Unlock the power of JHSC inspections by removing 3 common obstacles

July 25, 2024

Jessica Bowes

Warehouse worker taking inventory with clipboard

Monthly workplace inspections by your joint health and safety committee (JHSC) are a powerful, proactive tool for reducing injuries, illnesses and claims costs, and demonstrating due diligence,” says WSPS Health and Safety Consultant Tova Larsen.

But many workplaces aren’t getting the intended value out of inspections, says Tova; for the simple reason that they aren’t putting enough into them. Too often, workplaces merely view inspections through an administrative compliance lens – inspections simply to tick the box. “The lack of investment in the JHSC, coupled with the view that inspections take too long, can create obstacles for JHSC members who are carrying out the inspections.”

Tova takes a closer look at three of these obstacles and how employers can better support their JHSC and the inspection process.

Obstacle #1: Time constraints

Workplace inspections must be carried out on a monthly basis by a worker member of the JHSC. However, some members have shared that they have difficulty persuading their supervisors to arrange coverage for their regular duties so they can inspect as scheduled. Others say they are being pressured to do inspections only during slack time or downtime, or in a short period of time.

“Speaking with one worker member, I heard they were asked to do the inspection before the workday started so it wouldn’t interfere with the plant’s activities or anyone’s job,” says Tova. “This doesn’t make sense. The purpose of the inspection is to identify hazards related to the people, tasks, processes, and equipment in the workplace, and check the effectiveness of existing hazard controls. You can only do that when the workplace is busy and work is underway.”

Supervisors who put hurdles in the way of inspections, are overstepping, says Tova. “Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), it is the JHSC that determines the timing of inspections, not the manager of the workplace or supervisor of the JHSC member. The organization has input into the timing through management member(s) of the JHSC.”

And, restrictions can’t be put on the length of the inspection, says Tova. “They take the length of time they take. Large inspection zones, complex workplaces, addressing serious immediate hazards, and discussing concerns or contributing factors with workers can all mean longer inspection durations.” The organization’s legislated duty is to cooperate with their JHSC by making staff available to perform their JHSC inspection duties as scheduled, within working hours.

Obstacle #2: Lack of training

“Modern workplaces can be very technically complex,” says Tova. “From steel storage racks and robotics to confined spaces and rescue needs, machine safeguarding and pre-start reviews to exoskeletons and ergonomics, there are a lot of hazards and controls that require some level of technical knowledge to inspect with an educated eye. Even office workstations involve complex interactions between people and equipment that’s far from one-size-fits-all.”

"A lack of technical knowledge is a common barrier cited by JHSCs," says Tova, "and one of the reasons why investing in upskilling your JHSC members is so important."

There are several ways organizations can address this gap, says Tova.

Provide technical training on all hazards the inspection team may encounter, such as confined spaces, lock out/tag out, steel storage racks, forklift theory, working at heights, machine guarding, etc.
Offer all JHSC members – including management members and non-certified worker members – training on your inspection process and operational areas.
Make sure staff doing the inspections have access to documents such as programs and procedures, inspection records, manufacturer’s instructions and specifications, pre-start health and safety reviews, training records, and incident investigations so they can familiarize themselves with hazards, controls, processes, and equipment in preparation for the inspection.

Obstacle # 3: Poor quality checklists

Many employers believe they’re helping their JHSC worker members by providing generic checklists, but if they aren’t comprehensive – don’t consider a wide variety of hazards, and/or don’t closely relate to the specific hazards of particular areas in the workplace – the checklist won’t be useful.

Create zone-specific checklists, says Tova. Gather information about each zone – tasks done in the area, the equipment, materials, and processes used, and the hazard controls currently in place.

To create the most useful, high-quality checklists, Tova also suggests:

ensuring a wide variety of hazards are covered, including safety hazards, such as traffic hazards and pedestrian safety, ladders, material handling, and electrical safety, as well as occupational illness hazards, such as sources of musculoskeletal disorders, chemicals, biological, psychosocial, and hazardous physical agents such as noise, and more.
going beyond “yes” or “no” questions. “For tires, for instance, there’s a conditions continuum from brand new to bald. Ranking their condition during the inspection allows the organization to proactively identify items that may need preventive maintenance pre-failure,” says Tova. Consider including condition rankings 1-5, or “all”, “most”, “some”, “few”, and “none,” along with ample space for specifics such as the location of deficiencies.
including space for risk rankings and repeat items. “Risk rankings allow for prioritization – highest risks come first because they are the most likely to result in serious injuries”, says Tova. “Repeat items are also a red flag. It shows that either action wasn’t taken since the last inspection or that the actions taken did not address root causes for the situation.
including opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of existing controls and programs. For example, going beyond whether guarding is present to whether guarding passes the AUTO test (can someone reach around, under, through, or over the guarding?).