The busiest construction season is in full swing and the Ontario government is taking action to improve worker safety on construction sites by increasing enforcement of regulations and enhancing awareness of safety measures.

“In general terms they’re really stepping up the number of inspections that they’re doing throughout the province to insure required site safety measures are in fact being implemented and followed through,” explains Geoffrey Carter, leader of construction contracting and renewable energy at RSA Insurance, a Toronto-based company that provides insurance coverage to contractors for their construction projects.

Specifically, the province is taking additional action to improve the safety of workers on construction sites, including:
• Strong enforcement measures that target repeat offenders and shut down construction projects when workers’ lives are in danger.
• Increased focus on training and worker supervision during inspections.
• A public campaign with health and safety partners to increase awareness of enforcement and safety in different languages.
• A toll-free telephone line for workers and the general public to report construction site work practices that appear unsafe.

During a recent three-month enforcement blitz, Ministry of Labour inspectors targeted more than 2,800 construction sites across Ontario. Inspectors found many violations related to missing or inappropriate use of guardrails, scaffolding and fall protection systems.

Having a site safety plan drawn up is one key step in making sure a construction site is safe, but according to Carter having that plan in place is not enough. “As I understand, it’s required to have a site safety plan. What I think is overlooked is the implementation.

“If you’re doing that daily safety walkabout on site as you should be doing, you’re more likely to notice if guardrails are out of place or fall protections systems are being used inappropriately.”

Quick Facts
• The most common violations found in the recent construction site blitz involved guardrails, suspended scaffolds, fall protection systems and worker training.
• Since 2005 Ontario has doubled the number of full-time occupational health and safety inspectors, bringing the total to 430.
• Since the launch of the Safe at Work Ontario in 2008, ministry inspectors have conducted over 130,000 proactive field visits, issued more than 200,000 compliance orders and conducted 18 proactive enforcement blitzes.
• People can call 1-877-202-0008 if they spot what might be an unsafe labour practice in any Ontrario workplace.

9 tips to make your construction site safer
1. Restrict the area under construction to authorized persons.
2. Provide appropriate barriers, fencing and signage.
3. The facility should comply with local building and fire prevention codes.
4. Create a site safety plan to address everything from site access to structure security and planning with the local fire department.
5. Designate a safety manager or coordinator to be responsible for the site safety plan, and to conduct routine site inspections.
6. Install and activate fire protection and alarm systems for areas under construction as soon as possible.
7. Evaluate all occupied buildings and grounds near the construction site as well as contractor’s equipment for security concerns. 8. Post security guards on site when the size and nature of the project dictates—during operational hours but also on evenings and weekends.
9. Limit building access to designated entrances that are guard supervised.

Recent Articles