Occupational Health and Safety Programs for Construction and Mining Companies

This report discusses the importance of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) programs for construction and mining companies. It highlights the top 3 priority safety programs, including inspection, training and education, and investigation. The report assesses the OHS programs of Bronte construction company and suggests improvements to enhance the effectiveness of the programs. The report concludes that OHS programs are crucial for the safety and security of workers and must be followed by all companies in the construction and mining sectors.

Occupation Health and Safety

Executive summary
All the companies which are involved in the construction and mining sectors are required
to use the occupational health and safety practices for the workers. In absence of health
programs, a company cannot deal with the current and potential accidents as well as hazards.
Further, it will affect the productivity of workers and trust towards the company concerns. By
considering the importance of health and safety practices, the current report discloses the
information regards different programs. Moreover, it has been found that all the safety measures
are helpful to improve the worth of the company as well as employee’s safety. Further, few
improvements have been provided to improve the quality of programs such as additional training
practices and more close investigation of the workplace so that accidents do not take place.

Table of Contents
1.0 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................1
2.0 CONSIDERING TOP 3 PRIORITY SAFETY PROGRAMS AND WHY?............................1
2.1 Inspection programs...............................................................................................................1
2.2 Training and education program............................................................................................2
2.3 Investigation program............................................................................................................2
3.0 ASSESSING COMPANIES OHS PROGRAMS......................................................................3
4.0 CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6
List of tables
Table 1: List of OHS programs adopted by Bronte construction company....................................4

