Doing Safe Work

Implementing and Executing Safety Plans

Once appropriate contractors are selected and pre-work requirements are reviewed and put in place, work may begin. The elements of the contracted work that were planned are now implemented. Below is a closer look at what should be happening once work starts.

• Implementation of planned safety controls
• Project meetings
• Ongoing review of document submittal requirements
• Site walks/inspections
• Monitoring for compliance and deviations
• Incident response
• Ensure access to resources
• Contract work mid-work review
• Project information board in place for capital projects

The following areas should also be considered to evaluate how they are being implemented, communicated, and managed.

Roles and Responsibilities

All individuals involved in the contracted work should have a clear understanding of the roles that were assigned during the planning stage, and of the safety responsibilities that belong to each individual. The following are some key responsibilities that must be in place:

• Site orientations
• Toolbox talks
• Weekly documented site inspections/walks
• Field-level hazard assessments
• Incident investigation
• Corrective and preventive measures
• Submission of safety statistics to YVR

Submissions and Documentation

The required permits and documentation that were identified in the planning stage must now be submitted.

Some documents were submitted as a preliminary requirement before work started (Contractor Safe Work Plan, BRHMMP RFI) and may need to be continually updated (risk register). Others may need to be submitted initially and continuously as work progresses (Hot Work Permits, month-end safety statistics sheet).

Orientation and Onboarding

New workers must receive the YVR Online Orientation, as well as an onboarding and site orientation.

Stakeholder Communication

At this point, the contract owner should have plans in place to communicate relevant project safety information to the appropriate stakeholders. Throughout the work phase, this information should be communicated regularly to stakeholders identified in the stakeholder communication plan, as well as to any new stakeholders who may become relevant during the life of the contracted work.

Meetings

Regular meetings are one of the most critical means of communication for the following types of work:

• Work of long duration (longer than one month)
• High-risk work
• Work with poor safety performance

When any of these criteria indicate that regular meetings are relevant, the contract owner should include a section within any regular project, or work-related meetings to review health and safety, and provide opportunities for key stakeholders to attend.

Additional Means of Communication

In addition to meetings, the following may be used once work is underway to communicate about requirements, performance, compliance, and stakeholder expectations:

• Report submittals (updates/near-misses/incidents/injuries) Mandatory
• Project information boards Mandatory
• Posting visual signage in workplace
• Bulletin board with updated safety information
• Email/phone communications
• 4-week look-aheads
• Day/Night shift rotas

Key Safety Communications and Content

These means of communication are only effective if they provide stakeholders with access to key safety-related information. The information provided and the level of detail will depend on the level of involvement that the stakeholder is required to have for the work.

Some stakeholders, such as the contract owner, contractor, and subcontractors, as well as Airport Authority Health & Safety, require critical safety information to measure performance against expectations. Examples of critical safety information for these stakeholders include:

• Notice of significant incidents, causes, and controls Mandatory
• Status of key performance indicators
• Progress towards safety-related objectives and targets
• Updates on performance (falling short, meeting expectations, or exceeding expectations)

Risk Management

As work progresses, some identified hazards will be eliminated, while others may have increasing or decreasing risk levels depending on various factors. The risk register identified in the Contractor Safe Work Plan should be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure that risks identified in the planning stage are being managed adequately and eliminated where possible.

The following are examples of factors that may impact risk levels while work is ongoing:

• New work environment
• New equipment, tools, or machinery
• Amendments, adjustments, or repairs to equipment, tools, or machinery
• New employees
• Completion of various stages of work

Mechanisms to manage the risk that were identified in the planning stage should now be in place such as:

• Inspections
• Hazard Assessments
• Toolbox talks
• Risk register review

Incident Reporting

Even when all of the above are implemented, incidents may still occur. An incident is an accident or other occurrence that resulted in or had the potential for causing harm or loss. Incidents include:

• Accidents in which a worker is injured or killed
• Accidents in which no one is hurt but equipment or property is damaged
• Near-misses

For an outline of Airport Authority requirements for reporting incidents during contracted work, see Reporting Incidents.

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