SKID STEER
This is a course we have been wanting to offer for a long time, but proper skid steer training requires land disturbance. We are very fortunate to have an awesome landlord who has agreed to let us use the empty property around our Kingston location to run the practical sessions crucial to implementing effective skid steer training.

Skid steers are a versatile machine useful in landscaping, farming and constructions, but they are also very dangerous. Our experienced trainers will show you how to become a safer operator through theory training that covers the regulations and operating principals and hands-on practical training that will provide students with experience on track and wheel base loaders. Two courses have been added for April and May. Register here.

MARCH 29, 2017: The Ministry of Labour has extended the deadline for Working at Heights training to October 1, 2017. ​You must meet the following conditions in order to qualify for this extension:
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1. The worker(s) in question must have completed fall protection training that met the requirements of section 26.2(1) of O. Reg. 213/91 (Construction Projects) before April 1, 2015, and 
2. the worker must be enrolled in a WAH training program that will be completed before October 1, 2017. 
3. The employer must have written proof of enrolment, which must be made available to an inspector upon request.
4. The proof of enrollment must include the name of the worker, the name of the approved training provider, the date on which the approved training is scheduled to be complete, and the name of the approved training program. 

This new extension may offer some relief to companies who have been unable to complete WAH training before the April 1 deadline. We know from many of our students that construction season is enjoying a boom this year and phone calls this month have certainly contained more than stress than usual. We certainly feel for you, the thought of postponing or losing contracts due to the lack of WAH compliance could be devastating to many small businesses.

This extension, though welcome by many, should still be taken very seriously and should not be viewed as a window to buy some time. After the April 1 deadline, Ministry of Labour inspectors may issue compliance orders asking workers and companies to supply Proof of Enrolment in an approved Working at Heights training program. This means that you should register as soon as possible.

We are anticipating that supplying "Proof of Enrolment" to our clients will make our job at Safety Guys slightly trickier. We have always tried to be very flexible and accommodating with our clients and have never minded the occasional substitution on a class list. Moving forward past April 1, we hope you understand that once a final invoice is issued (which must contain the names of all participants), we will not be able to make substitutions in order for that "Proof of Enrolment" to stay current and valid. We can however,  reschedule your employees to a different available date that will work with their schedule.

An important piece of this extension is the ability to supply Ministry of Labout inspectors with your proof or enrolment. Take the time now to devise a system to store your documents. It may seem obvious but a crumpled piece of paper in your back pocket will just not suffice. Maintain a binder in the truck or trailer on mobile sites or store documents electronically on phones or iPads. We are available by phone as well to verify your attendance with the inspector if all else fails.

We will continue to monitor the demand for this training and add public dates when necessary in order to provide the best service to our students.  You can register online for Kingston, Belleville and for members of the Quinte Home Builder's Association. Private training may also be available for groups of 8 or more. We are currently taking reservations for May as the extremely high demand for Working at Heights training is dominating the schedule.

Winter isn’t just a danger because of slips, tips and oversteering cars. The short days and cold temperatures can sneak up on you and put you into a low energy mental slump.

Thankfully, the Danes have just the thing to snap you out of your funk: Hygge. No, we didn’t just fall asleep on the keyboard! Hygge is a very real thing. The popular Danish word hygge (pronounced hue-geh) was the word of the year in 2016 despite having no real definition. It’s a sort of weird state of mind so what’s hygge to me might not be hygge to you.

It’s appreciating the pleasurable ordinary things like a mug of cocoa or curling up in a blanket. It’s having dinner with friends or looking out the window. It’s being in the right place, at the right time and enjoying the experience of being there.

​So, instead of longing for a cold beer and a barbecue, enjoy what you’ve got now. The beautiful snowscapes, an excuse to drink your bodyweight in coffee and wearing more wool than a sheep!

Amendments to the Construction Projects Regulation (O. Reg. 213/91)Amendments to the Construction Projects Regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to strengthen and clarify existing requirements relating to the use of suspended access equipment have been approved. The amendments are consistent with the changes proposed by the Ministry of Labour in the Summary of Proposal document that was posted on the government’s Regulatory Registry for a 90-day public consultation from March 20 to June 22, 2015. Key amendments include:

• Introducing a requirement for notifying the Ministry of Labour prior to putting suspended access equipment into service for the first time at a project;
• Introducing requirements for roof plans and site-specific work plans;
• Introducing training requirements for workers who may use or inspect suspended access equipment;
• Enhancing existing design, operational, technical and engineering requirements
• Strengthening and enhancing existing inspection, testing and maintenance requirements by prescribing more prescriptive provisions for the regulated party; and,
• Miscellaneous amendments to clarify certain requirements.

Amendments relating to the use of suspended access equipment will come into force on January 1, 2017. For more information on the amendments including the coming into force dates for the miscellaneous amendments, please visit the Source Law section of the e-Laws website.

• Amendments to O. Reg. 213/91: O. Reg. 242/16

It is expected that the amendments will be consolidated into the e-Laws version of the official regulation in the near future.