A Safe and Healthy Workplace is Everyone's Responsibility.

As an employer, you have legal responsibilities and must take all reasonable precautions to protect the health and safety of your workers. As an employee, you are expected to comply with safety regulations and report any hazards or defective equipment.

This section will provide you with the resources you need to "get started" on the path to health and safety. You can order or download an item by clicking the product image or alt.

Health & Safety Policy and Program

The Occupational Health and Safety Act requires every workplace with more than five employees to have a written health and safety policy and a program to implement that policy. Whether you need to develop a new policy and program or update your existing one, you will find helpful resources and sample documents in the Health and Safety Policy and Program section of the website.

Products

• Contractor's Toolkit (B045)
• Danger Due To Poster (P022)
• Danger Work Overhead Poster (P093)
• Emergency Response Poster (P103)
• Fall Protection Poster - Vinyl (Large)(P042)
• Health and Safety Representative Poster (P029)
• Joint Health and Safety / Worker Trades Committee Poster (P041)
• Safety Talks Manual (V005)
• Training Requirements Chart (W001)
• CLC Training Requirements Chart (W008)

Training

• Entry-Level Construction
• Basics of Supervising
• Construction Health and Safety – Basic
• Incident Investigation and Reporting
• Occupational Health and Safety Act
• Working at Heights – Fundamentals of Fall Prevention

Magazine Articles

• Spring into spring start-up
• Starting Off Safely - IHSA Introduces Entry-Level Construction Program
• Top 10 Health and Safety Risks
• Free Health and Safety Resources for Your Small Business
• Applying Health and Safety Best Practices to Small Business

Frequently Asked Questions

• 1. Am I a member of IHSA?
• 2. Which items are legally required to be posted in the workplace?
• 3. What training am I required to have to work in Ontario construction?
• 4. Do I need a Joint Health and Safety Committee on my construction project?
• 5. Do I need a Health and Safety Representative on my construction project?
• 6. Where can I obtain approval forms, permits and notifications required for construction in Ontario?

1. You are automatically a member of IHSA if you are employed with a firm that pays premiums to the WSIB in Ontario in one of the following:

IHSA members are enaltd to receive our products and training courses at a reduced rate or free of charge. To confirm your membership status, please contact our Customer Service Department.

Phone: (416) 674-2726 Toll Free: 1-800-263-5024 Fax: (905) 625-8998

2. Construction employers are required by law to have the following items posted in the workplace:

• Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations for Construction Projects (Q005 available from IHSA)
• Company's Health and Safety Policy
• Workplace Violence and Harassment Policies
• Any Ministry of Labour (MOL) inspector's orders and reports
• Written emergency procedure (refer to Emergency Response Planning (B030) and Emergency Response Poster (P103) available from IHSA)
• MOL Health and Safety at Work–Prevention Starts Here poster
• MOL notification form if the project is valued at more than $50,000 or falls under one of the other conditions in Section 6 of the construction regulation (Ontario Regulation 213/91)
• Address and phone number of nearest MOL office
• DANGER signs in hazardous areas (P022 available from IHSA)
• Location of toilet facilities
• Valid certificate of first aider on duty
• Name, trade, and employer of Health and Safety Representative or Joint Health and Safety Committee members, if applicable. (See P029 or P041 available from IHSA)

3. It is the duty of an employer to "provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker." (Section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act)

Specific training requirements depend on the type of construction work you do and the types of hazards you face on a site. Download the Training Requirements Chart for a list of all required training in Ontario.

Every worker should receive Fall Protection (Working at Heights) and WHMIS training, since there is the possibility that they may be exposed to a fall hazard or a hazardous substance.

For the legal requirements of Fall Protection training, refer to Section 26 of the Construction Regulations.

For the legal requirements of WHMIS training, refer to Section 42 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Sections 6-7 of the WHMIS Regulation.

4. The Occupational Health and Safety Act requires a Joint Health and Safety Committee of at least two members on any construction project where either of the conditions below applies:

• Where between twenty and forty-nine workers are regularly employed and the project is expected to last more than three months.
• Where contractors maintain shops in which the workforce regularly exceeds twenty.
• At a workplace, other than a construction project, in which the workforce is fewer than twenty but a regulation concerning designated substances applies.
• At a workplace to which the regulation concerning toxic substances applies.

On projects with fifty or more workers lasting more than three months, a Joint Health and Safety Committee of at least four (4) members must be established. At least one worker and one management representative on the committee must be 'certified' by the WSIB by completing certain training courses. (See What is 'certification'?)

On projects with fifty (50) or more workers lasting more than three (3) months, the Joint Health and Safety Committee can establish a Worker Trades Committee made up of at least one worker representative from each trade at the workplace. This committee would report to the JHSC regarding health and safety concerns of the workers in each trade.

(For more information, download the Health and Safety Representatives and Committee Requirements chart from the "Legal Responsibilities" chapter of our Construction Health and Safety Manual.)

5. The Occupational Health and Safety Act requires a health and safety representative on any project or other workplace where either or the conditions below applies:

• Where between six and nineteen workers are regularly employed and the work is expected to last more than three months. (For twenty or more workers, see the requirements for Joint Health and Safety Committee)
• Where six or more workers are regularly employed and the project is expected to last less than three months.
• Where contractors maintain shops in which between six and nineteen workers are regularly employed and a regulation concerning designated substances does not apply.

For more information, download the Health and Safety Representatives and Committee Requirements chart from the "Legal Responsibilities" chapter of our Construction Health and Safety Manual.

6. Visit the ServiceOntario website to access the information, services and resources you need to start and run a construction project.