Receive up to 6 per cent rebate on WSIB premiums
In 2000, when Jamie McRae noticed the Ministry of Labour was paying a lot of attention to mills in his area, he decided he should start beefing up safety procedures at his family-owned company — McRae Lumber in Whitney, Ont.
“We weren’t maybe as proactive as an industry as we could have been compared to others,” said McRae. “The culture really changed around that time. Safety started to have a huge impact and everything started to become about safety.”
A consultant from the Ontario Forestry Safe Workplace Association, now called Workplace Safety North, approached McRae about participating in a health and safety management program they sponsored. The safety groups program was being launched to bring like-minded firms together to share ideas and best practices about reducing workplace injuries. As operations manager of the mill, McRae was approached due to his seniority.
“The program is really at management level,” said Donna Jewell, manager of the safety groups program at Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). “We require commitment from the owner or senior manager on the application forms, action plans and at meetings.”
McRae joined the safety group and immediately embarked on the five-year plan to make safety a priority in his company. Every year, McRae Lumber has to complete a gap analysis and implement five of the 50 elements offered in the program including orientation, policy, WHMIS training programs and first-aid, said Jewell. Each of the five chosen elements must be completed by strict deadlines or the firm will need to withdraw from the program, she said.
In its first year, the company was starting from scratch so McRae had to complete the fundamentals such as choosing a health and safety representative, starting a health and safety committee, training staff and implementing a company-wide health and safety policy for its 75 employees.
“In the beginning, it can be very daunting and they (Workplace Safety North) provided a framework to do the stuff you are legally required to do,” said McRae. “It was difficult to do but their directions helped us get things done as simply and easily as possible.”
Shortly after the basics were in place, lock outs — or putting proper guards on machinery — became a major safety focus across the province. McRae was able to network with other members in his safety group at the quarterly meetings (each group is required to meet at least three times a year) to share best practices for implementing these guards in their mills and choosing the right ones for each machine.
“They benefit from being able to network and share ideas and resources for improving health and safety, whether it is with companies in their sector or in their community,” said Jewell.
The members of Workplace Safety North’s group conduct regular tours of each other’s mills to see what new safety systems have been implemented. The mills in the area have very similar equipment and since they don’t see safety as a competitive advantage, the managers and owners are eager to share ideas that have worked for them, said McRae.
“Sometimes the Ministry of Labour will go to somebody’s mill but not someone else’s and then we get together and share information,” said McRae. “This is one of the reasons why we stay in the group. Some guys have really good ideas”
By the end of the five years, 25 elements of the program have been completed. McRae has done “everything you can imagine” for safety in his organization, he said. He has implemented return-to-work plans, monthly safety checks, new safety gear, exhaustive safety operational procedures for each job description and ergonomics.
Now in its 11th year, there are 37 safety group sponsors in Ontario with a total of 3,700 firms representing 6,000 workplaces.
Safety group members are also eligible for up to six per cent rebate on their WSIB premiums. Every year, the WSIB evaluates the firms who are in a safety group and awards up to a four per cent rebate for achievement on completing the five tasks within the year. Another two per cent can be achieved for performance where improvement was better than a pre-set target, said Jewell.
Although his five years were up a while ago, McRae remains a member of safety groups for the networking and rebate benefits and its positive impact on safety in his organization, he said.
“Everything is safer, it helps lessen the amount of loss days and the severity of the accidents has gone down,” said McRae.
The safety group program has helped employers like McRae go from having no health and safety programs in their organization to creating an entire culture of safety.
“When we make decisions now we think about the business sense and the safety sense,” said McRae. “It’s just part of the business now.”
How to join a safety group
•Have the owner or senior management commit to participate in the program
•Be a schedule one firm paying premiums to the WSIB
•Be in good standing with the WSIB without charges or convictions under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA)
•Be committed to participating for at least one full calendar year
•Be in only one safety group at a time
•Not be a member of the Safe Communities Incentive Program (SCIP)
Source: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario
“We weren’t maybe as proactive as an industry as we could have been compared to others,” said McRae. “The culture really changed around that time. Safety started to have a huge impact and everything started to become about safety.”
A consultant from the Ontario Forestry Safe Workplace Association, now called Workplace Safety North, approached McRae about participating in a health and safety management program they sponsored. The safety groups program was being launched to bring like-minded firms together to share ideas and best practices about reducing workplace injuries. As operations manager of the mill, McRae was approached due to his seniority.
“The program is really at management level,” said Donna Jewell, manager of the safety groups program at Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). “We require commitment from the owner or senior manager on the application forms, action plans and at meetings.”
McRae joined the safety group and immediately embarked on the five-year plan to make safety a priority in his company. Every year, McRae Lumber has to complete a gap analysis and implement five of the 50 elements offered in the program including orientation, policy, WHMIS training programs and first-aid, said Jewell. Each of the five chosen elements must be completed by strict deadlines or the firm will need to withdraw from the program, she said.
In its first year, the company was starting from scratch so McRae had to complete the fundamentals such as choosing a health and safety representative, starting a health and safety committee, training staff and implementing a company-wide health and safety policy for its 75 employees.
“In the beginning, it can be very daunting and they (Workplace Safety North) provided a framework to do the stuff you are legally required to do,” said McRae. “It was difficult to do but their directions helped us get things done as simply and easily as possible.”
Shortly after the basics were in place, lock outs — or putting proper guards on machinery — became a major safety focus across the province. McRae was able to network with other members in his safety group at the quarterly meetings (each group is required to meet at least three times a year) to share best practices for implementing these guards in their mills and choosing the right ones for each machine.
“They benefit from being able to network and share ideas and resources for improving health and safety, whether it is with companies in their sector or in their community,” said Jewell.
The members of Workplace Safety North’s group conduct regular tours of each other’s mills to see what new safety systems have been implemented. The mills in the area have very similar equipment and since they don’t see safety as a competitive advantage, the managers and owners are eager to share ideas that have worked for them, said McRae.
“Sometimes the Ministry of Labour will go to somebody’s mill but not someone else’s and then we get together and share information,” said McRae. “This is one of the reasons why we stay in the group. Some guys have really good ideas”
By the end of the five years, 25 elements of the program have been completed. McRae has done “everything you can imagine” for safety in his organization, he said. He has implemented return-to-work plans, monthly safety checks, new safety gear, exhaustive safety operational procedures for each job description and ergonomics.
Now in its 11th year, there are 37 safety group sponsors in Ontario with a total of 3,700 firms representing 6,000 workplaces.
Safety group members are also eligible for up to six per cent rebate on their WSIB premiums. Every year, the WSIB evaluates the firms who are in a safety group and awards up to a four per cent rebate for achievement on completing the five tasks within the year. Another two per cent can be achieved for performance where improvement was better than a pre-set target, said Jewell.
Although his five years were up a while ago, McRae remains a member of safety groups for the networking and rebate benefits and its positive impact on safety in his organization, he said.
“Everything is safer, it helps lessen the amount of loss days and the severity of the accidents has gone down,” said McRae.
The safety group program has helped employers like McRae go from having no health and safety programs in their organization to creating an entire culture of safety.
“When we make decisions now we think about the business sense and the safety sense,” said McRae. “It’s just part of the business now.”
How to join a safety group
•Have the owner or senior management commit to participate in the program
•Be a schedule one firm paying premiums to the WSIB
•Be in good standing with the WSIB without charges or convictions under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA)
•Be committed to participating for at least one full calendar year
•Be in only one safety group at a time
•Not be a member of the Safe Communities Incentive Program (SCIP)
Source: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario
