Workplace Safety Resources for Saskatchewan School Divisions
Workplace Safety Resources for Saskatchewan School Divisions
KEY NOTES ABOUT THIS WEBPAGE
Saskatchewan Association for Safe Workplaces in Health is pleased to launch this new webpage for Saskatchewan school divisions. The resources available are to assist in creating safe workplaces within the school environment. It is important for visitors to this site to understand that these resources are aligned to achieve occupational health and safety (OH&S) legislative compliance and can be considered best practices in the area of supporting safety in Saskatchewan schools.
NAVIGATING THIS WEBSITE
Check out the sidebar menu to quickly explore. To access the documents on this webpage for viewing and downloading, click on the sections in the sidebar menu. These materials include elements of a safety program specific to an area/department, along with sections of additional resources (e.g., Safety Talks). Be sure to review all the sections for information, as they may also apply to your work area. As additional resources are developed and validated, they will be added under the respective section, so feel free to check back for additional information over time.
We encourage everyone to look through all the sections for available resources, as they may also apply to your work area.
We don’t want you to miss out, so be sure to check them out!
PRIMARY FOCUS IS ON ESTABLISHING A SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SMS)
Safety Management System: A SMS is the collection of all data systems, documents, forms, policies, procedures, practices, training and communication required to effectively manage health and safety in a workplace. To exercise due diligence, an employer must be proactive and implement a plan to identify possible workplace hazards and carry out the appropriate corrective action to prevent incidents or injuries arising from those hazards. Due diligence is the level of judgement, care, prudence, determination, and activity that a person would reasonably be expected to do under particular circumstances. Applied to OH&S, due diligence means that employers shall take all reasonable precautions, under the particular circumstances, to prevent injuries or incidents in the workplace and to follow legislation.
The Goal of this Initiative: To sustainably implement a SMS within a specific school division, with the intent to achieve a consistent and validated approach that is scalable.
THE PARTNERS INVOLVED
A BIG THANK YOU!
SASWH would like to thank our partners in this initiative; our funding partner – the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB), and our school division partner – South East Cornerstone Public School Division (SECPSD). Since 2019, SASWH has worked closely with SECPSD to help assess their current state for safe work practices and their progress made towards implementing the SMS. SASWH aligned a Workplace Safety Specialist to support this work within the Division and provide guidance throughout this process. Working alongside the team members of SECPSD, administrative procedures were reviewed, and when necessary, revised to better align to OH&S requirements. With a focus on the top three most common injuries identified by SECPSD and WCB, efforts saw a reduction in claims and costs. Throughout this process all incidents were investigated to root cause complete with the required corrective action with the intent to prevent a reoccurrence of these incidents in other schools within the Division.
The safety resources now available from this webpage are a direct product of this collaboration and it is hoped that other school divisions within Saskatchewan will take advantage of these resources to see firsthand the added value to improving safety in other schools.
If your school or school division wants some support in getting started, please contact [email protected].
