Safety on the rise for Ontario construction workers, WSIB reports

Ontario’s construction industry is 3.7 per cent safer since 2017, according to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).

The agency reported a 1.6 per cent upswing across all industries in its 2018 Health and Safety Index. Construction landed in the report’s most improved spot, followed by manufacturing at 1.8 per cent.

The index measures workplace health and safety using data in the categories of prevention, empowerment, workplace culture, injuries and enforcement.

WSIB reported high scores for the construction industry in all categories but injuries, with “particularly impressive” results in prevention and workplace culture.

The agency also noted a decrease in severe injuries for construction, and recommends the industry focus on supporting people in an early return to work following an injury.

Empowerment was the top performing area this year for all workplaces, improving by 13.2 per cent since 2017. This category relates to refusals of unsafe work, complaints and employee involvement in health and safety practices.

WSIB also reported improvements in enforcement, which relates to the frequency of fines, orders and convictions for poor health and safety practices. Lower scores were assigned to workplace safety and awareness culture, injuries and prevention, respectively.

The 2018 Health and Safety Index is the first to be published with new data. Launched in May 2017, the agency used data gathered up to April 2017 to set a baseline. It will continue to publish new data annually.