Canadian Government Executive - Volume 25 - Issue 04

16 / Canadian Government Executive // October/November 2019 EMPLOYMENT ers of an officer that enforces the legisla- tion or the penalties for non-compliance. Ideal placement of the building blocks General duties and process requirements are best placed in statute (Bluff & Gun- ningham, 2003; & Rice, 2017) as these are fundamental principles that stand the test of time and rarely need to be updated. Per- formance and specification-based rules are best placed in regulation (subordinate to statute) (Bluff & Gunningham, 2003; & Rice, 2017), as they need to be updated more regularly to keep pace with improvements in technology and evolving work practices. For similar reasons, third-party technical standards should be referenced in regula- tion. Non-regulatory guidance documents are best published on government regula- tor websites or print materials, as while they may not have the full force-of-law, they help government in meeting its man- date of protecting the health, safety, and wellbeing of workers in its jurisdiction. Fi- nally, general administrative items are best placed in statute. To pull this all together, see Box 1 for an example. Path forward for public administrators A path forward for public administrators is to understand the building blocks of OHS regulation, recognize the advantages of achieving the optimum mix of catego- ries of OHS rules, communicate the build- ing blocks to staff and stakeholders, and have the necessary in-house expertise and stakeholder consultation processes to con- struct a good mix of OHS rules for consid- eration by the government’s executive. References 1. Bluff, L. and Gunningham, N. (2003). Working Paper 9 – Prin- ciple, process, performance or what? New approaches to OHS standards setting. Canberra, Aus- tralia: National Research Centre for OHS Regulation. Retrieved from http://regnet.anu.edu.au/ sites/default/files/publications/ attachments/201505/WorkingPa- per_9_0.pdf 2. Rice, M. (2017). Formative evalu- ation of Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Code review process. Retrieved from https:// dspace.library.uvic.ca/han- dle/1828/9075 Box 1: Example of OHS regulation building blocks applied in practice The OHS Act in the employer’s jurisdiction places a general duty on employers to provide a healthy and safe workplace, and a duty on workers to take reasonable care to protect their own health and safety. Employers are required to assess and control all hazards on their work sites (including hazards related to cutting grass), which includes consult- ing the company’s joint work site health and safety committee, and are required to ensure workers are trained in how to work safely. Employers are required to ensure equipment (including lawn care equipment) is operated and maintained following equipment manufacturer’s specifications, plus ensure workers use personal protective equipment (PPE) such as safety glasses to protect their eyes from stones or other flying debris that may be present. PPE including safety glasses must meet design criteria outlined in a third-party technical stan- dard created by a national standards-setting organization. Since activities such as cutting grass can be noisy, employers must ensure their workers are not ex- posed to noise levels exceeding the regulated limit for exposure to noise. The government in the employer’s jurisdiction has published a guidance document on ‘safety best practices in the lawn care industry,’ which provides practical guidance that can be followed to protect workers. The OHS legislation empowers an OHS officer to visit the work site to ensure compliance with the legislation. This example could go further by describing how a regulatory framework could be applied to other related hazards such as safely working with fuel that powers the lawn care equipment, protecting workers during temperature extremes, selecting appropriate hearing protection equipment, providing first aid services to help work- ers in case of an incident, expanding on worker responsibilities and so on. Scenario: The public expects OHS laws to place obligations on lawn care companies to ensure their workers are safe when cutting grass. General duties: Process requirements: Specification requirements: Third-party technical standard: Performance requirement: Non-regulatory guidance document: General administrative item: Mark Rice is a public administrator and occupational health and safety profes- sional with over twenty-five years’ ex- perience. Mark has extensive experience in OHS regulation development and holds the professional designations of Canadian Registered Safety Profession- al, Certified Industrial Hygienist, and Professional Chemist, and is a member of the Alberta Society of Health and Safety Professionals. As well, he has a Bachelor’s degree in Science, Certifi- cate in Occupational Health and Safety, and a Master’s degree in Public Adminis- tration. mrice@uvic.ca