Element 3: Safe Work Procedures and Written Instruction

Overview
Making safe work procedures and practices part of standard operating procedure may seem a
matter of common sense, but in fact an effective health and safety program for workers is
required by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation Without a written standard to refer
to, whether for bed-making or respirator-wearing, there is no consistent guidance for workers
or supervisors. Measurement of these items in the audit will include written safe work
procedures, practices and/or instructions including:

• all routine and non-routine expected operations of the company

• a Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)
• instructions that direct the first aid services, supplies and equipment to be provided and
how employees receive that service
• procedures addressing possible emergencies, training of workers in those procedures,
testing their effectiveness, and evaluating and revising the procedures based on drills
and actual emergencies.

The audit also measures whether the procedures are the right ones for the tasks the workers
perform. The procedures need to flow from the risk assessments in the previous element of the
audit to ensure that the procedures actually address the hazards of the job. As with other
sections, communication and supervision are underlying themes. Workers need to be told the
procedures, and supervisors need to coach the workers to help ensure that the work is done to
right way the first time, every time.

Key Concepts and Implementation Tips

In order to meet the above objectives, the audit checks whether:

• The employer has safe work procedures based on the hazard/risk assessments done at
the worksite.
• Employees participate in the hazard/risk assessment, since they are the ones most
affected by the hazards or risk.
• There is a first aid assessment done for each site that the company operates.
• The company has appropriate first-aid supplies, equipment, rooms and personnel.
• There is a procedure for workers to follow when they are injured (or observe an injury)
and need first aid.
• There is a set of emergency-response procedures appropriate to the company’s
activities and risks. Examples of risk factors include:
o blood-borne pathogens, fire, injury, fatality, natural disasters.
o workplace violence, working alone, wildlife encounters, crisis management,
power failure, major equipment failure, major substance spills, robberies,
assaults, bomb threats, car accidents, rescue from remote locations, heights or
depths, etc.

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 • Employees know their roles in the first aid and emergency-response plan, whether they
are responders, reporters or bystanders.
• Emergency drills are held annually to test whether the various response plans actually
work for the company.
• The company has a WHMIS program.
• Training is documented.

SUPPORTING RESOURCES:

How to - Safe Work Procedures

Sample Hospitality Safe Work http://www2.worksafebc.com/tourism/

Procedures (WorkSafeBC) Hosp_SmBiz/add_res/Online-
Sample_Procedures1.pdf

Safe Work Procedures (Safe Work http://www.safemanitoba.com/uploads

Manitoba) /bulletins/bltn249(3).pdf

How to – First Aid Assessment

First Aid Assessment http://www2.worksafebc.com/PDFs/firs

(WorkSafeBC) taid/First_aid_assessment_worksheet.p
df

How to – First Aid Procedures

First aid (WorkSafeBC) http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/Fi

rstAid/Home.asp

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How to – Emergency Response Plans

Emergency Response Plan http://www.worksafebc.com/publicatio

(WorkSafeBC) ns/health_and_safety/by_topic/assets/
pdf/emergency_response_guide.pdf

How to – WHMIS

WHMIS (WorkSafeBC) http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/W

HMIS/Home.asp

WHMIS at Work (WorkSafeBC) http://www.worksafebc.com/publicatio

ns/health_and_safety/by_topic/assets/
pdf/whmis.pdf

WHMIS (CCOHS) http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/prev

ention/whmis/

Getting WHMIS Program Started http://www.lrws.gov.sk.ca/getting-

(Saskatchewan Labour) whmis-program-started

TRAINING OPTIONS:

Training - Risk Assessment and Safe work procedures

Employers’ Advisers Office http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/eao/

WorkSafeBC database of training http://www.ohstrainingbc.com/

providers

CCOHS http://www.ccohs.ca/products/courses/hazard/

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Training – First Aid

WorkSafeBC database of training http://www.ohstrainingbc.com/

providers

Training – WHMIS

WorkSafeBC database of training http://www.ohstrainingbc.com/

providers

CCOHS (online) http://www.ccohs.ca/products/courses/whmiscourse/

RELEVANT REGULATION AND LEGISLATION:

