In this article, we have put together the top 4 OHS fines for small businesses.
Many small businesses can easily think that there is no need for having a safety program since there may be only a few employees in the entire company. But Occupational Health & Safety Department Officers do not take incidents lightly in which OHS legislation codes have been violated, regardless of company size.
Whether a small business has one employee or one hundred, there should always be a strong safety culture in place so that protection comes first & OHS fines are easily avoided.
TriTech is in the best position to keep you up to date with the essential and important industry practices to prevent easily avoidable accidents and costly fines from OHS officers. You can find more information at: https://tritechsafety.ca/courses/
Here are the top 4 OHS fines for many small businesses:
- Fall Protection
A fall or lack of fall protection are incidents that the OHS takes very seriously and will not hesitate to issue immediate tickets for all offending parties that violate this regulation (See this article on possible prison time for fall violations). OHS fines for fall protection can come in a variety of different ways. It can be very dangerous working at any height over 3 meters, so being safe should be the most important thing to any business owner.
Three ways that small businesses can be ticketed for this include: Improper construction of safety equipment, inadequate training of employees in the use of fall protection equipment and the non-usage of required fall protection equipment. - Head Protection
At any job site, it is critical that the head of every employee is properly protected from a variety of potential dangers. So many things fly around at a busy workplace which could pose serious harm to employees. Businesses can avoid getting an OHS fine by providing the proper head protection for employees and making sure that the workplace is arranged in a way that head injuries will be non-existent. - Hazard Communication
Good hazard communication is an aspect of workplace safety that needs to be taken very seriously. Every hazardous item at the workplace must be listed, and employees must have access to this list. Employees should also be properly trained on how to use protective equipment for personal use. Updated material safety data sheets must be at the workplace; otherwise, the OHS will hand out a fine to the defaulting company. - Training Requirements
For any small business, it is imperative that its employees receive proper training in every aspect of their job. Training should include tool usage safety, how to correctly operate company equipment and the best use of protective gear for common day to day tasks. Remember that every person employed should be trained properly. Do not forget to hold regular safety meetings and safety refresher courses. OHS is very clear on the importance of proper training.
