Quick Links

1. How often do inspections need to be done and what documentation should I be reviewing?
2. Notes vs. Inspections - what do I use each form for?
3. How does the Site Superintendent review the inspections?

Frequency of Inspections

A Site Safety Coordinator (CSO) at a Polygon Construction Site is to conduct 3 inspections of the workplace, and 1 review/inspection of safety-related documentation each working day.

Workplace Inspections

In general, the inspections will be conducted at the following frequency;

1. Shortly after work starts for the day
2. Between coffee break (~10 AM) and lunch (~1 PM)
3. After lunch and before leaving site

In practice, however, the frequency may vary depending on the type and stage of construction. If the CSO is unable to conduct the required inspections they should identify the reason on the Daily Safety Inspections form.

Documentation Review

Review of the safety-related documentation can occur at any time throughout the day. The goal is to ensure the CSO remains familiar with the details of safety documentation related to the current and upcoming activities on site and, just like inspections of the the activities and conditions on site, identify if there are any issues or deficiencies that need to be addressed. 

Examples of safety-related documentation to be reviewed are;

• A Contractor's site specific fall protection plan. Using the Site Specific Fall Protection Plan Checklist can help with this review.
• Trade safe work procedures for high hazard work (e.g. fly table operations)
• WHMIS inventory and available SDS
• A PCML Safety Work Practice or Safe Job Procedure

The Documentation Review item can also be a regulatory required review or inspection that occurs on a monthly or annual basis. For example;

• Doing the monthly fire extinguisher inspection can be considered a safety documentation review item
• Identifying a deficient PFE during a regular daily inspections is not

IMPORTANT - There should always be a comment on the documentation item that is reviewed. Does the document appear to be complete or in compliance with the Regulation? Does the Site Specific Fall Protection Plan list an appropriate rescue plan or does it just state "call 911"? If the PCML Safe Work Practice reviewed needs to be updated or could be improved did you send that feedback to the Safety Manager?

Documenting of Inspections

The Daily Safety Notes form is available to assist the CSO in making a detailed record of their activity and what they observe during the work day, but it is not required to use that specific form. The CSO is welcome to use a notepad, an app on an electronic device, or any other means that allows them to effectively record their inspections. Whether the Daily Safety Notes form or other means are used, that record must be kept and be reasonably available to PCML.

The Daily Safety Inspections form is to be used to document a summary of the inspections for a specific day. It must be completed daily to ensure there is a clear snapshot of the safety coordination activities for that day. This is also an opportunity for the CSO to identify any issues that have not been corrected yet or other items that need to be followed up on the next day.

During inspections the CSO will document the activities they observe in the workplace and whether or not the actions or conditions are in compliance with the Workers Compensation Act, OH&S Regulations, and PCML Health & Safety Program. While the expectation is that the entire workplace will be addressed during each inspection, if the project site is large and each inspection for the day covers a different area then this should be clearly identified.

Corrective Action

If an action or condition is found to be not in compliance with the Workers Compensation Act, OH&S Regulations, or PCML Health & Safety Program it must be documented and corrected. Good practice is to identify the applicable section of the Act, Regulation, or Program and give a brief description of the issue. The CSO must document when the issue has been corrected and who completed the corrective action. Except in the case of an immediate hazard it is acceptable to note the corrective action on a later Inspection. Give credit where credit is due; if a framer repairs the guardrail, a drywaller fixes/replaces their power cord, or the plumber puts their hardhat back on, the CSO should identify it. This encourages and demonstrates how everyone on site participates in Safety.

Multiple Pages

If there are more than one page of  Daily Safety Notes on a day, then good practice is to number the pages, ideally identifying on each page that it is page x/y, where x is the page # and y is the total number of pages.

Reviewing Inspections

At least once per week the Site Superintendent should review the Daily Safety Inspections forms for that week. This is documented by the Site Superintendent dating and intialing in the appropriate location at the bottom of the page.

Here are some examples for how to accomplish the review:

1. Daily - the CSO completes the Daily Safety Inspections form at the end of the day and leaves it with the Site Superindent, who reviews the next day, initials and dates the form, and returns it to the CSO.
2. Weekly - the CSO completes a Daily Safety Inspections form for each day and leaves them with the Site Superindent on Friday, who reviews them on Monday morning, initials and dates each form, and returns them to the CSO.
3. Weekly Batch - the CSO completes a Daily Safety Inspections form for each day, staples them together and leaves the connected forms with the Site Superindent on Friday, who reviews them on Monday morning, initials and dates at least 1 form, ideally the first one, to indicate they have reviewed the batch, and returns them to the CSO. The CSO then files the pages, keeping them connected.

The goal of this part of the process is to create a clear record of the Site Superintendent's involvement and review of inspections of the workplace as they pertain to health & safety coordination.