Hazards in the Workplace and Importance of Workplace Health and Safety

The role of the work place health and safety and its maintenance in the work place is very crucial and essential for the wellbeing of the workers working in the particular working environment. Occupational safety and health in the working area is an integral part of the employment and it is the duty of the employers to offer a safe and secure work place along with the proper remuneration to the employees. Moreover, an employer must inspect the work place regularly for the betterment of its safety of the workers as regular inspection can help the safety mangers present in the work place to take adequate steps associated with the process of safety maintenance. There are multiple hazards in a particular work place including the physical hazards, ergonomic hazards, chemical hazards,  biological hazards and the psychological hazards as well (1). The main goal of the work place safety and health in the work place is to reduce the threats associated with these types of hazards so that the health of the workers can be protected as much as possible. In this regard, it can be reported that in order to maintain the work place health and safety in the work place the employers and the safety officer of the work place must form an occupational health and safety policies for the particular work place and during the formation of the occupational safety and health regulations for the particular work place the state laws and regulations must be maintained and throughout the policy formation process the laws and regulations must be considered (2).  Along with this, the workers must be given proper trainings related to the operating and handling of the machines and equipment required for running the work place properly. The workers must maintain the SDS or the safety data sheet which can help the safety officer to assess the work place in near future as the safety officer can use the information of the SDS for the work place assessment. All the employees of the work place must be instructed to use personal protective equipment to prevent any type of adverse incidents during the performances of the work (3). The main goal of maintaining the safety and security in the work place is to make the employees healthier as the healthier employees are reported to be more efficient and happier due to their job satisfaction. The safe work environment also helps the employers to reduce the costs for the workers’ compensation required for any injuries that may happen during their performance of the work. Apart from that the maintaining a safe work place would also reduce the absenteeism rate of the employees due to higher job satisfaction of the employees (4).

Case Study: CGC Inc.

In this current report, a case of CGC was reported as the organization was reported to be found guilty due to the poor maintenance of the work place and it was found that the working conditions of the work place was not inspected properly by the employers which resulted in the serious injuries of the two workers working in that particular working area. A brief analysis of the incident’s reasons, probable prevention strategies are discussed in the later part of the essay as well.

On July 14, 2021, CGC Incorporated was found guilty and fined $110,000 and imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge credited towards victims of crime. The conviction was over an incident that took place on April 4, 2019, at an underground mine in Hagersville, Ontario owned by the company. Two employees, one of which was pinned and suffered serious injuries when “unravelling” occurred during routine scaling procedures. During the Ministry of Labour investigation engineers determined ground conditions were not adequately inspected prior to the incident. CGC’s pre-job safety analysis was not adequately documented which led to the cause of the incident being neither identified or rectified by the workers.

To properly understand what led to this workplace tragedy, it is important to understand all the factors that affected the incident. To do this it helps if we first identify all the different workplace parties that were involved. These parties are the company CGC Inc, the workers involved, and the supervisors responsible for inspecting the work environment. The behaviour of these parties all contributed to the human, situational, and environmental factors that created the underlying reasons or assumptions that caused the incident.

The human factors that helped influence this incident were a combination of two things. First were the human behaviours that caused the accident that included commission of their actions, poor judgement, and the omission of important details. The other influencer was the unsafe acts undertaken that were beyond normal job standards and increased their exposure to risk. One worker asked another to assist them with scaling a ledge under unsupported ground. Under Reg. 854: Mines and Mining Plants Section 55 “No worker shall work in a location where another worker is working overhead unless measures are taken to protect the worker.” Due to the nature of the task, they were performing they are affecting the rock 4 feet above them and there is no mention of the precautions taken when adding another worker to the hazardous area or the placement of their third team member.  Also, under Section 66 (1) “Before work is begun in a workplace in an underground mine, the ground conditions of the workplace shall be examined for dangers and hazards and, if required, made safe”. The workers started work without first examining the area in question, beyond establishing that it is unsupported ground. Once the work had begun a piece of limestone fell causing the workers to stop and sound the area before resuming work. This behaviour exhibited poor judgement because of O.H.S.A Section 28(1)(d) which states they must “report to his or her employer or supervisor any contravention of this Act or the regulations or the existence of any hazard of which he or she knows.” Regardless of the results of their sounding, the employees should have reported the incident to a supervisor or the employer before resuming work in the area. This is doubly important because of Regulation 854: Section 67.1 “During scaling procedures in a workplace in an underground mine, no other work shall be carried on that hinders the scaling procedures”. The incident needed to be reported so that no other work in that area of mine could take place and possibly increase the risks of the scaling procedures currently taking place. All of this is connected to the fact there were multiple omissions of detail regarding the tasks leading up to the incident. The employer and supervisors omitted the lack of hazard inspections in the area and the workers omitted the rockfalls they were experiencing during their work. All of this violates Regulation 854: Section 65(1) “) An employer in an underground mine, in consultation with the joint health and safety committee, if any, for the mine, shall develop a written program to provide for the timely communication of information between workers and supervisors in the mine respecting ground stability, ground movement, falls of ground, ground monitoring equipment and emergencies.” Therefore, there must have been communication procedures for the events taking place that people were choosing not to follow.

