VIU’s first step in protecting the health and safety of VIU employees, students and visitors involves accurately identifying the potential hazards of the learning, work, and research activities that are conducted at VIU. Each VIU Supervisor (Definition: an individual who directs or oversees a person, group, department, organization, or operation for the University, and includes research and learning functions) must be aware of all known or reasonably foreseeable health and safety hazards pertinent to their areas of responsibility where VIU activities are conducted. Hazards are the things and situations that could possibly harm the people under your supervision, or other persons (VIU employees, students, visitors) that may be on present in the area where the activity is being conducted.
Identifying hazards starts with a workplace inspection. This includes walking around and making observations and assessments of your worksite/area:
- Observing how work tasks are being performed
- Assessing the equipment workers are using, and considering how that equipment is being used
- Analyzing the design and layout of the work areas
This is a proactive process.
As you walk around ask yourself, what is it about the activities, processes, or substances used that could injure the people in this area, or harm their health?
Hazards generally arise from the following aspects of work:
- the physical work environment
- equipment, materials, and substances used at the workplace
- work tasks and how they are performed
- work design and management
For your convenience, VIU convened a committee in 2024 to create an institutional VIU Hazard Registry, listing the general locations where all potential hazards exist at VIU.
66 potential hazards were identified at VIU