As we draw into the 5th month of COVID-19, the “deep cleans” are becoming all the rage. Probably not the worst trend that could be sweeping a nation, but this is like all things a response to the growing concern about the disease and stopping it as best we can. National restaurants such as Jack Astor’s are deputizing sanitation chiefs to oversee the needed and constant scrubbing of window ledges, menus, railings, and high chairs. The gym chain Goodlife Fitness is boasting in advertisements that…
Created by Excalibur Consulting for SafetyON The need for safety is a timeless and fundamental human right, and this goes doubly so for preventing any harm in the workplace. As a nation always on the front lines of human rights advocacy, Canada stepped up to the plate in 1978 with an Act of Parliament to truly enshrine the importance of diligence and preparedness in any occupation or industry. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act (or commonly known as “CCOHS”) was…
Keeping people safe has never been an easy job. Staying up to date with the most relevant practices, policies and information is only half of the battle. Because you never know when a genuine, large scale threat could develop and threaten the health of a country. Or even the globe. Towards the end of 2019 the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) received initial reports of an illness originating in Wuhan China, where people likely contracted the virus from meat purchased at seafood/animal markets. After…
It’s been a major change to the M.O. of Canadian business over the past 20 years. The shift from unregulated and largely independent business sectors has given way to a situation wherein policies and procedures lay the framework for any business to follow. Is this a good thing? Of course! Working safe is a fundamental human right, and there’s no doubt that a worker who feels safe will perform better. There’s been a growth of diverse industries that Canada has been on the cutting…
No one can predict the future, but health and safety consulting companies do their best to prepare you for it none the less. This is a case study to examine a recently closed hobby shop that had an interesting series of violations. Again we look at the carefully gathered evidence and firsthand accounts to flesh out a resolution and a clear way to hopefully avoid such circumstances occurring again. There was a building code inspector that came to view the property and inspect if there were any abnormalities…
Safety is always a topic of conversation, but it needs to be more than a talk. It requires action and proactive vigilance to make sure that it’s enforced. Roughly five years ago there was a thriving sports bar on the Toronto waterfront area called The Harboured Sports Grille, and it is no longer open for business. After conducting several interviews with present and past employees, the Health and Safety consultant that was hired to conduct an evaluation calculated his conclusion on the state…
Owners and employees alike are facing a drastic shock to their quarters as March (and to a lesser extent February) have been some of the slowest in recent years. Every industry, from safety consulting and governmental agencies to restaurants and salons face a closure either self-imposed or mandated by the government. And the resulting slump in both earning potential and revenue has already been devastating for many small and medium sized businesses. For anywhere that’s able to stay open during the…
Finally coming to impact in Canada, the COVID-19 infection (formerly the novel Corona Virus) has taken a hold of society on every level. The very jobs and functions of many Canadians days lay altered and gone all together. Restaurants, movie theatres, nightclubs and even bars (on St. Patrick’s Day no less!) were forced to close or else risk fines from $5,000-$25,000 for serving patrons. Many people face tremendous loss of income forecasted for April due to the partial or full closure of their workplaces.…
On March 17th the government announced it intends to introduce legislation that if passed could immediately provide job-protected leave to employees in isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19, or those who need to be away from work to care for children because of school or day care closures. This is a fantastic relief for many who are both starved for information and work in amidst the recent business closures. The strain to parents is felt particularly strongly felt, as they’ve been battling against…
We usually utilize case study’s to observe how a business not following proper procedures can wind up closed or on the wrong side of a workplace health and safety audit. Unfortunately this is not this case now, and we’re examining a business that suffered a loss due to the catastrophic and unforeseeable nature of the Corona Virus and ensuing pandemonium. This local neighborhood bar in Etobicoke’s Southern neighborhood was forced to close down after a myriad of regulations and policies caused an…
