Certification of Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) members is required under section 9 of Ontario鈥檚 Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).
The JHSC Certification Training Program Standard specifies the criteria that a program must meet in order to be approved by the Chief Prevention Officer (CPO).
The internal responsibility system (IRS), the foundation of Ontario鈥檚 approach to workplace health and safety, is built on the principle that workplace parties share responsibility for occupational health and safety according to their ability to influence it. Employers and workers work together to recognize and control hazards within workplaces to achieve optimum health and safety performance.
Upon successful completion of an approved program, certified members should have the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill their legislated duties as JHSC certified members and should be able to support the workplace parties in understanding their roles as part of the IRS in preventing occupational injuries and illnesses. Certification training differs from the job-specific occupational health and safety training that employers are required to provide to workers under the OHSA and its regulations.
A program submitted for approval by the CPO can include: Part One, Part Two, and/or Refresher training program or any combination of the three. Similarly, a training provider may be approved by the CPO to deliver Part One training, Part Two training, Refresher training, or any combination of the three. This Program Standard allows for a variety of program and delivery options to meet the CPO-established training and other requirements a committee member must fulfil to become certified.
The new JHSC Certification Training Program Standard established by the Chief Prevention Officer (CPO) sets out the minimum criteria that have to be met in order for a JHSC certification training program to be approved by the CPO. The purpose of the new Program Standard is to strengthen the common, consistent, foundational training requirements for all certified JHSC members.
Under the new Program Standard, there will be three JHSC Certification Training courses: Part One, Part Two, and Refresher Training.
Part One Training (19.5 hours):
Topics include:
- Occupational health and safety law
- Rights, duties and responsibilities
- Hazard recognition
- Assessment and control
- Evaluation of hazard controls
Part Two Training (13 hours) :
Training on a minimum of 6 hazards relevant to the workplace
Training focuses on RACE methodology:
- Recognition
- Assessment
- Control of hazards
- Evaluation of the hazard controls)
Refresher Training (6.5 hours):
Topics include review of key concepts from Part One and Part Two Training:
- Updates to legislation
- Standards
- Codes of practice
- Occupational health
- Safety best practices
- Opportunity for certified members to share and discuss best practices