According to section 7 (Regulation 851) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, workers cannot begin operating any potentially dangerous processes or equipment, by law, until a Pre-Start Health and Safety Review (PSR) is completed. This report must be prepared by a professional engineer and detail the steps necessary to ensure that the equipment or process is compliant with applicable standards.

Benefits of Pre-Start Health & Safety Review (PSR) compliance

The cost of non-compliance is extremely high. Since 2008, Ministry of Labour inspectors have conducted more than 266,000 field visits and issued more than 426,000 compliance orders. Corporations can receive fines of up to $500,000 per coutnt of non-compliance, while employees are liable for up to $25,000 or up to 12 months in jail. The cost of an incident is even higher and could cost a company millions of dollars, as well as irreversibly harming the company's image. Since conducting Pre-Start Health and Safety Reviews (PSR) is now considered best practice, non- practicing companies are also subject to Bill-C45 of the Criminal Code which can result in no-limit fines for the organization and up to life in prison for the individual. The best way to avoid these penalties is to perform PSRs for all upgraded or new machinery. Additional benefits of performing PSRs include increased productivity, savings in workplace insurance claims due to fewer illnesses and injuries and increased employee morale. Click here for the Ministry of Labour's full list of regulations.

When is the best time to perform a PSR?

Performing Pre-Start Health and Safety Reviews (PSR) during the design phase of a facility can result in a number of substantial benefits including direct savings from minimizing retrofitting, less facility downtime, and lower equipment replacement costs.

When is a PSR required?

A Pre-Start Health and Safety Review (PSR) is required when new or existing processes, equipment or machinery are installed or modified in your facility. The Pre-Start Health and Safety Review (PSR) is undertaken before start-up and ideally at the design stage as it is much more costly to make modifications once the machine has arrived at your plant. According to Section 7 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the following circumstances require a Pre-Start Health and Safety Review (PSR):

Flammable Liquids

Flammable liquids located or dispensed in a building, room or area.

Protective Elements / Guarding

Safeguarding devices that signal an apparatus to stop such as light curtains, safeguarding systems, safety mat systems, two-hand control systems, and barrier guards that use interlocking mechanical or electrical safeguarding devices.

Stored Materials

Materials, articles or things are placed or stored on a rack or stacking structure.

Risk of Explosion

A process that contains a risk of ignition or explosion that could create imminent hazard to a person's health and safety.

Dust Collectors

The use of dust collectors involves a risk of ignition or explosion that can create a condition of imminent hazard to a person's health and safety.

Molten Material & Foundries

A factory produces aluminum or steel or is a foundry that melts material or handles molten material.

Lifting Devices

The construction, addition, installation or modification relates to a lifting device, travelling crane or automobile hoist.