Health & Safety Program

Updated Feb 10, 2021

A major revision as of June 1, 2018 to the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act is that all companies with 20 or more workers are required to have a Health and Safety program. In the Alberta OHS Act - Part 5 Program and Practice, Section 37(1) Health and safety program; it specifies that all employers will be required to have a program that conforms to the requirements.

The list of requirements for the program that must be completed is as follows:

·         Health and Safety policy;

·         Hazard assessment and control;

·         Emergency Response Plan;

·         Statement of OHS responsibilities of employer, supervisor and workers at a work site;

·         Schedule and procedures for work site inspections;

·         Procedure for when another employer or self-employed persons is working at the work site;

·         Worker and Supervisor Health and Safety orientation and training;

·         Procedures for investigating incidents, injuries and refusals to work;

·         Procedures for worker participation in work site health and safety: including inspections, investigation incidents, injuries and refusals to work;

·         Procedure for the review and revision of the health and safety program;

·         Health and Safety Committee (HSC) or Health and Safety Representative (HSR) requirements;

·         Review of the program every 3 years or sooner if there is a change in work activities that creates or could create hazards to the workers such as new technology or production methods or a hazard assessment or inspection identifies new risks related to current work activities;

·         Any additional elements set out in the Regulations.

Remember that this is a compliance strategy for employers that is easier to manage and requires less resources to maintain than a COR or SECOR certification. While you are not eligible for a rebate from the PIR program you will still see a reduction of up to 40% in your WCB rate for the year if you have no WCB claims for incidents.

Let me help you attain compliance with the Alberta OHS legislation for your company by creating a safety program tailored to your specific work activities. A safety program is like a suit and it should fit your company’s work activities.