The goal of a workplace inspection should be to identify hazards that can lead to injury/illness or property damage.
J. Avery, (2002). Conducting Effective Workplace Inspections:
Identifying Hazards that can Lead to Injury and Illness. The Safe Angle (4)1, p. 3.
- Workplace/school safety inspections are a required duty under OHSA but also a logical extension of and in many boards a required function of a principal’s Education Act responsibilities as well. OHSA requires that inspections carried out by one or more representatives of the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) be conducted monthly or at least annually. As the supervisor of the workplace, you are likely to be the employer’s representative on the committee, and moreover have the statutory duty to provide such information and assistance as the worker representative on the JHSC may require for the purpose of carrying out an inspection of the workplace. Given this duty, and your Education Act responsibilities as principal, it may be prudent to participate in the inspections; however, it is a worker representative who has the statutory duty and right to conduct the inspections, without interference from the employer. As a result, you ought not to interfere with the inspections in any way and if the JHSC requests that you not participate in an inspection, you should honour that request. In the case of the worker(s) wanting to conduct the inspection alone, the principal will still need to undertake his/her own inspection in satisfaction of Education Act health and safety responsibilities. Consult your board’s policy about the frequency and types of inspections required.
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Establish procedures and terms of reference for the JHSC in accordance with OHSA and board policy. It is also an obligation under the OHSA to facilitate training on the recognition and identification of hazards, particularly for new members to the Committee since the employer has an obligation to provide those JHSC members who are conducting the inspection with the necessary information and assistance to carry it out. The same JHSC member(s) need not conduct every inspection or even the entire inspection. The responsibility can be shared.
Many boards have a school walk-through checklist that can be used during the inspection to gather specific information in areas such as:
- auditorium
- classrooms
- common areas/cafeteria/parking lots/hallways/entrances
- family studies rooms
- library and computer labs
- photography darkrooms
- physical education facilities/ice rinks/swimming pools
- playing fields and playgrounds
- portable classrooms
- science labs
- technology shops
- visual arts rooms.
Before undertaking the inspection, the inspection team should review past reports.
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After the inspection, consult with board health and safety personnel and community health agencies for information, advice and solutions to problems. If any concerns are identified by the JHSC to you in writing, you have the duty to respond in writing within 21 days, and the response must include a timetable for implementing the recommendations that the employer agrees with, and reasons for refusing to implement recommendations that the employer rejects.
Report recommendations to the board’s plant department staff and your supervisory officer about eliminating hazards; upgrading facilities and equipment to meet legislative standards; hygiene practices; and ongoing maintenance requirements. It’s the employer’s decision whether to implement the recommendations of the JHSC.
(Adapted from: Avery, J. (2002). Conducting Effective Workplace Inspections: Identifying hazards that can lead to injury and illness. The Safe Angle (4)1, pp. 3–11.)
Develop Plans for Foreseeable Contingencies
Be sure to have a plan in place to deal with health and safety situations which may arise.
For example, know what you will do if the science, physical education, family studies or shop teacher (or any other teacher in a higher risk area) is absent.
What to Look for in a Standard Classroom Inspection:
Sample Checklist for a Sample Classroom
Fire Safety
- Are legible fire exit and route signs in appropriate locations?
- Is there a Fire Safety Plan and is the teacher aware of the content and location of the Plan?
- Are ceilings or exit doors free of combustible material such as artwork, posters, paper, etc.? As a guideline, no more than 20% of the total wall surface (include boards, cupboards, windows, etc.) is to be covered with combustible materials.
- Where there is an EXIT door, is there a clear path around the classroom furniture? As a rule of thumb, the width of the clear path should be the same as the width of the door(s).
Electrical
- Are CSA or Electrical Safety Authority approval labels on all electrical equipment?
- Are there ground pins on three-wire electrical plugs?
- Are electrical outlets, cover plates, and wall switches secure and undamaged?
- Are extension cords three-wire, in good condition and used for temporary purposes only?
- Are multi-use cords equipped with power bars?
General
- Do windows open easily and stay open according to their design?
- Are air quality, temperature and ventilation acceptable to meet applicable standards?
Concerns may be determined by conversation with the teacher in the classroom.
- Are ventilation and heating ducts kept unobstructed by books, paper, etc.?
- Are ceiling tiles in place, unbroken and with no sign of mold formation?
- Are the ceiling, walls and floor free from water leaks?
- Are floor tiles or carpeting securely fastened to reduce trip hazards?
- Are floors free from slips, trips and fall hazards?
- Are audio-visual screens and maps securely suspended using fittings designed for the purpose?
- Are shelves or shelving units firmly anchored to the wall? Storage of all items should follow the following guide: heavy objects on low shelves, light objects on high shelves and breakable objects such as glass items on low shelves.
- Are step stools or small ladders available for accessing stored items from high shelves?
- Is storage on top of wall-mounted cubboards limited to lightweight objects such as empty boxes?
- Do paper cutters have guards in place and is the torsion spring adjusted to hold the blade up when released?
- Are the First Aid stations and trained First Aiders available?
- Is there an Asbestos Management Program, and does all staff know where the Asbestos Log is kept in the school?
Education Safety Association of Ontario Complete list of questions to guide a school inspection available at: www.esao.on.ca