Human Factors Contributing to the Incident

The situational factors that led to this incident are the processes of the job tasks, the equipment that was needed to perform that work, and the safety measures being used to control the risks. When the incident took place, the workers were performing a job task called scaling. Scaling is a routine task in an underground mine were a worker knocks loose rock off the walls and ceiling. A scaling bar is used to pry off rocks before they have a chance to fall, and the task is a continuous process throughout the entirety of the mine’s operational lifespan. The scaling bar is a metal bar available in different lengths depending on the need with grips in the middle and either a bent or straight tip. Depending on the area overhead lifts and fall arrest may be needed but that doesn’t apply to this incident. Other than these tools workers have the standard PPE hard hats, safety glasses, respiratory protection, hearing protection, reflective clothing, hand protection, and foot protection. In this situation PPE is a last protection after safety procedures. Scaling is performed in almost all underground mining and never stops because once the process is finished across the mine, it starts over again. The company CGC Inc is owned by parent company USG Corporation is a marketer, manufacturer, and distributer of gypsum products with three mines, five plants, and several distribution centres. They currently employ 951 actual employees, of which the Hagersville Mine employs 350 people. In the past there is a history of safety-first culture with a WSN 2011 Award for excellence for lowest total medical injury frequency in underground mine. They also earned the National Safety Council’s Robert W. Campbell award in 2016. Because the size, longevity, and history of the organization as a mining employer they should have had safety procedures in place for the Scaling and inspecting the worksite.

If we talk about Environmental factors, then it can be assumed that wind, humidity and temperature also contributed to the fact that the soil turned out to be unstable, and the rock was mobile. The soil is very unstable with a large amount of moisture, in which case a person can simply fall into it. The action of climate also affects the fact that the ground is soft. If the temperature is above zero, then together with moisture, the soil turns into mud, which cannot be stable. Also, temperature affects the expansion and contraction of stones, this is a natural physical process. When heated, the body expands, and when cooled, it contracts. If we take into account the fact that water enters the rock, which also contributes to its destruction, and then a strong wind blows, the risk of rock collapse increases. Rocks can also be affected by strong sound. When carrying out this kind of work, all the factors mentioned above should be taken into account. Each of these factors influences the work area, and when the factors work together, there is an increased effect, which leads to even greater consequences.

Situational Factors Contributing to the Incident

Given the dangerous nature of mining, policies, procedures, and programs to keep the workplace safe are of the utmost importance and must be taken seriously. Policies and procedures according to the Mines and Mining Plants Regulation state what CGC in this case, need to have in place at their mining sites and include everything from inspections to procedures.

Under Section 5.1 (1), the employer of a mine must conduct risk assessments of the workplace to identify, assess, and manage hazards that may expose their employees to potential injuries or illnesses. This assessment must also be reviewed as often as necessary or at least annually as seen in Section 5.3 (1). This allows the employer to get ahead of any potential injuries.

Under Section 11 (1)(2), employers in soft-rock underground mines like a gypsum mine, shall establish and maintain proper training for the workers in the mine. This includes common core for basic underground soft rock miners, specialty modules for underground soft rock miners, and common core for first-line underground soft rock mining training programs.

Personal protective equipment is also of great importance and must be worn to protect the workers in the mines to protect from hazards caused by the work as stated under Section 12 (3).

In the case of accidents and injuries, the mines have mine rescue stations. Under Section 17 (1), these stations must be established, equipped, operated, and maintained as specified by a Minister that is qualified to decide.

One of CGC’s initiatives is a hands-on mine rescue course. In 2019, six individuals from the CGC mine rescuing team participated in mine rescue training and auto extraction session (Turner, 2019). It is stated in this article that there are six, eight-hour training sessions where the team has hands-on training modules for fire rescue, casualty care, search and rescue, special equipment training, gas hazards, and high angle rope rescue (Turner, 2019). The group is expected to do a refresher course along with a medical fit certificate and first aid and CPR refresher courses yearly.