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is related to laws, policies and programs which
targets to make the workplace better for the health and safety of the workforce (Rotich &
Kwasira, 2015; Ejdys & Lulewicz-Sas, 2010; Yazdani et al, 2015). It is associated with several
types of risks such as physical, chemicals, accidents etc. which affects the working environment
for all workers. In this context, the current report is based on OHS programs mainly three types
including investigation, inspection and training & education. Moreover, a Canadian company
Bronte construction has been selected to assess the OHS programs which are followed by the
company for health and safety of the workers. Further, certain improvements have also been
suggested for the effectiveness of the company’s image.
2.0 CONSIDERING TOP 3 PRIORITY SAFETY PROGRAMS AND WHY?
Health and safety programs are necessary for the all construction and mining companies
for the safety and security of workers (Johnstone, Quinlan & McNamara, 2011). In this context,
a construction company can consider several health and safety programs such as training and
education, disability management, inspection, emergency response and investigation etc. for the
safety of employees (COHS718, Module 7, 2018). At this juncture, a construction company can
contemplate three major Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) programs out of all for the health
and safety workers as follows-
2.1 Inspection programs
Inspection programs have a significant role in the safety of the workers because these
programs held to inspect the current safety measures of the workplace. Inspection programs can
be two types involving planned and unplanned to examine the unsafe conditions in the workplace
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(Marks, Teizer & Hinze, 2014). In this regard, the planned inspection can be held on a periodic
basis to identify the hazardous conditions; however, these are just based on the formal
responsibilities which can be related to reporting program, list of critical items, corrective
actions, verification of the issues etc. On the other hand, unplanned inspection programs
conducted on a random basis to pinpoint the hazardous situations of workers which are directly
specified by the supervisors to higher level authorities (Ghahramani, 2016). By considering this,
a construction company can apply the safety measure as inspection in the norms for the regular
safety of workers through which superiors can be obliged towards the health and safety of
workers at the workplace. Hence, the inspectors need to be aware regarding the safety measures
and on the basis of eye views, the head of the department of the firm can take the required
actions to verify the rules related to safety and health.
2.2 Training and education program
A construction company implement the new training and educational programs in OHS
act to reduce the accidents at workplace. It can be helpful to train the labor regarding work by
transferring the skills and knowledge to workers (Alkilani, Jupp & Sawhney, 2013; COHS718,
Module 7, 2018). In this context, a manager contacts with health and safety committee to get
awareness related to hazards so that unsafe conditions can be highlighted at work by getting
information through committees. If the workers will be fully trained regarding legal
responsibilities and how to perform at hazardous sites then the ratio of accidents can be
minimized. For instance, if the workers will be adequately educated and trained regarding the
operation of machinery and use of heavy equipment then the chances of accidents can be reduced
at a workplace.
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2.3 Investigation program
Investigation program is a system of OHS which is basically used in accidental cases so
that supervisors can recognize that why the accident and mishappening have occurred and what
are the reasons which led the accidents (Lingard, 2013; Ali, Kamaruzzaman & Sing, 2010). On
the basis of investigation OHS programs, the organization can focus to deal with the reasons to
prevent the accidents at the working site. In this context, a construction company can involve
investigation program in OHS because in absence of investigation program, prevention of
hazardous and unexpected losses cannot be minimized. Further, if any injury or death has
occurred at the workplace then as per the OHS act it is needed to investigate the complete
scenario of an accident with the involvement of legal requirements. In this regard, corrective
actions can be taken so that accidents cannot occur in future and workers remains safe and
healthy at the site.
3.0 ASSESSING COMPANIES OHS PROGRAMS
A Bronte construction company has been selected to assess the OHS programs. The
company is a medium sized construction firm and deals in heavy civil construction,
bioengineering projects. It also involves in the utility installation, environmental restoration and
marine projects for the development of construction criteria. The company is located at Oakville,
Ontario and associated with environmental constructions. The selected company is certified by
Certificate of Recognition (COR) from the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA)
because the company is performing extremely better in health and safety concerns (Bronte
construction, 2018).
Here, yes, Bronte construction company is following the health and safety measures for
the workers so that hazardous acts cannot take place in the firm or if it happens then safety
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measures can be used for the betterment of workers at the workplace. In this regard, Bronte
construction company includes the training, inspection and investigation programs in OHS
system in Ontario. Further, it is also recognized by the Canadian Federation of Construction
Safety Associations for outstanding safety commitments (Bronte construction, 2018).
Table 1: List of OHS programs adopted by Bronte construction company
OHS programs of Bronte
construction
Reason to use Impact
Inspection program To regularly identify the
unsafe working conditions as
well as to control the hazards
for health
Hazards and risk will be
under control and worker
will work in a safe
environment
Training program To provide training and
education regarding safety
measures and use of
machinery to all existing and
new joined workers
Creates awareness
regarding the use of tools
and protective equipment
for safety and security
Investigation program To examine the causes of
accidents and use the
prevention programs to reduce
the rate of accidents
Repetition of accidents
reduced due to taking
corrective actions
On the basis of the above-mentioned table, it has been derived that Bronte construction
company has already incorporated OHS programs in the health and safety measures so that
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workers can perform the work without the occurrence of hazards. However, the company can
improve the OHS programs by incorporating the new policies regarding the existing inspection
program. Additionally, inspection can be done on a random basis to improve the quality of
measures because in this hidden matter will be disclosed. Accordingly, the health and safety
committee will take the action to reduce those hidden mishappenings. Apart from this, the
company can also include the advanced training programs along with running practices.
Meanwhile, the working if the workers are not getting the exact point to operate the heavy tools
then the instant training will be helpful and it will be helpful for the company to minimize the
unsafe acts by providing keen instruction regarding usage. Further, inspection programs can also
be improved by involving the regular checking of workers activities that how they are managing
the work. If any wrong thing is identified then on the spot effective actions can be implemented
to reduce the huge accidents and hazards.
4.0 CONCLUSION
On the basis of the report, it has been concluded that construction companies must follow
the OHS act and includes the safety practices and programs for the wellness of workers.
Inspection programs are helpful to identify the unsafe conditions whereas investigations
programs help to identify the reason of hazards and accidents. Apart from this, it has also been
summarized that training practices provide clear instructions regarding use of equipment which
is beneficial to reduce the chances of risk and accidents at the workplace in current and future
situation.
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REFERENCES
Ali, A. S., Kamaruzzaman, S. N., & Sing, G. C. (2010). A Study on causes of accident and
prevention in Malaysian construction industry. EDITORIAL BOARD/SIDANG EDITOR.
Alkilani, S. Z., Jupp, J., & Sawhney, A. (2013). Issues of construction health and safety in
developing countries: a case of Jordan. Construction Economics and Building, 13(3), 141-
156.
Bronte construction, (2018). About Bronte construction. [Online]. Available at: <
https://bronteconstruction.ca/about/>. [Accessed on 30th November 2018]
Bronte construction, (2018). Health and Safety. [Online]. Available at: <
https://bronteconstruction.ca/health-safety/ [Accessed on 30th November 2018]
COHS718, Module 7, (2018). Inspection programs. [Pdf]. Available at: <
file:///E:/877408_Occupation%20Health%20and%20Safety/2877121_1631898696_combi
nemodules.pdf>. [Accessed on 30th November 2018]
Ejdys, J., & Lulewicz-Sas, A. (2010). An OH&S management system as a source of
information. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 16(4), 445-
454.
Ghahramani, A. (2016). Factors that influence the maintenance and improvement of OHSAS
18001 in adopting companies: A qualitative study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 137,
283-290.
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Johnstone, R., Quinlan, M., & McNamara, M. (2011). OHS inspectors and psychosocial risk
factors: Evidence from Australia. Safety Science, 49(4), 547-557.
Lingard, H. (2013). Occupational health and safety in the construction industry. Construction
management and economics, 31(6), 505-514.
Marks, E., Teizer, J., & Hinze, J. (2014). Near-miss reporting program to enhance construction
worker safety performance. In Construction Research Congress 2014: Construction in a
Global Network (pp. 2315-2324).
Rotich, L., & Kwasira, J. (2015). Assessment of success factors in the implementation of
occupational health and safety programs in tea firms in Kenya: a case of Kaisugu tea
factory. Int J Econ Commer Manag, 3, 797-812.
Yazdani, A., Neumann, W. P., Imbeau, D., Bigelow, P., Pagell, M., Theberge, N., ... & Wells, R.
(2015). How compatible are participatory ergonomics programs with occupational health
and safety management systems?. Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health,
111-123.
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