Occupational Health and Safety http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications Safe Work Procedures

Regulation (WorkSafeBC) /OHSRegulation/Home.asp • Section 3.3 ( c )
First Aid
• Sections 3.14 – 3.21
Emergencies and drills
• Sections 4.13 - 4.16
WHMIS
• Section 5.3 – 5.19

Workers’ Compensation Act (BC http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications Reporting injuries

Gov’t) /OHSRegulation/WorkersCompensationAct • Section 172
.asp#SectionNumber:Part3Division1

Guidelines for Using the COR Audit Tool

QUESTION 3.1
Have safe work practices and job procedures been written for the identified
hazards as required?
Auditor Guideline
• Review a representative sample of documentation (safe work practices / job
procedures) and compare to hazard identification and assessment. The percentage
cannot exceed the percentage scored in Question 2.2 (i.e. If only 50% of the
assessments have been completed in Question 2.2, 50% is the maximum that can be
scored)

Employer Guideline
• This question looks at the risk assessments completed for the company to see whether
there are corresponding safe work procedures. If only a fraction of the risk
assessments have been completed, the number of points available for this question is
that the same fraction. Without having a risk assessment, the company has no real way
to determine whether the safe work procedure it has developed is actually appropriate
for the job. It may be, but it might not be.

Types of Documentation to Review

• Safe work practices/job procedures

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QUESTION 3.2
Are qualified individuals involved in the development / maintenance of safe
work practices and job procedures?
Auditor Guideline
• Interview Supervisors and Workers identified in the safe work practices and job
procedures to verify their involvement.

Employer Guideline
• The question is designed to see whether workers and supervisors have been part of the
process for reviewing or developing the safe work procedures (SWP). It is not necessary
for every worker performing a particular task to be involved in the development of SWP,
but at least one needs to have been. The auditor should look at the SWP document to
determine who was involved and then seek out interviewees to support that outcome. If
there is no documentation assigning names, then the auditor should attempt to
determine if any worker was involved and if possible interview that worker. A manager’s
notebook can be an excellent supplement to a formal SWP.

QUESTION 3.3
Has a first aid assessment been completed for the site and the results
implemented into a program?
Auditor Guideline
• Review documentation to determine if a first aid assessment has been completed and
outlines first aid services, supplies, and equipment to be provided.

Employer Guideline
• http://www2.worksafebc.com/PDFs/firstaid/First_aid_assessment_worksheet.pdf
This process is a WorkSafeBC annual requirement. It assesses the requirements of
your site and determines what first aid supplies, personnel and equipment are required
based on the location and level of risk. The process must be completed and dated,
indicating that it has been reviewed in the past year. A company may develop its own
form, but the process of determining the correct level of attendants, equipment and
services must be followed. Note that non-workers on the site are excluded from the
personnel counts. While hospitality companies need to care for guest first aid in many
cases, this is not the scope of the question. Note that for companies with more than one
site, one assessment per site needs to be completed. Some companies may need
multiple assessments for the same overall site; for example, at a ski resort, it is not
practical for a mountaintop injury to have first aid available only at the base. For
companies with mobile crews (such as guide-outfitters), the crew needs an assessment
as well.

QUESTION 3.4
Are the first aid equipment and supplies available as required?
Auditor Guideline
• Observe condition and availability of first aid equipment and supplies.

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 Employer Guideline
• The observation tour determines whether the first aid supplies, personnel, equipment
and facilities that were identified in the first aid assessment meet the requirements. Kits
should be clean, neat, organized and not contain expired or otherwise unsuitable
contents. Eyewashes and showers should be clean and useful for treating
contamination.

QUESTION 3.5
Do the Employees know the procedure for obtaining first aid?
Auditor Guideline
• Interview Employees to verify knowledge of the procedure to obtain first aid services.

Employer Guideline
• This question tests to see whether employees are aware of how to get help if they
require first aid for themselves or for co-workers, and what procedures they would
follow.

