Published on: 29/07/2014

The OSWCA, through the Young Executives Committee (YEC), has compiled the attached draft Health and Safety Program and Reference Manual for Members of the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association (OSWCA), 2014. The manual is available for all OSWCA members. It will also be posted on our website or available by contacting our office at info@oswca.org.

This manual is intended to act as a seed document to assist members in developing or updating their own occupational health and safety (OH&S) policies and procedures. The document is designed to allow each individual company to customize the included policies and procedures to fit their own individual circumstance, with the necessary areas for modification highlighted in yellow for ease of reference.

It is important to note that once completed, this policy manual will not, on its own, make your company compliant to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA), or any other construction/safety legislations or regulations. It is necessary to implement the policies and procedures, and train all employees on the relevant items to be compliant.

In order to implement a practical health and safety culture and become compliant with the OHSA, WSIA, and other construction/safety legislations and regulations, your program must encompass a fully documented cyclical pattern of:

• Program development;

• OH&S training and documentation of training;

• Program implementation;

• Review and evaluation of company policies and procedures; and,

• Revision

In other words, you must train staff and be able to demonstrate through documentation how your company is applying the various policies and procedures.

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