Lack of Training, Programs and Plans Equals Recipe for Disaster

Public Works pled guilty after a Fleet Street Plant boiler exploded, taking the life of a father of four – Peter Kennedy and injuring two other workers in 2009. Improper training on the hazards were identified as one of the main reasons for this fatality.  The tragic death of Peter Kennedy should serve as an impetus to Protecting Canadian workers at their workplace and ensuring that the proper training is received by all workers on all hazards in the workplace.

Labour Canada laid eight charges against Public Works; they pled guilty to three of these charges:

·         Failing to develop and implement a program for the prevention of hazards in the workplace

·         Failing to develop a health and safety plan

·         Failing to provide enough training for employees on the hazards and supervisors and managers on health and safety issues

It was also identified that the plant had no proper emergency procedures; employees hadn’t been shown standard operating manuals and the company’s employees that serviced the boilers were not certified to do so. 

Recognizing that training in proper work practices is a necessary and unavoidable cost of doing business; lack of or improper training is a recipe for disaster. 

The Ottawa based company – R and R Automation that inspected the boilers was not charged due to a gap in jurisdiction – the boiler sits on federal property.

Although imposing a $100,000 fine per charge on one federal government department would mean it would flow right back to the federal government; it would be a purely symbolic gesture that implies they cannot hide behind their own laws.  It will be determined at the hearing on July 4^th and 5^th, 2013 in an Ottawa court.

Further to this news release a longer analysis about what we can learn from this tragic event – the need for a “safety culture” in an organization, will follow in future articles. 

Lynne Bard is President and Senior Consultant of Beyond Rewards Inc., a preeminent human resources, risk management, health and safety and training consulting firm based in Guelph &; Fergus, Ontario.   For more information on this topic contact Lynne at info@beyondrewards.ca

Dare to Dream, Live to Lead! – Do you have what it takes to be a Leader!

Dare to Dream, Live to Lead! – Do you have what it takes to be a Leader!

Leaders! A good leader is the one who is influential enough to get others to follow them willingly. They have a vision; they have a dream and the passion to pursue it. They have analytical skills, a decision-making ability and a go-getter attitude. They dream big and have the grit to bring it into reality. They possess virtues like integrity, dedication, fairness and an open mind to greet new ideas and innovate.

Are all managers’ good leaders and teachers?

This question brings us to the concept of corporate leadership that highlights the role of effective leadership in the growth and success of an organization. Managers need to possess leadership skills like planning, organizing, delegating and effective communication. 

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right thing. But when the line between the two blurs, managers become excellent leaders and leaders become effective managers.

Be it a small firm of fewer than twenty employees, a multinational company of a thousand professionals or a country of millions, all is organizations. And leadership has a big role to play in directing an organization's resources on the path of progress and to the safety of workers.

Effective leaders are those who have the ability to listen, think, foresee, understand and interpret the Health and Safety Act. An effective leader, grows the organization not only through increased productivity and increased bottom line but through safe work practices that they illicit in their day to day activities and through a thorough understanding of the responsibilities of everyone in the workplace – your internal responsibility system or IRS.

The new Health and Safety law requires all leaders such as managers and supervisors to be trained so that they fully understand the Occupational Health and Safety Act and their responsibilities by the beginning of 2014.  It is recommended in addition to Health and Safety Training for Supervisors and Managers that they also be trained in Cert 1 (basic Health and Safety) and Cert 2 (company specific) so that they better understand the Health and Safety Committee and/or Health and Safety Representative(s) responsibilities. For the full write-up on this law visit Health and Safety Ontario web site.

Article by Jean Ridout, Operations Manager, Beyond Rewards