QUESTION 3.6
Is there a procedure for rendering and reporting of first aid services?
Auditor Guideline
• Review documentation (First Aid Procedures).

Employer Guideline
• This requires a policy, procedure or guideline on how to get first aid and what the
subsequent steps should be. Details could include how to get a worker to medical aid,
what paperwork needs to be filled out, where the first aid stations are located, what
supplies are available, who the on-duty first aid providers are, supervisor contact
information, who needs to be notified, etc.

Types of Documentation to Review

• First aid procedure, medical aid procedure

QUESTION 3.7
Are there written emergency response plans? Is the emergency response
plan readily available to all employees?
Auditor Guideline
• Review documentation (emergency response plans). Ensure that each plan is
appropriate for the worksite(s).
• Observe the location of the emergency response plan to ensure it is accessible to all
staff.

Employer Guideline
• Mandatory emergency response plans can include the risk of blood-borne pathogens,
fire, injury, fatality and natural disasters. Depending on the company, other emergency
response plans may be required to address workplace violence, working alone, wildlife
encounters, crisis management, power failure, major equipment failure, major

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 substance spills, robberies, assaults, bomb threats, car accidents, rescue from remote
locations, heights or depths, etc.
• The entire plan in all its detail does not need to be instantly available to every worker,
but key concepts do need to be posted, including some signage and information readily
available in paper or electronic version. Hard copies of the master plan need to be
readily accessible in case of power and/or computer failure.

Types of Documentation to Review

• Emergency response plans

QUESTION 3.8
Have all Employees been made aware of the emergency response plans?
Auditor Guideline
• Interview Workers, Supervisors, and Managers to verify training. This training could be
during orientation or refresher training, department meetings, job-specific training, or
"emergency response" training.

Employer Guideline
• This question aims to determine whether the employees know what the procedures are
for an emergency, and if they understand their roles and responsibilities. Individual
auditors ask different questions of each interviewee, but typically people should know
what to do in the major types of emergency (fire, injury, etc.), especially where their
meeting location is in an emergency and whether the plan requires them to do anything
other than get to the meeting area.

QUESTION 3.9
Are emergency response plans evaluated to identify deficiencies and revise
accordingly?
Auditor Guideline
• Review documentation (JOHSC meeting minutes, emergency drill records) to ensure the
effectiveness of the emergency response plan was reviewed and deficiencies were
corrected.
• Interview Supervisors and Managers to verify there is a method to evaluate the
effectiveness of the plan.

Employer Guideline
• The company is required to have a documented emergency drill at least annually to test
the plans in place. The auditor is looking to see that a drill happened and that a
debriefing followed. If there was any corrective action required to tweak the plan, or
correct a procedure, the auditors are looking to see that it was documented. This
documentation could be demonstrated in the JOHSC meeting minutes, the minutes of a
management meeting, in a newsletter or even an email, depending on the company
style.

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QUESTION 3.10
Does the organization have a workplace hazardous materials information
system (WHMIS) program?
Auditor Guideline
• Review documentation to ensure there is a WHMIS program and that responsibility for
the program been assigned.
• Observe that the program is being followed. Ensure all elements have been successfully
implemented including labeling and signage.
• Interview a representative number of Employees to determine if they are familiar with
their responsibilities in the WHMIS program.

Employer Guideline
• WHMIS must be reviewed annually. The company should have documentation that the
review happened with the appropriate personnel, and that there is someone assigned to
oversee this process. The auditor’s observation tour includes looking at containers and
noting if proper labeling has occurred, if there is appropriate signage available to guide
workers in the use of chemicals, if the MSDS are readily available and up-to-date (no
older than 3 years from issue date). The auditor’s interview aims to determine whether
the employees understand what is required of them in terms of labeling, handling and
storing chemicals. The employee needs to be able to describe such key concepts as the
hazards of the materials being handled, the appropriate precautions to avoid harm and,
in the event of an emergency, the immediate actions that should be personally taken
before the worker sees a first aid attendant.

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