26 Workplace Safety & Prevention Services
Closing the Loop: Setting Up a Health & Safety System in Your Small Business
workplace Inspections
Workplace inspections are one way that
hazards are brought to light. In Ontario,
the law requires that your workplace be
inspected at least monthly and that this
inspection be performed by your worker
health & safety representative (or a worker
member of the Joint Health & Safety
Committee — see "The Internal Responsibility
System in Action" for your specific
requirements.) You are required to provide
the employee conducting the inspection with
the time to do so (and to pay them for
that time.) The inspection report and any
recommendations must be shared.
A workplace inspection isn't just a checklist.
It's also an opportunity to observe
employees performing the work and to ask
them questions. It gives you a chance to
identify potential hazards — and solutions.
It's a good practice to conduct the
inspection in pairs, if possible — a second
set of eyes is always helpful.
