Safety Office, Commissary Building
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
Phone 519 888 4567 Ext. 33587
Fax 519 886 8082
Email: safety@uwaterloo.ca
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
As part of our Health, Safety & Environment Management System (HSEMS), the University is implementing a Risk Assessment Program to manage workplace hazards. The Program takes a two-level, proactive approach to ensuring a safe and healthy workplace by anticipating hazards and risks and implementing control measures before work starts or any significant exposure to risk occurs. For the Risk Assessment Program to function properly, everyone working at the University must do their part.
Risk assessment process
At the site level, workers (including graduate students conducting research projects) are responsible for reporting any hazards associated with the working environment, work tasks, or activities to their supervisor as soon as becoming aware of them. Supervisors and managers are responsible for completing site risk assessments for the work under their control and ensuring all risks are appropriately controlled before work begins.
At the department level, department heads, directors and chairs must be aware of hazards in their area of responsibility and ensure all risks are listed on the department’s Hazard Register and adequately controlled.
Over the next several months, the Safety Office will be managing the implementation of the Risk Assessment Program through training and direct support for department heads. For more information on this initiative, see the risk assessment page and contact the Safety Office with any questions.