Canadian Standards Association (CSA), a leading developer of standards and codes, has launched a two-year pilot project to increase accessibility to CSA Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) standards by offering users access to online viewing. The View Access initiative has been developed in collaboration with federal, provincial and territorial OSH governmental agencies. It will allow registered users to access OHS standards referenced in various Canadian jurisdictions and view the full content through CSA's website www.ohs.csa.ca.
"Appropriate occupational health and safety practices can mean the difference between life and death," said Suzanne Kiraly, president, Standards, Canadian Standards Association. "This initiative will especially help small and medium-sized organizations improve workplace safety. By making these
documents available we hope that companies will know and apply occupational health and safety standards."
CSA is a not-for-profit, membership-based association that develops standards and provides education and training to ensure standards are applied. This collaboration with government representatives for labor is the first of its kind in CSA's history and is driven by the pressing need to improve workplace safety.
"Every year more than 1,000 Canadians die as a result of workplace injuries and disease,” said Kiraly. “We can and should do more to protect the lives of workers. We need information, best practices and safer products to make a difference. CSA believes this new project will serve to raise awareness of OHS products and services and will help reduce workplace injuries and fatalities in Canada."
View Access is a source for employers to learn more about their rights and obligations under the law related to OHS and it provides additional resources that can help employers understand and apply OHS standards. CSA believes this type of stakeholder collaboration is fundamental to the safety of working Canadians.
Federal, provincial and territorial OSH governmental agencies are funding the development and maintenance of the initiative as a two-year pilot project and will continue to monitor the overall usage and impact in cooperation with CSA over the project period. Users can now log into the View Access website directly at www.ohs.csa.ca.
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