Carbon Monoxide Detectors 101

Carbon Monoxide exposure may put your building at risk. Here’s how you can protect workers and occupants from this silent killer.  Now that you’ve set your clocks back, it’s time to replace the batteries in your Carbon Monoxide (CO) detectors. Carbon Monoxide is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless gas that blocks oxygen from entering the bloodstream. It most commonly leaks from fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, gas stoves and water heaters.  For residential buildings, make sure to follow these requirements for Carbon Monoxide Alarms (NFC 6.7.1 & OFC 6.3.4.):  CO alarms must be maintained in operating condition (OFC)  Alarms must be located in the sleeping area of all homes/residential units  Landlords of residential buildings are required to give each tenant a copy of the manufacturer’s maintenance instructions for the carbon monoxide alarm (OFC)  Landlords are required to test carbon monoxide alarms whenever tenants change or the battery is replace

Fire Emergency Systems in High-Rise Buildings

When it comes to fire safety, high-rise buildings must be specially equipped to prevent a disaster from occurring.  Without proper fire emergency systems in your high-rise building, a minor incident could rapidly escalate into a major tragedy. To protect your building and ensure the safety of occupants, strict guidelines must be followed by building staff.  Regular inspections are an absolute must to ensure these guidelines are being followed, keeping your building safe.  Here are the most common requirements for fire emergency systems in high-rise buildings:  Elevators are to be controlled by a keyed switch  A designated firefighter’s elevator must be present in the building  Smoke shaft, exhaust system and/or windows must act as means of ventilation from each floor area to outdoors  Sprinklers must be installed throughout the building; see this post for sprinkler valve inspection requirements In the event that any of the fire alarm and sprinkler systems are off-line for

Emergency Power Systems

Emergency power systems, such as generators, must be inspected, tested and maintained in accordance with their manufacturer’s operation and maintenance instruction manual as well as standards and legislation laid out in the “Emergency Electrical Power Supply for Buildings” CAN/CSA C282, 6.7.1 NFC & OFC.  Emergency power systems are expensive assets and are critical to maintaining safe building operation in the event of a power failure. With this in mind, there are several inspection points, tests and data that must be collected and recorded on a regular basis.  Here are some general guidelines for emergency power system inspections and maintenance:  Overall  Equipment must be tested and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s operation and maintenance instruction manual Maintenance work must be logged and kept in accordance with the manufacturer’s operation and maintenance instruction manual; logs must include: date work was completed, record of parts replace

Slips, Trips and Falls

Slips, trips and falls are among the leading causes of injury in Ontario workplaces. As a result, the Ministry of Labour will be completing blitz inspections from March to July, looking for hazards that could lead to slips, trips and falls. What will the MOL look for: A well-documented health and safety program Hazard awareness and prevention training for slips, trips and falls (i.e. posted warnings, working at heights program and training etc.) Evidence that you’ve taken precautions to reduce risks To reduce injuries, inspections should be completed regularly to identify and remediate hazards. Things you should look for during your inspections, especially in high-traffic areas: Slippery surfaces – spills, seasonal hazards such as snow and ice Unsecured mats – mats can sometimes roll up and create a tripping hazard Uneven surfaces Debris Poor lighting Poor housekeeping and obstructions to walkways Protruding cords or cables How to prevent injury: Slip-resis

Digital Inspections ROI

Digitizing inspections come with many benefits such as eliminating paper work and storage, ensuring compliance, and reducing labour costs. So how much do you really save? To answer this question, we broke workplace inspections and documentation processes into 3 main components: Paperwork and storage Ensuring compliance Labour costs Paperwork and Storage A popular method for inspecting locations/equipment is with pen and paper. Workers sign a paper tag at the location/equipment, then fill out a log sheet which is later submitted to the manager for review/action and eventually ends up in storage. When diving into the numbers, we found that the paperwork costs associated with inspections can really add up. We used data from our existing clients, who include hospitals, storage facilities, factories and commercial properties to determine the costs of paperwork associated with manual inspections. We used 500 locations/equipment with inspections on a monthly basis as a cons

Is Your Fire Watch Program Up To Code?

What is a Fire Watch? In Canada and the US, there are regulations such as the the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and jurisdictional Fire Codes that require buildings equipped with fire alarm systems and sprinkler systems to be fully operational at all times. In the event that any of these systems are off-line for any reason whatsoever, or there is the presence of Hot Works being performed, a Fire Watch inspection program is to be implemented immediately. A Fire Watch inspection program is the regular, physical inspection of the area to ensure a fire does not start. This inspection should be completed once every hour. A Fire Watch inspection program needs to be implemented if there are life safety systems that are offline and/or there is Hot Works being performed.  Hot Works Info    Did you know? [i] Hot Works is defined as any process involving flame, spark or heat production. This includes work such as cutting, welding, soldering, grinding etc. The Fire W

Top 8 Benefits of Digital Inspections

How to Inspect?

There are different ways of satisfying inspection requirements and they have evolved over time. Inspection methods include: Pen and Paper Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Near-Field Communication (NFC) The most basic form of inspection uses pen and paper; it’s also the most widely used method at the moment. Personnel go to each location with their paper form or check list and mark down that they have inspected the equipment and note any deficiencies. A manager collects all records of the inspection to review and verify that all areas have been inspected and notify the appropriate personnel of any deficiencies found through email or a work order system. This method of inspection can leave room for human error and requires storage/indexing. It is also time consuming to review all paperwork and manually send out deficiencies to the appropriate parties.  Over time, technology has evolved to help automate the inspection process. In the 1990s, a cylinder-shaped tool that

What is RegTech and how can it help you meet your regulatory/compliance requirements?

Regulatory Technology, commonly referred to as “RegTech” is a new term in many industries but it’s nothing to be intimidated by. RegTech is simply applying technology solutions/tools to regulatory and compliance processes/tasks such as audits, risk management, inspections, reporting requirements etc. RegTech aims to: Manage regulatory and compliance requirements  Create efficiencies & improve productivity Automate and simplify processes as current regulatory/compliance processes tend to be extremely manual Digitize regulatory/compliance information Integrate systems Establish cost effective solutions Increase collaboration and information sharing Proactively identify risks in advance Remediate existing regulatory/compliance issues or gaps Benefits of RegTech solutions: Automated processes – cost savings, efficiencies and reduced risk Digital datasets – information is securely stored and always accessible Information sharing – when processes are m