INDUSTRY DRIVEN, INDUSTRY FOCUSED PAGE | 3
The Process
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and
Skills Development's risk assessment and root-cause
analysis methodology provides a transparent and
collaborative approach to tackling occupational
health and safety issues. This proven technique, which
has been harnessed by many sectors, focuses on
leading indicators, rather than lagging indicators, and
leverages the knowledge and insights of front-line
workers and managers.
It involves two workshops: the first concentrates
on a risk assessment to identify high-risk events.
The second focuses on isolating the root causes
of a selected high-risk event. An equal number of
worker and management representatives, chosen
to represent the industry, assess the risks based on
likelihood and potential consequence of the identified
hazards. Industry partners, facilitators and support
staff do not vote to rank the highest risks or root
causes, allowing the process to be industry-focused
and results driven.
For the risk assessment workshop, participants
share the top hazards they encounter, based on
their experience. Then, the group assesses them to
determine the top ten risks.
For the root-cause analysis workshop, the participants
take a chosen top identified risk and drill down to gain
a better understanding of its primary causal factors.
Each participant contributes their thoughts on why
that top risk is a concern in the sector. Then, the
identified causes are ranked in order of priority.
"Participants appreciate the open forum. Having a
diverse group that includes supervisors, management,
and worker representatives allows us to hear what
the industry as a whole is experiencing—rather than
one specific group or another," said Rishma. "We are
getting information from the people who know the
industry best because they live and breathe it every
single day."
Once the top risks and root causes are identified,
WSPS and other prevention system partners work
together to develop specific resources for the
industry. The goal is to mitigate the risk by addressing
the causal factors.
"
"
"I have a better outlook on
safety after these workshops.
It was good to see different
ideas and different thought
processes that I can bring
back to and share with
my workplace."
—Devon Greenwood, Musashi Auto
Parts Canada Worker Representative
