Narrator: [Health and Safety at Work

Prevention Starts Here

But It Doesn’t End Here]

[Supervisors and workers speaking to each other]

One of my goals as a supervisor is to plan and organize the work.

This is a big job.

To do it well I need to understand the work and the hazards involved.

I also need to know how to control those hazards and to make sure the health and safety program is effective.

At the root of every work-related death, injury or sickness is a hazard of some kind.

[Ambulance approaching/driving away from accident site]

Hazards can take many forms.

[Workers checking items that are locked out, and a worker working from a high height]

Sometimes more than one hazard can combine to make an even bigger hazard.

Here are some of the most common hazards in Ontario workplaces.

Repeating the same movements over and over.

[Worker on laptop, another moving boxes]

Especially if you are in an awkward position or you use a lot of force.

Think of someone who bends down all day or someone who lifts heavy objects over and over again.

Slipping, tripping or falling.

[Wet floor]

Think of something as simple as spilled coffee on the floor.

A cluttered work area, or a raised platform with no guard rails.

Motorized vehicles.

[Worker directing a vehicle into a worksite]

Think of being hit by a dump truck that is backing up on a construction site.

Or someone getting hit by a forklift truck in a warehouse or on a loading dock.

[Forklift moving a crate]

Using or working near machinery.

Many workers have been killed or seriously injured by the equipment they were operating.

Workplace violence.

[Two workers fighting]

It can happen in many workplaces.

Such as to a gas station attendant working alone at night.

Or a health care worker in a hospital or in the community.

[Workers cleaning a site]

I also need to think about less apparent hazards.

Things like chemicals, fumes, toxic dust.

Or germs and viruses in schools, labs and health care workplaces.

Some of these hazards can make a worker very sick.

[Worker sanitizing hands, and putting on a mask]

Sometimes the worker gets sick right away.

Other times the worker doesn't know he or she is sick until months or even years later.

[Worker at doctor’s appointment]

That's why it's important that they know about these hazards now!

[Prevention starts here, but it doesn’t end here]