Construction sector joint health and safety committees: Can their effectiveness be assessed using the JHSC assessment eTool?

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Nichol, Kathryn^{a; b; c; *} | Ruco, Arlinda^{d; e; f} | Holness, D. Linn^{b; c; g; h; i}

Affiliations: [a] VHA Home HealthCare, Toronto, ON, Canada | [b] Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada | [c] Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease, Toronto, ON, Canada | [d] Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health, Toronto, ON, Canada | [e] Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada | [f] Peter Gilgan Centre for Women’s Cancers, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada | [g] Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health, Toronto, ON, Canada | [h] Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada | [i] Division of Occupational Medicine, Department of Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health, Toronto, ON, Canada

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Dr. Kathryn Nichol, 30 Soudan Avenue, Suite 600, Toronto M4S 1V6, ON, Canada. Email: knichol@vha.ca.

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Joint health and safety committees (JHSCs) are a legal requirement for most Ontario workplaces. However, few evidence-based tools exist to assess JHSC effectiveness. The JHSC Assessment eTool has been developed and tested in the healthcare and education sectors with positive results. OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study is to test the usability and feasibility of the JHSC Assessment eTool in the construction sector. METHODS:Testing was carried out in two phases using a non-experimental study design. In the first phase, construction sector health and safety experts reviewed the content of the eTool to ensure that it had relevance for the sector. In phase two, a convenience sample of JHSCs from construction sector workplaces were recruited to pilot the eTool and provide feedback. RESULTS:Feedback from six constructor sector health and safety experts and six JHSC committees indicated that the eTool had value and relevance for use in the sector. Additionally, our study identified several minor areas for refinement including the addition of construction-specific resources in the final report. CONCLUSIONS:The results of our study suggest minor modifications to the eTool for use by construction sector workplaces.

Keywords: Occupational health and safety, joint health and safety committee, internal responsibility system, construction, effectiveness

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-205211

Journal: Work, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 247-254, 2022