Safety: Back to basics

You can navigate complicated challenges — with a roadmap

One of the unfortunate realities of owning a business is dealing with safety compliance. Governments of all jurisdictions have set up regulations that can be difficult to understand. Add on top of that the differences between the provinces, and the hiring of independent contractors like installers, and it can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be.

Let’s start with the basics. According to Yvonne O’Reilly, a Canadian registered safety professional, and principal of O’Reilly Health and Safety Consulting in Toronto, Ont., even companies that hire one or two employees have safety responsibilities. She says, “You have to inform employees of the hazards, demonstrate that you have assessed the hazards, ensure that the proper controls are in place, and that the employees are properly trained.”

One example of the hazards that floor installers must contend with are related to such solvent-based products as adhesives, sealers and varnishes. The Ontario government, as an example, has a web page on its site dealing specifically with these types of hazards. Such government resources can serve as a starting point in gaining knowledge in safety and compliance.

Being a flooring expert helps

In fact, that is something business owners have to be in the practice of doing when it comes to safety and compliance: gaining knowledge. According to O’Reilly, “Basically, the employer has to know what the hazards are for their own business. If they’re an expert in their field, they might be able to do this.” Otherwise, O’Reilly says that government websites, like the one cited above, can serve as invaluable resources.

One potentially tricky area for the floor covering industry relates to who is actually responsible for the safety of the workers involved. Our Law column on page 18 delves more deeply into the complexities of this specific issue. And complexities there are. If you’re hiring contractors, are you responsible for their safety? Are they? Is the general contractor responsible? The questions can be endless.

There are no simple answers. As with most issues dealing with safety, it depends on the province you’re in. Generally speaking, if you hire independent contractors, they become responsible for safety. In other words, if you’re an independent installer, you might well be responsible for your own people. But, ultimately, clarity is essential. A formal agreement between the contracting company and the contractor can specifically spell out who is responsible for what.

Responsibility

The word “responsibility” is extraordinarily important when it comes to safety and compliance. Safety and compliance can mean different things, but one thing they share in common is responsibility: employers are responsible — both legally and practically — for the safety of their employees. If something goes wrong, everyone looks to the boss. That’s the reality.

An example of this harsh reality occurred in 1999 when David Ellis, a 17-year-old dough mixer working for New Sun Cookies, was killed reaching into a machine. The company was found to be guilty of various safety violations. The supervisor was thrown in jail. The company was fined in excess of $60,000. As O’Reilly points out, “All it takes is one high profile case to change the regulatory practices and, subsequently, the way people have to do business. The David Ellis tragedy, for example, changed safety compliance in this country.”

Another example of a high-profile accident changing the safety regulatory landscape also occurred in Ontario. In fact, we ran a story about it in our Jan./Feb. issue’s Coverings News section. Labour leader Sid Ryan used the two-year anniversary of the Christmas Eve deaths of four construction workers to liken employers to cop killers. And on and on it goes.

Flooring mishap

The flooring industry is not immune to such high-profile incidents. In this issue’s Coverings News is a story about the evacuation and sealing off of an entire floor in a school where asbestos was found in the floor. As our feature in last year’s issue on safety pointed out, it’s the flooring contractor that is often responsible for such occurrences. Parents of the schoolchildren potentially exposed to asbestos are now screaming for answers. Would you want to be the flooring contractor involved in that case?

Frank Keegan is a safety training and compliance expert based in Georgetown, Ont. He understands the challenges involved for small businesses becoming safe and compliant. He also knows that it can be expensive to hire someone like him to get some of the answers. So he has a suggestion.

Keegan says, “Many companies have only a few employees, but they need to have the same safety standards as the big companies. So we’ve developed a training program where these small companies get together, get the training, and reduce the costs per company.” If it’s not Keegan, there might be other trainers across the country willing to train pools of small business in the same industry.

One of the fascinating realities of the flooring industry is that it consists of many different components. In other words, you, the readers, make up a diverse group: from installers and retailers to sales reps and designers. Yet, if you’re an employer, you share some things in common. One of them is deciding how many employees you have. In safety, that question can be a very important one.

Five employees

The magic number is five — or at least that’s how many employees a company has to have before incurring some obligations under the law, depending on the province. According to O’Reilly, “Once a company reaches that number, they have to start doing things like having written safety procedures in place or have a health and safety committee set up.”

O’Reilly continues, “But it’s important to understand that, regardless of how many employees you have, large of small, it’s still the employer’s obligation to make sure the employee is informed. Employers need to be proactive.” Communicating with your provincial government is one way to ensure one’s responsibilities are being met on a continuing basis.

For example, going back to that Ontario government website on hardwood flooring hazards, a somewhat detailed description is given about the hazards to look for, and what measures and procedures need to be in place. The solvent-based adhesives, sealers and varnishes mentioned may cause fires or explosions, can be inhaled and cause chronic problems, or can come in contact with skin and cause diseases like dermatitis.

The sectors involved in hardwood flooring installation are also mentioned on the site. They include: “Construction or 
renovation of low rise and high rise residential and industrial, commercial and institutional buildings.” The measures needed to deal with possible hazards include having manufacturer’s instructions in the material data safety sheets, and eliminating all open flames when dealing with the solvents in question.

Use what they give you

This is just one example from one provincial website. Other provinces have similar websites with their own unique materials. These resources shouldn’t be taken for granted. It’s the governments that have set up these sometimes complicated procedures to begin with, so they also have a responsibility to keep you informed when necessary. And you can be sure they’ll show up at the door, or job site, if an accident happens. Knowing their procedures and using their resources is a sensible precaution — if nothing else.

The one question that gets asked often as one gains experience in safety compliance is this: Is being compliant the same as being safe? The experts we talked to suggest it’s a dangerous question to ask because, in the end, it doesn’t really matter. Yes, it’s important to keep people safe. However, governments have been increasingly eager to check in on business to verify compliance. Most importantly, if an accident does occur, reality may no longer apply. The regulators will get involved at that point.

According to O’Reilly, “Before incidents like New Sun Cookies occurred, safety officials would still check in on you, and they may have had some patience while you get your act together. However, after these high-profile accidents occur, there tend to be more people come knocking on your door, and they have less patience for you to comply. Fines 
can be assessed even if no accidents or injuries occur, so employers always have to be careful.”

One of the realities of dealing with safety and compliance, especially in a diverse industry like flooring, is that it can’t be learned in a day. Experience helps, but it has to be an ongoing learning process, in part because governments keep raising the stakes. As accidents occur, outrage ensues, and bureaucrats become busier than ever. Stuck in the middle are small businesses that have to cope. But they usually do. You usually do.