While Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Legislation is straightforward and helps us to have a correct approach on the processes to avoid occupational injuries and accidents, certain aspects must be paid attention to.
If you are interested in putting the best safety and risk management system in place in your company, we invite you to understand what the three parts of the legislation dealing with this area are.
General approach
Contents
The first part of the legislation is based on a practical guide to provide tools, strategies and options for companies to manage their risks. We find the regulations and codes designed to help employees of the health and safety department to establish functional parameters.
Thanks to this summary, authorities can have an effective delineation of what is well and poorly managed within a company.
Here, it is important to be properly prepared to understand the objectives of the law. Within the mandatory training to opt for a COR certification, knowing the legislation is essential so as to follow the guidelines as expected.
approach sets out the rights of the employees, the obligations of the company, the general safety methods to be applied on the company’s line of business, as well as the sanctions in case of incorrect implementation.
Compliance
The compliance section establishes the application of the rules and regulations stated in the general approach, highlighting the responsibility of all workers, supervisors and employers to fully apply the methods of risk management and occupational health and safety.
Compliance includes inspections, as well as the appointment of a person in charge of supervising the implementation of these rules.
At this stage of the legislation, the company’s ability to implement the safety system is evidenced by means of inspections, investigations and routine reports to ensure compliance with the law.
The importance of this part can also be emphasized. Thanks to it, companies are guaranteed and motivated to make real changes in their work systems, and a safe risk management is guaranteed, which ends up benefiting not only the employees but also clients and the company as a whole.
Compliance is crucial to ensure that improvements in occupational health and safety prevail. Therefore, a leader in the area is appointed.
Memorandum of Understanding
This section of the legislation deals with prosecutions. It is made clear here the legal liability that companies face should they fail to fully comply with the safety methods set out in the general approach.
We may not have mentioned it before, but occupational health and safety within a company is not a game, because there are many routine processes that put the lives of workers or members of the community at risk. Therefore, each and every safety method necessary to avoid incidents must be taken seriously.
It is also critical to have an authority system that motivates the movement of each of the responsible members to achieve safe work.
The memorandum establishes the protocols that are carried out in case of accidents and/or injuries, as well as the figures involved such as OHS officers, police, supervisors or employers.
It includes judicial processes with background investigations, risk management, and liability to determine whether or not criminal charges apply for violating OHS rules.
Conclusions on occupational health and safety legislation in Alberta
The Alberta government’s commitment to creating a safe state is evident. However, it is important to mention responsible parties in order to motivate a real decrease in accidents and injuries.
This is a subject that must be addressed seriously, as poor risk management by one company can hurt many around them, and it is important that all members of the process understand their responsibility to bear the consequences of their actions.
Occupational health and safety legislation is strong and guarantees good results in terms of reducing injuries and accidents within companies.
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