The risks behind the wrench: Vehicle Service and Repair sector reveals top health and safety risks
Ontario’s vehicle service and repair industry keeps us moving. Approximately 69,000 workers rebuild, fix, and maintain more than nine million vehicles each year so that we can get ourselves, our families, and our stuff where it needs to go. “Without a reliable and resilient workforce in this industry, we could see major disruptions to personal mobility, business distribution channels, and emergency services,” says Stuart Klein, Vice President of Collision Programs at the Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA).
Stuart recently participated in a risk assessment workshop for the vehicle service and repair industry. The goal of the workshop, which was facilitated by Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS), was to explore the hazards that are putting technicians at risk of injury and illness, which could undermine a productive, thriving vehicle service and repair sector in Ontario. “When we take care of our workers and their well-being, it contributes to employee retention, which matters at a time when people are willing to leave an entire industry if they feel the work environment is unsafe,” warns Stuart.
Data from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) tells us that this industry has one of the highest risk ratings in the service sector. With a focus on improving workplace health and safety, worker and management representatives from dealerships, repair shops, tire shops, parts shops, and body shops gathered to identify the top risks that are putting workers at risk of injury or illness. “Workers in this sector face a unique range of hazards,” says Melissa Morin, WSPS Health and Safety Consultant. Melissa facilitated the workshop.
“These hazards range from chemicals to noise, to contact with machinery, to musculoskeletal disorders from handling heavy parts or extended reach into vehicles, among others,” says Melissa. “During the workshop, participants engaged in conversation not only about the severity of potential injury or illness, but also about how quickly the injury or illness develops. They discussed short-term or immediate outcomes as well as long-term or delayed outcomes.”
Participants find consensus in top ten hazards
Before the day of the workshop, each participant was asked to provide a list of hazards based on what they have personally experienced at work, or from conversations from others in the industry. As the facilitator, Melissa combined the submissions from each participant to prepare a master list for the day of the workshop. After active discussion, participants rated each hazardous event based on likelihood and severity to produce the top ten list of risks.
“Every participant in the workshop was passionate about health and safety and spoke freely about their pain points and concerns, adding to the rich and thoughtful conversations that resulted in a robust list of hazards to assess,” says Melissa. “We were fortunate to have diverse representation in the workshop reflecting the sector, from the independent tire shops to the family-owned repair and auto recycling businesses, to the larger dealership groups.”
“If the brainstorming had not been done before the workshop, it would have taken much longer to get to where we ended up. The workshop was well done,” says Matt Pazzi, an auto technician at Eccles Auto Service. Matt attended the workshop as a worker representative. “What stood out to me was that the assessment was based on real people who do the work and their actual experiences. We did not rely only on injury statistics,” he says.
Despite coming from different work environments within the industry, management and worker representatives were in unanimous agreement that noise was the top risk to workers. “I suffer from tinnitus due to noise exposure at work when I was younger,” says Matt. After 25 years of working as a technician, Matt has a much better understanding of the effects of noise exposure now than he did earlier in this career. “Before using equipment that will make a loud noise, such as an air hammer, we warn everyone and make sure they have their earmuffs on,” he says.
Exposure to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) from manually handling objects and from awkward postures were second and third on the top ten list. Struck-by injuries followed in the fourth and fifth spots, with airborne debris in the eyes and getting hit by falling objects while working under or around vehicles identified as the main culprits. Exposure from handling chemicals was number six on the list. Contact with high-voltage systems came in at number seven, which aligns with the rise in popularity of electric vehicles in the province. Contact with pinch-points, slips and trips, and stress due to workload demands rounded out the list.
Sharing best practices to improve safety
“Every day in the auto repair industry is different. It is not a fixed work environment, which makes it a bit more challenging to control the hazards. One day we could be dealing with a lot of lifting and the next day we could be repairing a fuel leak,” says Jeremy Hanford. Jeremy participated in the workshop as a management representative from Hanford’s Tire and Service. “Even the age of the vehicle is a factor in the type of hazards we may be dealing with, such as rust and debris that can get in the eyes.”
“It was very informative to hear directly from technicians. Sometimes I find that technicians do not want to speak openly about their concerns at work. However, during the workshop, the group was very comfortable about sharing their concerns without bias,” says Jeremy. He also found value in listening to other employers explain how they manage certain hazards. Hearing protection and eye protection came up quite frequently when the group exchanged ideas about protecting technicians from noise and airborne debris. “We offer different types of hearing protection, but making sure it is being used properly is sometimes the toughest part,” says Jeremy.
Using personal protective equipment (PPE)—such as earmuffs, earplugs, or safety glasses—to protect workers from noise and airborne debris is convenient and effective when used properly; however, it is the least effective way to control hazards because it relies heavily on human behaviour. Workers may not notice the impact until many years after the initial exposure, usually after the damage has been done. Melissa suggests that employers consider some other control options. “Investigating options to manage the noise at the source or measuring and evaluating the noise source should also be considered. These control methods are higher up in the hierarchy of controls, which prioritizes reducing the hazards rather than relying solely on personal protective equipment,” she says.
New hazards introduced by electric vehicles was another topic of discussion that drew a fair amount of engagement. “Staff need to be educated on the hazards related to electric vehicles. It’s not only the high-voltage batteries that they need to understand, but also how to safely lift them on the hoist. The weight and placement of electric batteries makes a huge difference,” explains Jeremy, suggesting that shops send their employees for specialized training and develop safe work procedures specific to electric vehicles. Melissa points out that WSPS has already started to work with industry partners to help workplaces identify and mitigate potential hazards associated with working on or around EV batteries.
Next steps examine root causes
The workshop participants have selected a risk event from the top ten list for the next phase of the project. They chose musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which were second and third on the list. During a two-day root cause analysis workshop, the group will investigate the main causes related to the following risk statement: Exposure to musculoskeletal disorder hazards from manually handling vehicle components, performing repetitive tasks, and working in awkward postures—such as overhead or extended reach positions—can compromise worker safety and wellbeing in vehicle service and repair operations. “Participants will work together to brainstorm specific controls and solutions that the industry can use to mitigate exposure to MSDs,” says Melissa. “Similar to the effects of noise exposure, MSDs usually occur over a long period of time, so the approach to reducing risks will likely be different than if we were focusing on a traumatic injury.”
Although the workshop participants opted to focus on MSDs for the next phase of the project, the top risk event from the workshop—noise exposure—is not being overlooked by WSPS. “The industry has spoken loudly, and we are listening. Work has already begun to identify the gaps in the resources available within Ontario’s health and safety system, and WSPS will lead the way in developing some resources for noise exposure, too,” Melissa shares.
Stuart reminds us why we are doing this. “Protecting the health and safety of these workers means less missed days of work, fewer compensation claims, a reduction in the expenses that come with a sick or injured worker, less strain on our medical system, and a better quality of life for our retirees by avoiding the long-term health effects,” he says. The input provided by the industry during this initiative is crucial in driving future prevention and risk mitigation efforts of all Ontario workers.
