Getting your workers enrolled in WHMIS training is just one step in a comprehensive WHMIS Program. Apart from this, business owners also need to ensure WHMIS competency, which means the ability to manage work safely with hazardous products or chemicals requires further action and education from the employer. So if you are an employer and have got your team members enrolled in the WHMIS certificate training, then here are some responsibilities that you need to undertake to demonstrate competency.
WHMIS Competency Requirements for Employers
Know the hazards –
One of the most important things when planning to ensure WHMIS competency at the workplace is to understand and know the hazards of the products in your workplace. It is very important to understand workplace-specific hazards and the physical and health risks. When your workers are working with these harmful substances, the exposure depends on the inherent hazards of the product, type, and frequency of use, and quantity used.
Record Risk Assessments –
When you are working with hazardous chemicals or substances, it is pertinent to ensure that you regularly record the risk assessments and make them available for future references. This is very important when you want to prepare your business for the risks that may take place in the future so you can be ready with preventive measures in advance.
Develop Site Procedures for Chemical Handling –
As a business owner, you should develop and implement procedures around chemical handling, storage, and disposal methods. And it should be done for all kinds of hazardous chemicals and other substances you have at the site.
Implement WHMIS Competency Checks –
This is something very important that needs to be kept in mind as a business owner who aims to maintain WHMIS competency at the workplace. Your workers have the knowledge of what to do if there is a large chemical spill. While this is something that can be also learned with the WHMIS certificate training program, you should also conduct some regular workshops to help them have better and real-time knowledge of the steps that need to be taken in such an incident. At the same time, they should also know what incident reporting needs to be done and how.
Communicate Workplace Hazards –
Every business owner also needs to ensure that the workers at the site understand how to work safely with the hazardous chemicals that they are going to encounter at the site. This can be done by ensuring that the Safety Data Sheets and labels are up to date and comply with WHMIS regulations. The workers should also be provided with adequate knowledge about the procedure to safely work with the chemicals and hazardous substances. Additionally, the workers should also have easy access to SDSs and any other applicable information or documents they need to work safely.
A good combination of WHMIS training and WHMIS compliance at the workplace is the only thing you can choose to ensure the safety of your team members.
