A Buildex Calgary seminar,"Construction Due Diligence," addresses the legal defence of due diligence as it relates to the Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Act.
Calgary
A Buildex Calgary seminar,"Construction Due Diligence," addresses the legal defence of due diligence as it relates to the Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Act.
Donald Turnbull, manager of compliance with Alberta Occupational Health and Safety, is presenting on a topic that everyone should be knowledgeable of and familiar with, he said.
“It’s extremely important for construction professionals because it relates to professionals, directly, in everything they do that relates to the worksite,” he said.
“It’s important that everyone at a worksite understands and knows their rights and responsibilities.”
He said OH&S has seen a province-wide need for the seminar and has provided similar presentations to other industry associates in the past.
“I hope they’ll walk out, knowing and understanding what their rights and responsibilities are and what due diligence is, and that due diligence is as much a cultural shift and way of doing business as it is a legal defence,” he said.
The Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act is set up so that responsibilities are laid out for all on the worksite including the worker, employer, sub trades and the prime contractor.
According to the OH&S legislation, employers must do everything they reasonably can to protect the health and safety of workers.
Safe work practices must be set up and followed, and employers must make sure workers have appropriate skills and training.
Workers too, have duties and responsibilities under the provincial legislation, including working in a safe and conscientious manner and co-operating with superiors in safety measures.
With the legal defence of due diligence, employers, or someone charged under OH&S legislation, demonstrates all reasonable steps to protect a worker’s health and safety were taken.
“You always get some interesting questions and discussion out of these presentations,” he said.
“A lot of times, some individuals don’t even realize how much due diligence can affect their day to day business.”
In 2010, OH&S statistics suggested the rate of disabling injury in the construction and construction trades was the third highest in the province, with 3.10 per 100 person-years worked.
The majority of those claims were made by men, which represented 92.7 per cent of the injury claims.
Yet, the lost-time claim rate for the construction and construction trades sector was the third lowest in the province, seeing a decrease in lost-time claims since 2006.
The seminar takes place Tuesday, Nov. 8 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the BMO Centre in Calgary.
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