Employment Law Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act

Question: Discuss about theEmployment Lawfor Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act. Answer: Health and Safety at Workplace The Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act, 2000 requires that the individuals working in the workplace have to be safe and be protected (Government of Alberta, 2012). The various aspects of this act, relevant to this hospital, have been summarized below. Responsibilities of Supervisor Getting the workers involved in controlling and identifying the hazards. Communication of the responsibilities, along with the rights of the workers, to the workers. Undertaking due diligence for meeting the purpose of this act. Training the workers adequately to perform their functions. Notifying the employees about potential hazards (Ministry of Labour, 2015). Responsibilities of Workers Refusing any work which poses a threat to their safety. Participating in controlling and identification of hazards. Making certain that their work does not prove as a threat to others. Giving full cooperation in implementation of this act. Knowing their responsibilities and rights (Alberta Government, 2015). Components of the Health and Safety Management System Identification of Workplace Hazards It is crucial that all the potential and possible hazards in the workplace are identified. This is because by identifying the hazards which can occur in future, such hazards can be avoided all together (Ministry of Labour, 2015). In a hospital, it has to be ensured that the toxic waste does not come in contact with any individual and any possibility of such happening has to be avoided. Occupational Health and Safety Training In order to ensure that the workers do their work in an efficient manner, they have to be trained. Such training helps in avoiding the potential hazards which can arise due to lack of knowledge regarding how to do a task in a safe manner (Ministry of Labour, 2015). In a hospital, it has to be ensured that the individuals responsible for preparing the food for the patients or the workers, are trained for avoid a fire hazard. Workplace Inspections The workplace has to be properly and regularly inspected so that everything works in a proper manner. Such workplace inspections help in identifying and taking appropriate actions on the potential hazards (Ministry of Labour, 2015). All the equipments in the food department, for instance the ovens and stoves are to be properly inspected and any shortfall has to be fixed. Accident Investigation All the hazards which turn into workplace accidents have to be investigated so that the cause behind such accident can be identified. Also, this helps in formulating policies which can avoid a repetition of the same in future (Ministry of Labour, 2015). An accident investigation into a fall of an individual can reveal that due to the failure of housekeeping in keeping the floor clean, the accident occurred. Not only the person can be held responsible due to such investigation but also the reoccurrence of such can be avoided (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health Safety, 2014). Accident Reporting The act, through section 18 requires the accidents to be reported, in cases where the individual dies or is admitted in hospital for more than 2 days (Alberta Queens Printer, 2016). Accident report can help in providing Medicare to such worker who may otherwise refuse medical assistance (Ministry of Labour, 2015). The injury resulting due to the failure of the housekeeping, if results in the individual being admitted in hospital for over two days, has to be reported. Importance of the Health and Safety Management System Identification of workplace hazards Avoiding the hazards from occurring (Government of Alberta, 2017). Training the workers to be safe from a hazard. Occupational Health and Safety Training Being aware about the manner in which a hazard is to be dealt with. Preventing such hazard from occurring Workplace Inspections Making sure that the workplace is thoroughly inspected for potential hazards. Formulating policies for the hazards identified during inspection. Accident Investigation Establishing the root cause of the accident. Helping in avoiding the accident from occurring again. Accident Reporting Compliance with the applicable provisions of the act. Providing the care needed for the safety of the worker. Two Types of Metrics The key thing in a hospital is that the food being provided to the workers and the patients is safe and has not been adulterated in any manner. For ensuring this, every time the food leaves the kitchen, it is inspected on the food guidelines. Moreover, the cooking team is required to wear proper gear for working. Also, the kitchen equipments are checked twice a day, to avoid any hazard as a result of malfunctioning of machinery. The housekeeping services are checked through the housekeeping guidelines and a maintenance checklist as an evidence for the inspection is maintained. This checklist is to be filled once a day or every time a patient is discharged and a new patient is admitted. References Alberta Government. (2015). Hazard Assessment and Control: a handbook for Alberta employers and workers. Retrieved from: https://work.alberta.ca/documents/ohs-best-practices-BP018.pdf Alberta Queens Printer. (2016). Occupational Health and Safety Act. Retrieved from: https://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/O02.pdf Canadian Centre for Occupational Health Safety. (2014). OSH Answers Fact Sheets. Retrieved from: https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/house.html Government of Alberta. (2012). Occupational health and safety. Retrieved from: https://www.albertacanada.com/business/invest/occupational-health-and-safety.aspx Government of Alberta. (2017). Physical Hazards. Retrieved from: https://work.alberta.ca/documents/OHS-Teacher-Resource-Binder-Chapter04.pdf Ministry of Labour. (2015).