Manufacturing High Risk Strategy
The 2021–2023 Manufacturing High Risk Strategy (HRS) is designed to reduce the incidence of injuries in manufacturing by assisting employers to implement their safety programs and control risks at the workplace. The strategy includes education, consultation, and inspection activities.
- Our goals
- Our focus
- What you can do
Our goals
The goals of the 2021–2023 HRS are to:
- Prevent injuries in the manufacturing industry: In 2019, the injury rate in manufacturing was 2.8 time-loss injuries per 100 workers. This is 20 percent higher than the provincial injury rate average.
- Prevent serious injuries and fatal injuries in the manufacturing industry: In 2019, the injury rate in manufacturing was 1 serious injury per 200 workers in manufacturing. This is 40 percent higher than the provincial injury rate average.
- Prevent fire and explosion events in the manufacturing industry
Our focus
Our inspections, consultations, and education activities will focus on supporting employers and confirm whether they:
- Identify hazards and risks
- Implement effective and compliant controls
- Develop safe work procedures, programs, and policies
- Provide related instruction, training, and supervision
- Conduct effective inspections
- Perform effective accident investigations
- Engage the joint health and safety committee or worker health and safety representative
The 2021–2023 strategy will focus on the most significant risks within an industry, from among the following nine hazards:
- Machine safeguarding, de-energization and lock out
- Powered tools
- Hand tools
- Material handling
- Falls from elevation
- Falls on the same level (slips, trips and falls)
- Mobile equipment
- Combustible dust
- Musculoskeletal injuries (MSI)
Officers will focus their inspections on these industries or classification units.
What you can do
A healthy and safe workplace is a shared responsibility. The following resources will help you better understand and address some of the health and safety issues to focus on in your industry. For more resources and information, please visit our Manufacturing pages.
Safeguarding Machinery and Equipment
This manual is mainly for employers, but it contains useful information for everyone who owns, operates, maintains, or sells powered machinery and equipment. Divided into three main parts, the content...
Self-evaluation tool for manufacturing employers
This self-evaluation tool for employers provides questions to help you evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts in identifying, controlling, and managing the serious injury risks and potential catastrophic...
Manufacturing Inspection Checklist: Safeguarding, Lockout, and Combustible Dust
This guide is intended to make employers aware of the parts of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation related to common hazards in manufacturing, including safeguarding, lockout, and combustible...
Controlling Hazardous Energy: De-Energization and Lockout
De-energization and lockout prevents the release of hazardous energy that could cause injury to workers. This resource is mainly for employers, though the information is relevant for joint health...