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Manufacturing Planned Inspectional Initiative

The Manufacturing Planned Inspectional Initiative is designed to reduce the incidence of injuries in manufacturing by focusing our efforts on the risks that drive both the serious injury rate and the time-loss claims rate and assisting employers in implementing their safety programs to control risks at the workplace. The initiative includes education, consultation, and inspectional activities.

Our goals

The goals of the initiative are to:

  1. Prevent injuries in the manufacturing industry: In 2021, the injury rate in manufacturing was 2.79 time-loss injuries per 100 workers. This is 25 percent higher than the provincial injury rate average.
  2. Prevent serious injuries and fatal injuries in the manufacturing industry: In 2021, the serious injury rate in manufacturing was 52 percent higher than the provincial serious injury rate average.
  3. Prevent fire and explosion events in the manufacturing industry: The initiative is focusing on the increased risk of combustible dust in wood industries.

Our focus

2023 inspectional approach

For 2023 inspections, prevention officers will take a risk-based approach to ensure that the most significant risks are effectively managed. This approach involves workers and employers identifying hazards, evaluating risks, and implementing the appropriate controls specific to the on-site activities. In addition, it focuses on employers ensuring these efforts are effectively communicated to workers and monitored through foundational occupational health and safety systems such as new and young worker orientations, training, supervision, incident investigations, worksite inspections, and (where applicable) joint health and safety committees that are effective, robust, and well supported.

The current primary focus of the initiative is on the most significant risks within an industry, from among the following hazards:

  • Machine safeguarding, de-energization and lockout
  • Mobile equipment
  • Combustible dust
  • Musculoskeletal injuries (MSI)

Officers will focus their inspections on these industries or classification units.

What you can do

The following resources will help you better understand and address some of the health and safety issues we’ll be focusing on with our inspections and other prevention activities:

For more resources and information, please visit our Manufacturing pages.