Amendments called the Stronger, Fairer Ontario Act, 2017 (Bill 177), have been made to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and went into effect on December 14, 2017.
Amendments called the Stronger, Fairer Ontario Act, 2017 (Bill 177), have been made to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and went into effect on December 14, 2017. These amendments are the largest changes that have been implemented into OHSA in over 15 years. Some of the changes include tripling corporate OHSA penalties and quadrupling individual OHSA penalties.
Continue reading “6 OHSA Changes Those Will Impact Ontario Employers”
Accidents, property damage and fatalities occur every year due to improper use of cranes and equipment failure. Identifying hazards and adhering to simple inspection can safety guidelines reduce the probability of these unfortunate occurrences.
Fall protection is one of the primary systems which should be put in place for a worker who may lose his or her balance at height; when one of these systems is put in place you are able to control and reduce the risk of injury and potential fatality.
Ensure that you are prepared for a MOL Blitz or MOL Inspection with these tips. The Ontario Ministry of Labour has recently hired hundreds of new inspectors making it more important than ever to ensure that you are complying with the law.
With solar panels becoming more and more common place on rooftops, it is time to consider the safety of the maintenance crews of these solar panels; are they being properly protected from falls?
When it comes to your crane or other heavy-duty equipment you want to be sure that it will work for you when you need it to. Which is why a high quality preventative maintenance program should always be one of the number one things ensure you are a part of, not only will it help to reduce the amount of down time that your equipment may experience, but it will also help to ensure that your equipment is safe to use for your employees.
The secret to having a safe and reliable crane is no secret at all, in fact it is quite well known. But in case you unaware I’ll share with you what that secret is… the way to extend the life of your crane is to have regularly scheduled and professional preventive maintenance and inspection programs, because the best type of maintenance is preventative maintenance.
Related: PM Programs, Inspections, Load Testing & Hoist & Crane Repair
The secret to having a safe and reliable crane is no secret at all, in fact, it is quite well known. But in case you unaware I’ll share with you what that secret is… the way to extend the life of your crane is to have regularly scheduled and professional preventive maintenance and inspection programs because the best type of maintenance is preventative maintenance. Unfortunately, many companies are turning a blind eye now to the idea of regular inspection programs and preventive maintenance in favour of saving both time and money.
The chances of having a mechanical failure on your equipment without having any kind of warning signs or symptoms are just as likely as winning the lottery and then right after being struck by lightning (or in other words, it is extremely rare).
There are though several reasons as to why a mechanical failure in an overhead crane may occur these include:
This brings up an extremely important question: why would a company invest so much time and money into such a critical piece of equipment, but later on allow for it to fail and cause big problems within their workplace?
Many cranes come with an O.E.M. owner’s manual, these manuals typically offer manufacturer recommendations regarding the frequency in which major components of the crane should be inspected and maintained. Unfortunately though because these are just recommendations many companies fail to design a standard inspection/preventative maintenance program around these guidelines.
Too often people believe that any type of inspection will work that by simply having an annual OSHA inspection they will be completing their inspection/maintenance mandates and will be ensuring the reliability of their equipment. While it is extremely important to meet OSHA requirements for inspections from a safety standpoint, often though these inspections only check to ensure the crane meets the minimum requirement of the regulated safety guidelines. A standard OSHA inspection rarely even comes close to meeting the O.E.M. preventative maintenance and inspection recommendations meant to help you maintain your equipment and extend its life.
Often times these inspections are awarded to a supplier on a fixed price basis, and it usually ends up going to the lowest bidder. So while these types of inspections may meet OHSA/OSHA’s minimum requirements, it is extremely unlikely that the customer will receive any type of professional service catered to the equipment’s specific needs.
Which is why one should keep the three stages of inspection in mind when they start to contemplate creating inspection and/or preventative maintenance plan, the three stages are:
Before awarding the contract for an inspection/maintenance plan, you should keep several things in mind:
When you start to evaluate service providers, you should ask yourself what exactly your current supplier is doing for you now, and what they could be doing better. Chances are that your service provider could be doing more, but is instead doing what is required to meet the criteria stated in their contract. All too often these decisions are made based on a low price, without considering the full value that could be received from some of the higher bids. Programs that are focused on meeting only the minimum requirements and are awarded to the lowest bidder will not allow you to extend the life of your crane and could cost you in the long run in maintenance and repair fees.
Often times there is crane(s) located within a facility, which is used more than others. In these cases, these crane(s) will require more attention than the others. This is where the periodic inspection rating comes in, based upon the usage of each crane will determine if you need annual, quarterly or monthly inspections, the ideology of “one size fits all” does not apply to cranes. So before you request bids for equipment maintenance, make sure that you are aware of your specific needs (if you are unsure as to what category your cranes fall under contact a crane specialist), because every inspection and service provider is different. If you wish to extend the life of your crane, the cost of a professional inspection program, which is catered exactly to your specific needs, will be a worthwhile return on your investment.
Do you have an overhead crane?
Do you have an inspection schedule?
What would you recommend for people to look out for when picking out an inspection and service company?
Comment below and share your thoughts!
Single top running, single under running, double top running and double under running, these four distinct different categories are what sets girder overhead cranes apart from each other.
This article will focus on each one of these distinct categories separately so you can gain a complete understanding of just what is a girder crane, and what one might suit you best.
What could happen if you don’t get your chain sling inspected?
What should you be doing in order to ensure your web sling is safe to use? What are the three stages of inspections?
Why is it so important that dock levellers be inspected? What can happen if they are not properly inspected? Read this article to learn more…
How to properly use them and why & how to inspect them.
Machine guarding is very important, but unfortunately many organizations either do not maintain their machine guards or simply do not install them at all. Here are five potentially fatal machine guarding issues and some reasons why the investment is recommended.
With the Machine Safety Blitz upon us it is time to take action in order to be prepared. So what can you do?
Machines need machine guarding, that’s a reality! There is a cost involved, however at the end of the day, it can and will save your employees.
In Ontario, we have OHSA, Occupational Health and Safety Association, they set out minimum health and safety standards to protect workers against hazards on the job. If those standards aren’t upheld, there are stiff financial penalties to pay.
Spring is a time of renewal, spring cleaning and maintenance. It’s time to do your seasonal must do’s for roof top maintenance. Ensure your roof top work environment and rooftop access are safe and protected with RoofGuard. Taking shortcuts when working on a rooftop without proper protection will only spell disaster.
For many years now, working safely at heights has been at the forefront of issues that regulators and inspectors review for job site safety. Recognizing that even relatively small falls can result in devastating injuries, lost production, and larger fines, employers are more likely than ever to look for different options for fall protection solutions to keep workers safe. In an effort to simplify this goal, however many employers get sidetracked by setting oversimplified goals intended to meet the letter of the law.
Liftsafe Group of Companies 