Challenge

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Every organization is faced with the challenge to continually manage and mitigate the extent to which they may be exposed to civil & criminal litigation and liability due to non-compliance with OHS legislation. The biggest challenge of complying is to stay abreast of continuous changes in the relevant legislation, regulations, codes, certification standards and governing bodies and to ensure that the corporation complies with these changes. Corporations must ensure they are fully aware of the risks and the potential impact an organization faces if it is non-compliant

On March 31, 2004, workplace safety also became a matter for both criminal and OHS regulatory enforcement. Bill C-45 amended the Criminal Code to create new duties and criminal law liabilities for both individuals and defined "organizations". The Criminal Code now holds that everyone, who directs how a person does work or performs a task, is under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person, or any other person, arising from the work or task. These new duties expand upon, but also echo traditional "all reasonable precaution" requirements in provincial OHS legislation across Canada.

Compliance to a voluntary OHS standard by building an OHS program and the maintenance thereof illustrates due diligence and is essential for all business, no matter the size. Currently the most prevalent tool used to determine whether an organization is compliant is the OHS audit. Audits (internal and external) are increasingly used to measure potential "exposure" and to identify the precise gaps within an organization's OHS program. The scope and format of the audits have also evolved from basic internal gap and/or compliance audits to audits aimed at attaining and maintaining provincial accreditation. The effective management of audits and the accompanying recommendations is therefore essential to any OHS program. Audit results must be managed and translated into corrective action to help the continuous evolution of an OHS program through improvement of processes, productivity and ultimately profitability.