<p> 1</p><p>TABLE OF CONTENTS</p><p>Section 1: Commitment, Leadership, and Participation </p><p>Safety Policy……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………..2 Safety Management Cycle……………………………………………………………………………………… ……..3 Assignment of Responsibility and Accountability for Safety…………………………………………..4</p><p>Management……………………………………………………………………………… ………………………….4</p><p>Supervisors……………………………………………………………………………… …………………………….4</p><p>Employee………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………….5 Joint Occupation Health and Safety Committee………………………………………………………4 Nova Scotia OHS Act and Regulations…………………………………………………………………………….5 Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Act…………………………………………………….5 The Internal Responsibility System (IRS) ………………………………………………………………….6 Due Diligence …………………………………………………………………………………………… ………...... 7</p><p>AWARE-NS Safety Management System Section 1: Commitment, Leadership, and Participation 2</p><p>Safety Policy</p><p>[Organization Name] is committed to providing a healthy and safe work environment for its Employees and to prevention occupational illness and injury. To express that commitment, we issue the following policy on occupational health and safety.</p><p>The personal safety and health of each employee of the [Organization Name] is of primary importance. The prevention of occupationally induced injuries and illnesses is of such consequence that it will be given priority. To the greatest degree possible, management will provide all mechanical and physical facilities required for personal safety and health in keeping with the highest standards.</p><p>[Organization Name] will maintain a safety and health program conforming to the best practices of organizations of this type. To be successful, such a program must start with proper attitudes toward injury and illness prevention on the part of both supervisors and employees. It also requires cooperation in all safety and health matters, not only between supervisor and employee, but also between each employee and his or her colleagues. Only through such a cooperative effort can a safety program be established and preserved in the best interest of all persons involved.</p><p>[Organization Name]’s objective is a safety and health program that will reduce the number of injuries and illnesses to an absolute minimum, not merely in keeping with, but surpassing, the best experience of organizations similar to ours, our goal is zero accidents and injuries.</p><p>Our safety and health program will involve:  Providing mechanical and physical safeguards to exceed industry standards.  Conducting a program of safety and health inspections to identify and eliminate unsafe working conditions and practices. Also to identify and eliminate health hazards, and to comply fully with the safety and health standards for every job.  Providing necessary personal protective equipment and instruction for its use and care.  Developing and enforcing safety and health rules and requiring that employees cooperate with these rules as a condition of employment.</p><p>AWARE-NS Safety Management System Section 1: Commitment, Leadership, and Participation 3</p><p> Investigating every accident promptly and thoroughly to establish cause and to take corrective action so that it won’t happen again.  [Organization Name] recognizes that the responsibilities for safety and health are shared.  [Organization Name] accepts the responsibility for leadership of the safety and health program, for its effectiveness and improvement, and for providing the safeguards required to ensure safe conditions.  Supervisors are responsible for developing the proper attitudes toward safety and health in themselves and in those they supervise, and also for ensuring that all operations are performed with the utmost regard for the safety and health of all personnel involved.  Supervisors are accountable for ensuring that employees under their supervision follow this policy and utilize safe work practices and receive proper training to protect their health and safety.  Employees are responsible for wholehearted, genuine cooperation with all aspects of the safety and health program including compliance with all rules and regulations, and for continually focusing on while performing their duties.  It is the duty of each Employee to report to a Supervisor, as soon as possible, any hazardous conditions, injury, accident or illness related to the workplace.  [Organization Name] recognizes the employees’ duty to identify hazards and we support and encourage employees to play an active role in identifying hazards and to offer suggestions or ideas to improve the health and safety program.</p><p>Safety Management Cycle</p><p>The Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) is built on the well- recognized management cycle of Plan, Do, Check and Act which repeats in a continuous improvement cycle. </p><p>Within the OHSMS, the major elements of the management cycle have sub-elements, which provide the framework for the organization of the OHSMS Manual.</p><p>The Occupational Health and Safety Management System is demonstrated in the following diagram. </p><p>AWARE-NS Safety Management System Section 1: Commitment, Leadership, and Participation 4</p><p>Assignment of Responsibility and Accountability for Safety</p><p> The [Organization Name] recognizes that all Employees share the responsibilities for safety.  We accept the responsibility for providing the leadership of the safety program, for its effectiveness and improvement, and for providing the proper safeguards required ensuring safe conditions.  Supervisors are responsible for developing the proper attitudes toward safety and health in themselves and to those they are directly responsible for.  Employees are responsible for their co-operation in all aspects of the health and safety program and for continually practicing safety while performing their duties.</p><p>Management</p><p> To provide information, instruction, and assistance to all supervisory staff in order to protect the health and safety of all Employees.  To understand and enforce our accident prevention policies as well as the Occupational Health and Safety Act.  To provide all supervisory staff with an understanding of our accident prevention program as well as relevant sections of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.  To provide all supervisory staff with proper, well-maintained tools and equipment and any other special personal protective devices that may be required.  To provide on going safety education programs and approved first aid training as required.  To monitor departments and contractors and hold them accountable for their safety performance.