion with a fire burned the student’s hand
Wall Shelving
 Overloaded wall shelving caused shelves to collapse
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Ergonomics
 Staff complaining of hand/wrist/arm pain
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External consultant hired to assess work and workstation
Worker was off for months
Caught By:
 Worker was coming in doors at 380 Victoria
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Someone else was coming in at the same time
Fingers caught between door handles
Fingers crushed
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Fall from Height
 Worker needed to access boxes on top of 5 drawer filing cabinet
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Used standard seating chair to access boxes (no wheels)
Worker fell backwards while taking down box
Exposure to Substance:
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Worker was cleaning up chemistry lab which included other’s chemicals
Put some “empty” containers in a bath solution
Worker was overcome by fumes
Was unable to find out what the “bath solution” contained
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
Queen’s University
 PI killed during Avalanche Research
 McMaster University
 Fire destroyed a lab
 Dalhousie University
 Mercury poisoning of PI due to improper PPE
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A staff member has been wearing a wrist splint on and off for months. They have taken 10 sick days over about
4 months complaining of wrist pain.
The staff member has told you that they have to take time off because they are experiencing pain all the time in their wrist
You find out that your department has been charged
$250.00 due to a form not being filled out and submitted to HR on time
You’re thinking – “What form, for whom and why the late fee?”
You find out that the doctor for the staff member sent a form to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
(WSIB)
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 What type of injury is it?
 What is the injury likely related to?
 What forms should have been filled out?
 What could have been done to prevent this injury from occurring?
 Briefly outline the responsibilities that you and the staff member have in preventing this injury.
 What are your next steps?
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As the Manager, you are legally obligated to:
 Ensure that the workplace is safe for staff, students and the public who use or enter your space
 Ensure that your staff are taking all reasonable measures to protect themselves, their colleagues, the students and the public
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The further away you are from the activities being performed, the more structure (systems) that have to be put into place.
How do you do that?
Systems & Documentation
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Developing a Worst Case Scenario:
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What equipment/material would it involve?
Where would it most likely happen?
What would have to fail in order for that event to take place?
What time would it likely happen?
Would it involve Staff, Faculty, PI or Student?
What would the impact be to the department/school, staff/faculty/students, or Ryerson?
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What systems, practices, procedures and training could be put into place to prevent the event?
Greater Risks Demands Greater Care !!
The responsibility is on your shoulders...
You can delegate the work, but you cannot escape the need to show personal due diligence
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 Refer to Hand-out from the Workplace Safety and
Insurance Board (WSIB)
Document
Business Results through
Health & Safety
Section 3, Page 34 www.wsib.on.ca
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Environmental Health & Safety
Our focus is on developing, promoting and implementing best practices in prevention and risk management
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 Director:
 Associate Director:
 Assistant Director:
 EHS Consultant:
 RCB Consultant:
 Admin:
Julia Lewis
Lawrence Robinson
Dr. Chris White
Cate Drum
Valerie Phelan
Margie Hutchinson
 Website: www.ryerson.ca/irm
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