Taking Responsibility for Workplace Safety

NOTE: The following is a feature story about occupational health and safety.

Some personal safety issues have become commonplace and the goal of the Internal Responsibility System is to bring that attitude to workplace.

Ben McBeth, a policy officer with the occupational health and safety division, said the goal of promoting the system is to change how people view workplace safety.

"Certain things like wearing a seatbelt or having working fire alarms are second nature to most people now," said McBeth. "Our goal is to make responsibility for workplace safety like that; something that people think about automatically."

The System is a key concept in occupational health and safety -- the idea is that everyone at a workplace shares the responsibility as an essential part of their work.

The system is important because it recognizes that workers are better able to identify and solve safety concerns than someone from outside the workplace. When safety is taken seriously by individuals and companies, it becomes more personal, meaningful and respected.

"Nova Scotia has 35 officers inspecting all of the tens of thousands of workplaces in the province," said Jim LeBlanc, director of the occupational health and safety division of the Department of Environment and Labour. "Officers can not ensure safety on a daily basis in the workplaces of the province. That responsibility rests with employers and employees everywhere."

LeBlanc noted that the most important thing an effective Internal Responsibility System gives employees is the understanding, through effective communication, to work safely.

The system is a concept that underpins occupational health and safety laws in Canada. Nova Scotia has placed the system in the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which gives it an emphasis that is unique among Canadian provinces.

"When work places and employees use the IRS, we know that injuries and fatalities happen less often, and preventing these accidents is the ultimate goal of everything we do," said LeBlanc.

The occupational health and safety division wants everyone in the province to know and use the internal responsibility system in their work. The division is using the slogan, you are responsible for workplace safety, to spread the word about the internal responsibility system. No matter where an employee fits in an organization, they can focus on safety that fits with what they do.