In the construction industry, there are many companies that are not keeping pace with regulatory changes in occupational health and safety. In other words, we continue to drag our heels or turn our backs on legislative amendments by taking an insane risk.
To comply, do these companies need individual notification after any regulatory change? The answer is an unequivocal no because this measure is not customary, even a great heresy!
In recent years, regulatory changes in occupational health and safety have proliferated, particularly in the construction sector. This eagerness to legislate is akin to an awakening after a long period of dormancy. Religiously speaking, OSH regulations have become more severe than they were due to the disconcerting statistics of workplace accidents.
Retreat
With regard to this great momentum which aims to improve OHS performance, a decline in prevention is observed among quite a few companies. The poor regard for hygiene through the decline of good practices, known during the coronavirus pandemic, is one proof among many others.
Article 236 of the law on occupational health and safety, which generates fines, has been repeatedly brandished in the face of offending employers. These are published on the CNESST website as a public humiliation for violating the “zero tolerances of the CNESST”.
Without any risk of being wrong, we can say that in the construction industry the reactive culture prevails over all other colors of OSH culture. This observation, which is far from famous, could be illustrated by the following quote: “companies that invest in the quintessence of prevention we look for it, but those that invest in the appearance of OHS we find it”
Bonuses
In certain institutional projects, project owners use the “bonus-malus” system to motivate early delivery of the project. The priority is the speed of execution of the work as for OHS performance, it finds itself in the blind spot.
Indeed, the absence of a positive correlation between the bonus and the SST performance criterion has the effect of exhaustion of the workforce and, consequently, an increase in professional injuries. Certainly, the bonus should apply to the world that performs in OHS and not to those who move too fast to make more profit.
Empty slogans, cosmetic prevention measures and OHS policies posted on the walls contribute nothing more to prevention. Unfortunately, this ridiculous simulacrum is still present on construction sites, which brings discredit to the organization which engages in this type of practice.
Worse still, many companies have not taken note of the regulatory changes in force: instead of applying them, they continue to operate with obsolete articles. Among the cases of lack of conformity we can cite disjointed prevention programs or even unadapted to reality, the deadline for the transition to WHMIS 2015 passed, gas detector alarms no longer valid, faulty electrical extension cords lying on the ground at home. looking for a victim, and so on.
Finally, organizations have no choice but to get in tune and equip themselves with a health and safety regulatory monitoring system.
Photo provided by Djamel Gaham
Djamel Gaham, OHS Coordinator
