How to do due diligence

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Due diligence involves doing everything possible to protect workers and provide a safe working environment.

Being duly diligent involves  some steps which include:

Be aware

Ignorance is no defence, so know your legal obligations under the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, your health and safety responsibilities, and best practices for your industry.

Be objective

Identify issues for your workplace through risk assessments, using appropriately knowledgeable people. Consider using external professionals for certain aspects of this analysis. Review your incidents and trends, inspections, audit findings, program evaluations, and input from workers.

Be proactive

Develop a robust health and safety program that includes policies, procedures, and practices to minimize risk from specific hazards. Communicate these policies, procedures, and practices and ensure all workers are trained on them. Check to make sure procedures are being followed, and enforce compliance with the Regulation as well as your own internal policies and procedures.

Be vigilant

Review your systems and processes frequently through self-evaluations. Continuously assess health and safety in the workplace. Monitor changes in regulation and industry practices and apply changes to your own operations as necessary.

Be on record

Gather evidence of your health and safety program and all its components. Be able to demonstrate how you are implementing your health and safety policies, procedures, and practices and to provide proof of enforcement when necessary. Be able to demonstrate that appropriate checks and reviews are in place to ensure continued vigilance