When Thinking You’re Doing Everything Right - Isn’t Enough

When Thinking You’re Doing Everything Right - Isn’t Enough
Following regulations when something is first installed may no longer be adequate because a company grows, employing more people, or the regulations are tougher yet the business doesn’t keep up-to-date. The result can be a shockingly expensive work order – and an even more expensive fine.
– By Isaac Rudik

While the news media likes to portray companies who get fined for violating health and safety rules as cold-hearted, money grubbing, villains, the truth often is very different. In fact, each year many businesses believe they are doing everything correctly, working hard and spending money to protect workers and the environment, yet still get cited and fined.

The reason? What they thought was properly following regulatory procedures and requirements when something was first installed – say, an eyewash basin – or protective regimens are no longer adequate because the company grew and employs more people, or the regulations themselves became tougher and the business didn’t keep up-to-date.

In fact, there are plenty of occasions when thinking you’re doing the right thing simply is not enough – and it could end up costing even the most diligent business serious money.

Playing Safe

The process at an Ontario manufacturer required that parts be put through an acid bath during assembly. The businesses was painstakingly thorough in ensuring that exposed employees wore goggles and face shields, and insisted that a supervisor check several times each shift that they were being used – and used correctly. As a result, the company never suffered an injury or an incident.

During a routine visit, a Ministry of Labour inspector toured the plant. Much to the surprise of everyone, before leaving the inspector wrote out a work order and cited the plant, making it subject to a hefty fine. The reason? Even though the facility had two eyewash stations – neither of which had ever been used – the water flowed slowly and some of the treatment supplies on hand were well beyond their “use by” date.

Moreover, the work order noted that the company needed to have as many operable eyewash facilities as necessary to enable a worker to reach it within 10 seconds from wherever they’re stationed. Because the plant grew in size over the years, one of the eyewash stations was now 30-to-60 seconds from hazardous work areas, and on the other side of a partitioning wall.

In fact, one of the most-common ways an organisation can find itself in trouble is over something very simple such as it emergency eyewash and shower facilities.

Easy Steps

The most-obvious rule of thumb is ensuring that each emergency shower or eyewash station is easily identified. A sign should use a symbol that does not require workers to have specific language skills to understand it, and the location should be well lit.

Other recommendations include emergency showers or eyewash stations should:
• Be located as close to the hazard as possible
• Not be partitioned off from hazardous work areas.
• Have an unobstructed path between the hazard and aid.
• Be located where workers can easily see stations.
• Be on the same floor as the hazard, as near an exit as possible so that emergency response teams can reach the victim easily.
• Provide a drainage system for excess water because, once used, the water itself may be a hazardous waste and special regulations apply.
• Not come in contact with electrical equipment.
• Be protected from freezing when installing emergency equipment outdoors.
It’s not just factories that are at risk.
For instance, a London ON nursing home was fine $55,000 recently for exposing workers to eye injury because of a disinfectant used in cleaning the facility. And a Markham food processor was hit with a $75,000 fine after a worker cleaning a food preparation tank was injured when a disinfecting line broke, injuring the employee’s eyes. In both cases, the company was committed to providing a safe workplace and found out, too late, that more needed to be done.
The fact is that any business may find itself at risk – even when it is striving to do the right thing.


Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc., Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.

E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.