Whether your business is large or small, employers are responsible for ensuring a healthy and safe workplace.
I recently spoke with Tami Der, manufacturing consultant in Prevention Programs and Services at WorkSafeBC, who gave me an overview of how employers can find resources to help them meet their health and safety obligations.
Photo credit: © WorkSafeBC (Workers’ Compensation Board of B.C.), used with permission
Q: How can I reduce the chance of workplace injuries?
According to Tami, the key to preventing workplace injuries and illness is to use a risk management approach to create your safety plans.
By engaging your workers in identifying hazards and risks, encouraging them to speak up when they see unsafe work, and building on their input, you can create a health and safety culture that makes your team feel heard and can help ensure everyone goes home safely at the end of the day.
Q: How can I identify risks in my business?
WorkSafeBC has developed an Employer Health and Safety Planning Tool Kit to help in the risk management process. This secure, interactive tool lets you identify health and safety concerns most relevant to your workplace and the measures you can implement to help reduce the risk of incidents.
The tool kit helps you learn about injuries and claims, compare your performance to that of others in your industry, identify trends, and plan health and safety initiatives for your workplace. You can also use the tool to see how adjustments in your health and safety and return-to-work initiatives can impact your claims costs and the experience rating used to calculate your WorkSafeBC insurance premium.
Any employer can use the tool kit, but it is is of most benefit to employers with 50 or more employees and that experience three or more time-loss claims a year.
Q: Can I do business with WorkSafeBC online?
You can access your account information at any time through the employer online services portal. The employer portal helps you increase efficiency by providing an easy and secure way to upload claim details, submit incident investigation reports, and report payroll, pay premiums, and view rate information.
Q: How can WorkSafeBC’s Prevention Programs and Services help me?
Prevention Programs and Services helps the workers and employers of British Columbia by positively influencing behaviours — through partnerships, consultation, outreach, education, and the development of products and services.
Prevention Support Services can help you find health and safety resources, information on trends in your industry, and best practices to help you create a safe and healthy workplace. OHS consultants are located throughout the province and can work with you to determine the types of training your workplace requires.
More ways WorkSafeBC can help
- Health and safety resources and expert advice on ways you can help prevent injuries in your workplace
- Return-to-work specialists who can help set up modified work programs for injured workers returning to work following a workplace incident
- Opportunities to participate in public hearings and consultations on regulation and policy issues related to occupational health and safety and the workers’ compensation system
Email Tami at tami.der@worksafebc.com to find out more about how Prevention Programs and Services can be of value to you.
By Tanya Colledge