When it comes to the procedures that must be in place while working in a mine Section 66 (1), states that before starting work in an underground mine, the ground conditions of the workplace must be examined for dangers and hazards and must be made safe if necessary. In the case of the Hagersville Mine injuries, it is stated that the ground conditions were not adequately inspected before starting work. In relation to this, Section 67 (1) states that the employer must prepare written procedures to be used in the mine and Section 67 (2), procedures must state methods of carrying out the activities along with how to prevent exposure to unsafe grounds.

Regulations and Guidelines Violated

With scaling specifically, which was a cause of the accident in CGC’s mine, Section 67.1 states that no other work should be done during the scaling process to keep the workers that are underground safe. Section 94 also states that a worker barring loose rock, or scaling must use and wear a fall-arrest system.

Section 25 (1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act mentions that an employer must ensure that the measures and procedures imposed are carried out in the workplace as well. This was not in place in the mining incident at hand.

As for a Joint Health and Safety Committee, Section 9 (2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, states that a workplace with twenty employees or more requires a joint health and safety committee. The mine in Mississauga where this incident occurred has 100 regular employees which means that it is required to have a joint health and safety committee (CGC Inc., n.d.). Given Section 9 (6)(b), this site required at least four joint health and safety members with at least half of the members being workers that do not exercise managerial functions as stated in Section 9 (7).

If a Joint Health and Safety Committee is needed in a mine, there are Joint Health and Safety training certifications specific to mining provided by workplace Safety North. In these training sessions, participants learn how to recognize, assess, and control workplace hazards, the rights and duties of certified members, and how to conduct effective workplace inspections and incident investigations (Workplace Safety North, 2020). Once finished, there is also a mandatory refresher class.

Workplace Safety North also provides training programs for mining supervisors which goes over Occupational Health and Safety Act and mining regulations, ground control (underground), incident investigation, intro to safety programs, occupational health and hygiene, and preparing for emergencies (Workplace Safety North, 2020).  

Mining accidents can frequently occur, companies and their employees need to be more aware and conscious of what hazards could occur in their work environments and how to prevent such incidents in-case they frequently happen. In this case, Hagersville Mining could have prevented the injuries by making sure the working grounds were flattened and had a supportive foundation. The employer could have drawn more awareness to such possible exposure to injuries when going through the training phase of the employee. Based on the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, it suggests that appropriate hazard controls need to be set in place in order to decrease the number of cases of fallen rock injuries. This development encourages engineering control for fall hazards and incorporate worker training for use of fall protection equipment as a way to minimize the injury rate in underground mines.

Employers and supervisors have a responsibility to fulfill health and safety protocols to ensure maximum employee welfare while working. Examples that employers/supervisors can do to ensure employee protection are:

• keeping the equipment up to date and in good condition (Section 25(1)(a and b))
• Prepare and review health and safety policies (Section 25 (2)(j))
• Co-operate with the mines Joint Health and Safety Committee (Section 25 (2)(e))

Workers have a responsibility to comply with the rules and regulations set out by their organization. Some ways workers can help with ensuring that safe materials are being used properly as well as keeping them and those around them safe are:

• Using equipment appropriately (Section 28 (2)(b))
• Report equipment issues to supervisors (Section 28(1)(c))
• Report work hazards if seen to supervisors (Section 28 (1)(d))

Conclusion

Hence, it can be concluded that the incident was completely due to the fault of the organization as it was reported that pre-job safety analysis was not adequately documented which led to the cause of the incident being neither identified or rectified by the workers. The analysis of the incidents revealed that there were multiple factors that might contributed to the occurrence of the accidents. The main factors associated with the accidents were human factors, situational factors and environmental factors. The soil is very unstable with a large amount of moisture, in which case a person can simply fall into it. The action of climate also affects the fact that the ground is soft. If the temperature is above zero, then together with moisture, the soil turns into mud, which cannot be stable. Also, temperature affects the expansion and contraction of stones, this is a natural physical process. Personal protective equipment is also of great importance and must be worn to protect the workers in the mines to protect from hazards caused by the work. The employer of a mine must conduct risk assessments of the workplace to identify, assess, and manage hazards that may expose their employees to potential injuries or illnesses. This assessment must also be reviewed as often as necessary or at least annually as a part of the employers’ initiatives.

References

1. Beus JM, McCord MA, Zohar D. Workplace safety: A review and research synthesis. Organizational psychology review. 2016 Nov;6(4):352-81.
2. Okun AH, Guerin RJ, Schulte PA. Foundational workplace safety and health competencies for the emerging workforce. Journal of safety research. 2016 Dec 1;59:43-51.
3. Spellman FR. Industrial hygiene simplified: a guide to anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace hazards. Bernan Press; 2017 Oct 11.
4. Beus JM. A temporal perspective on workplace safety. In Handbook on the Temporal Dynamics of Organizational Behavior 2020 May 7. Edward Elgar Publishing.