</p><p>AWARE-NS Safety Management System Section 1: Commitment, Leadership, and Participation 5</p><p>Supervisor </p><p> To know and apply [Organization Name] safety policies and relevant sections of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.  To ensure that all Employees of the [Organization Name] are educated to work in a safe manner and that they use all protective devices and procedures required by the [Organization Name]. and by legislation to protect their health and safety.  To advise all Employees of any potential or actual dangers and how to isolate, prevent or remove them.  In case of injury or illness, to arrange for medical treatment as required, including transportation to a doctor or hospital as necessary.  To report all accidents immediately, to investigate all accidents fully and to advise Management on how to prevent similar accidents in the future.  To carry out regular inspections of the workplace to ensure a safe and healthy environment.</p><p>Employees </p><p> To read, understand, and comply with [Organization Name]’s safety program, safe work practices, procedures, and rules.  To wear the safety equipment, personal devices, and clothing required by regulations and job specifications.  To notify his or her Supervisor of any unsafe conditions or acts that may be of danger to other workers or himself/herself.  To report all accidents and injuries to his/her Supervisor as soon as possible.  To take every reasonable precaution to protect the safety of other workers and himself/herself.</p><p>Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee Responsibilities</p><p>The Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee is a collaborative employer- employee body established to work together to address health and safety issues in the workplace and is responsible to:</p><p> perform the functions of a joint occupational health and safety committee as defined in sections 29, 30 and 31 of the OHS Act;  hold regular meetings in accordance with written Terms of Reference/Rules of Procedure and operating procedures and maintain minutes and records of committee activities;  work co-operatively with management and employees to identify hazards to health and safety and provide input on health and safety programs designed to respond to the hazards;  work co-operatively with the employer in the investigation and resolution of health and safety complaints, concerns or work refusals;  work co-operatively with management in undertaking inspections, inquiries, and investigations concerning health and safety;  participate in the yearly review of the Occupational Health and Safety Policy;  advise on the development, implementation, and evaluation of the OHSMS;</p><p>AWARE-NS Safety Management System Section 1: Commitment, Leadership, and Participation 6</p><p> participate in the co-operative auditing of the workplace to determine compliance with occupational health and safety requirements; and develop written recommendations to management.</p><p>Nova Scotia OHS Act and Regulations</p><p>The Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Act and regulations are the main laws governing occupational health and safety (OHS) in the province.</p><p>Everyone working needs to know and understand his or her rights and responsibilities under this law. </p><p>The organization shall ensure that applicable legal requirements and other requirements are incorporated in its SMS.</p><p>Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Act</p><p>In Nova Scotia, the legislation applicable to health and safety at the workplace is the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act) 1996 c7.</p><p>A copy of the OHS Act may be found on ______. It is also is available on the Nova Scotia Government website at http://nslegislature.ca/legc/statutes/occph_s.htm.</p><p>A Reference Guide to the OHS Act, prepared by the Occupational Health and Safety Division of the Department of Labour and Advanced Education (formerly the Department of Labour and Workforce Development) is available at http://www.gov.ns.ca/lwd/healthandsafety/docs/OHSActRegGuide.pdf.</p><p>A plain language guide to the OHS Act; Your Rights, Responsibilities and the Occupational Health and Safety Act is also available at http://www.gov.ns.ca/lwd/healthandsafety/docs/YourRightsandResp-en.pdf.</p><p>Nova Scotia OHS Regulations Below, are the Regulations in Nova Scotia that need to be considered in the development of the SMS:</p><p> Administrative Penalties Regulations  Controlled Products Regulations </p><p>AWARE-NS Safety Management System Section 1: Commitment, Leadership, and Participation 7</p><p> Occupational Health and Safety First Aid Regulations  Occupational Safety General Regulations  Smoke-free Places Regulations  Violence in the Workplace Regulations  Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)  Workplace Health and Safety Regulations</p><p>The Internal Responsibility System (IRS)</p><p>The foundation of the OHS Act is the Internal Responsibility System, which is defined in Section 2 of the Act and provides an overall philosophy for the interpretation of this legislation. The Internal Responsibility System is based on the principle that all the parties who can affect the health and safety of persons at the workplace share the responsibility for health and safety. This includes employers, contractors, constructors, employees and self-employed persons at a workplace. It also includes the owner of a workplace, suppliers of goods or providers of occupational health or safety services to a workplace or an architect or professional engineer who provides expertise to the workplace.</p><p>Each has primary responsibility for creating and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace to the extent of that party's authority and ability to do so.</p><p>The remainder of the OHS Act defines the rights, roles and responsibilities of the various parties in detail, as do the several regulations developed under the Act.</p><p>Due Diligence</p><p>“Due diligence” is an expression used to refer to the level of judgement, care, prudence, determination, and activity that a person would reasonably be expected to undertake in particular circumstances. This is sometimes referred to as the “reasonable person” standard for preventive activity associated with hazardous operations.</p><p>The OHS Act requires parties to take every precaution that is reasonable in the circumstances. It also requires an employer to comply with the Act and regulations and ensure that employees at the workplace comply with the Act and regulations. If a violation of the Act or regulations occurs, Due diligence will be a key defense.</p><p>AWARE-NS Safety Management System Section 1: Commitment, Leadership, and Participation </p>