So you have received an inspection report from the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC), what now?
Q. What is the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC)?
A. The JOHSC is comprised of 13 members with representation from management and all employee groups (CUPE, BCGEU, VIUFA, VIUSU). The Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee is a requirement under the WorkSafeBC Act, as are regular inspections. The purpose of the JOHSC is to ensure a healthy and safe workplace by identifying and helping to resolve health and safety issues.
Q. What are JOHSC building inspections?
A. The purpose of the monthly JOHSC inspections is to identify and rectify hazards, and potential hazards on the inside and outside of VIU buildings. Once an inspection has occurred a report will be generated by Health and Safety Services on behalf of the JOHSC and shared with the Co-Chair of the committee, the Director of Facility Services, the Dean or Associate Dean of the program that uses or resides in the building, other senior managers of a department occupying the space, the department head that uses or resides in the building, and the JOHSC committee at large. A copy of the inspection report will also be posted to the buildings safety board if it has one.
Q. Who is responsible for fixing the hazards listed in the report?
A. member of the JOHSC will submit the appropriate work order or service requests to rectify any issues noted on the exterior of the building or grounds surrounding the building. Department heads, Deans or Associate Deans, and other senior managers of a department occupying the space will be assigned the responsibility of addressing issues noted inside the building that they oversee or use.
Q. How do I fix the recommendations listed in the report?
A. Most hazards noted in the Inspection Report can be rectified through the Service Request system managed by Facility Services. Some of the services that are offered through Facility Services that relate to building inspections include:
- General maintenance or small improvements
- Painting, carpentry, heating and cooling, door locks, electrical light fixture, switches, heaters, grounds maintenance and lighting
- Janitorial requests
- Move and material handling requests
- Surplus furniture removal
For removal or repair of IT related hazards or issues please contact VIU’s Information Technology department.
Q. How much will this cost my department?
A. Nothing. None of the recommendations in the inspection report exceed the limit set for Service Requests.
Q. Will this create more work for me?
A. Yes it will. You will receive an inspection report with a photo and details of the hazard or potential hazard. The details will describe what the hazard is and where it is located with a recommended time frame to fix the issue. A Service Request takes approximately 1 minute to submit (all the details are contained in the Inspection Report), so if you are assigned 10 hazards to address, it will take approximately 10 minutes of your time to make your work area safer for your staff, students, visitors, contractors, and yourself.
Q. What if I don’t agree with recommendations in the report?
A. If you disagree or have questions about any of the recommendations listed in the inspection report please reach out to any member of the JOHSC to discuss your concern or to request clarification.
Q. What if I don’t do anything with the report?
A. As a supervisor you have a requirement under the Workers Compensation Act to ensure the health and safety of all workers under your direct supervision. Failure to repair or remove hazards from your workplace after they have been reported could result in the refusal of unsafe work by employees or orders and/or administrative fines from WorkSafeBC against VIU.