October inspections will focus on health care, industrial workplaces
An October safety blitz in Ontario will focus on personal protective equipment at industrial and health care workplaces.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) reduces or prevents a worker’s exposure to occupational health and safety hazards. The equipment acts as a barrier to protect workers from blows to the body, loud noises, heat, chemicals, infections, and electrical and other hazards. PPE can refer to protective clothing, helmets, shoes, goggles, respirators and other safety gear worn or used by workers, according to Ontario’s Ministry of Labour.
The blitz will mainly focus on head, eye and foot protection at industrial and health care workplaces, but inspectors may also address other types of PPE, including fall, respiratory, skin and hearing protection.
Inspectors will check whether the requirements related to the selection, use and care of PPE, and worker training in the use of PPE are being met by all workplace parties, as specified in the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Employers, supervisors and workers have duties and responsibilities under the act regarding PPE. Some of the responsibilities regarding PPE for employers include ensuring the PPE provided is used by the worker and providing and maintaining all prescribed PPE in good condition.
Workers must wear any PPE required by the employer, report any known missing or defective PPE to the employer or supervisor and not remove or disable any PPE required by the employer or by the supervisor.
Priority areas
Industrial workplaces
In industrial workplaces, inspectors will focus on PPE that protects the eye, head and foot, and address any other hazards they may find.
Inspectors will focus on safety gear used by workers in the following sectors:
•wood and metal fabrication
•vehicle sales and service
•food and beverage
•wholesalers
•education
Health care workplaces
The blitz will also focus on hospitals, long-term care homes and homes for residential care. The blitz will check for safety gear being worn or used by non-clinical staff in the following departments of health care workplaces:
•dietary services (nutrition and food services/kitchen)
•housekeeping/environmental services
•maintenance shops, the central sterile supply and laundry departments of a health care workplace
