Why Is It Important to Have Safety Procedures?

v  Responsibility to Students

University Responsibility

•         The university insists that all persons associated with the university (including those who are employees and those who are not, e.g., students, adjunct professors, visiting professors, contractors, sub-contractors) adhere to the pertinent municipal, provincial and federal legislation and standards, as well as all university policies and procedures.

•         All members of the university community must report to their supervisor any hazardous conditions which are contrary to good health, safety or environmental practices or which contravene any legislative requirements.

•         Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that corrective action is taken at once.

v  Legal Responsibilities and Pressures from Government

Federal Legislation

•         Anyone who fails to ensure safety to the best of their abilities can be held criminally negligent under the criminal code:

o   Criminal Code Amendments

o   219. (1) Everyone is criminally negligent who in doing anything, or in omitting to do anything that it is his duty to do, shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons.

•         Engineers are always held to a higher safety standard since they are expected to be familiar with safety and risk mitigation principles.

v  Professional Responsibility

o   R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 941, s. 72 states that the following are examples of professional misconduct:

•         Negligence;

•         Failure to make reasonable provision for the safeguarding of life, health, or property of a person who may be affected by the work for which the practitioner is responsible;

•         Failure to act to correct or report a situation that the practitioner believes may endanger the safety or the welfare of the public;

•         Failure to make responsible provision for complying with applicable statutes, regulations, standards, codes, by-laws, and rules in connection with work being undertaken by, or under, the responsibility of the practitioner.

v  Codes and Standards

•         Canadian Standards Association (CSA) http://www.csa.ca/

•         Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) http://www.ul.ca/

•         American National Standards Institute (ANSI) http://www.ansi.org/

•         International Organization for Standardization (ISO) http://www.iso.org/

•         International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) http://www.iec.ch/

Unsafe Wiring (various examples of bad wiring) and Other Safety Hazards to Avoid.