“The main piece is awareness, and
how much I can help them with their
understanding of it.”
After identifying the specifics
of the business, she can then provide
the producer with training checklist
templates, as well as any other applicable
documentation. With those elements in
place, she typically accompanies a farmer
through the premises, performing a
mock inspection.
“We can walk around the farm and
pretend I’m a safety officer, looking for
the kind of things that may result in
improvement orders that they need to
correct,” she said.
Morag strongly recommends farmers
pre-emptively tackle potential issues,
rather than scramble to meet tight
deadlines after an order is issued.
“If you wait until you are served an
improvement order, there’s going to be a
very short timeline by which the (issues)
must be corrected.”
Identifying potential hazards in
advance also means the farmer has
the freedom to develop a more flexible
timeline in which to plan and make
corrections, she noted.
Stop-work orders can also be
imposed if an unsafe situation is spotted,
she cautioned, halting a particular activity
or use of some piece of equipment.
“It could be incredibly inconvenient
if you’re in the middle of harvest, or in
the middle of calving, and you’ve suddenly
got to take your attention away from
those practices to correcting the safety
hazards,” Morag added.
Not only can the order interrupt
operations until the deficiency has been
corrected, but in certain situations,
administrative penalties and monetary
fines could be incurred.
The main priority, says Morag, is
to prevent an injury, or even a tragedy,
from occurring.
The act also requires businesses
with five or more workers (including the
owner) to appoint a safety representative.
She advises farmers on how to integrate
this role into their particular operations
and can assist them in determining who
best to appoint for the role. She’s also
there to provide an outline as to what
that person’s specific duties will be.
“They certainly don’t have to be a
safety expert, but they do have to have
SAFETY
Morag on a farm talking about the importance of high-visibility gear for worker safety
when workers are in the same area as powered mobile equipment. When a WSH
enforcement officer arrives on your farm and sees all workers wearing safety gear (CSAapproved
safety footwear and high-visibility gear) they already have a sense that your
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30 § Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Fall 2019
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