Fatality & Critical Injury Year-to-Date Overview – Construction
As Ontario enters its second stage of reopening the province, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is releasing a guide to help building owners and operators ensure water quality is restored before opening their buildings to workers and the public.
When water sits in pipes for long periods, it can pose a risk to human health. Prior to reopening buildings to the public, building owners and managers are responsible for beginning water flushing activities to restore the water quality and ensure the safety of drinking water.
The following document, Guide for Maintaining Building Plumbing After an Extended Vacancy, outlines the procedures building owners and managers should take to ensure the water in their building is safe. It is also important to communicate with tenants, local public health units, and, if necessary, the municipality, to ensure the delivery of safe drinking water. See the guide for further details.
Returning to work during COVID-19 raises questions about the steps that employers should be taking to train their employees and adapt their physical workplaces
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing made amendments to Ontario’s Building Code related to the delivery of building code services
Regarding continuation of Building Inspection Services
On behalf of CFBA members, the CFBA reached out to the Honorable Minister Steve Clark of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, on March 20th, 2020 regarding the continuation of Building Inspection Services during COVID-19. The CFBA received the following response
Learn how you can create a plan to help protect your workers and others from novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
With the world shifting to a new state of risk awareness, construction companies will need a rapid recovery strategy to become more resilient in the post-COVID world.
It’s not exactly business as usual as construction sites open back up across the country. Without a vaccine or herd immunity, there’s still a risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus, so any business – including a construction site – that is reopening needs a plan for infection control.
Every construction project comes with its own set of risks – from fire and water damage to equipment theft, slips and falls, cyber-attacks and even infection control.
These risks not only vary in size and complexity but can also evolve over the course of a project. That’s why having proper worksite policies and procedures is so critical to avoiding hazards and potential accidents.
As return-to-work plans start to take shape for businesses of all sizes, it’s important to keep operations and cash flow management, the ability to leverage government grants and incentives, and business contingency planning top of mind as you navigate this return.
Sherrard Kuzz LLP - Briefing Note: On May 29, 2020, the Government of Ontario introduced a regulation under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (“ESA”) that provides relief to any employer that temporarily laid off a non-union employee or reduced non-union employee wages and/or hours due to COVID-19. The regulation largely exempts any such layoff or reduction from being deemed a termination of employment, so that there is no obligation to provide ESA notice and severance.
Report for the Labour Management Network. Ontario injury and fatality statistics in Construction.
As federal and provincial governments begin to re-open the economy amid COVID-19 recovery, organizations of all industries and sizes are determining their return-to-work strategies and plans. While every organization is different, there are fundamental questions that should be answered as part of your return-to-work plans.
This presentation will provide some insight to help guide organizational leaders in the development of return-to-work programs. The focus – assisting organizations with answering the critical questions of:
Can You? – Answering are you allowed to return to work.
Should You? – Making the decision to return to work.
How Do You? – Operationalizing how to return to work.
As government orders are lifted, employers will enter uncharted territory. Sherrard Kuzz LLP has a deep understanding of the pandemic’s impact on businesses and industries, and how to work through the related workplace issues. To help you get started, they have developed the following complimentary Return To Work considerations.
New Programs Focus on Hospitality Workers and APPRENTICES
The Infrastructure Health and Safety Association is proud to present a recorded webinar that provides guidance to working safely on construction projects related to COVID-19. The session is approximately 45 mins and includes workplace roles and responsibilities and best practices. It is available for you to download at no charge and watch at your own pace as preferred.
The webinar will be of interest to company owners, managers, supervisors, health and safety practitioners, Joint Health and Safety Committee members and others who have responsibility for assisting workplace parties keep safe during COVID-19 on Construction projects.
Feeling stressed? Covid-19 has caused disruption and uncertainty in our lives and the stress we are facing right now can feel overwhelming. Receive free access to Inward Strong, an awarded, self-directed online mental wellness program. It's like having your own personal wellness coach 24/7. During these “unprecedented times” companies and their employees are trying to figure out how to set up operations remotely, how to maintain communication with staff and customers and perhaps most importantly, how to help maintain productivity during a stressful time. Mental health touches us all, especially during these challenging times.
Review a list of companies that sell personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies to keep your employees and customers safe from Covid-19
Sector-specific guidelines and posters to help protect workers, customers and the general public from coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ontario
When the first “phase” of the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end, employers may face new and different challenges. Topics include:
