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Overview

Program Description

Occupational Health and Safety is an Ontario College Certificate that prepares graduates to pursue the Canadian Registered Safety Technician (CRST) certification offered by the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP). The program meets the education requirements for the CRST certification (i.e., one-year certificate program in occupational health and safety), and is the only program in Ontario to explicitly align with the nine CRST competencies domains and deliver on all competency statements. The program exceeds the CRST competencies by including courses in technical communications and interpersonal skills. The program is offered online and can be completed on a part-time basis. 

Courses

Program Requirements

Level 1
Take all of the following Mandatory Courses:
Expected Availability
CreditsFall Winter Summer
Applied Safety Fundamentals 1SFTY-10763NoYes
This course provides an overview of applied safety fundamentals. The course allows students to apply the principles used when identifying hazards and applying controls to a variety of common workplace safety risks. Topics include working at heights, confined space entry, electrical safety, hazardous energy, manual material handling, hot work, shop machinery and portable power tools. Students will understand the role played by design and procurement in the control of risk. Students will also learn how to assess personal protective equipment suitability.
Occ Health & Safety Law & EthicsLAWS-10893YesNo
The work of occupational health and safety technicians is guided by federal, provincial and territorial legislation and regulations. In this course, students learn occupational health and safety law in Canada, as well as environmental legislation. Related topics include duties of workplace parties, and duties and powers of enforcement agencies. Students critically evaluate the role and obligations of certified occupational health and safety technicians as well as limits of practice, and explore the consequences of professional errors and omissions. By the end of the course, students are able to apply the principles of worker rights and meet the obligations of a certified occupational health and safety technician.
Occ Health & Safety Health & WellnessHLTH-12863NoNo
Health and wellness is a key component of a mature health and safety program. In this course, students learn about workplace health promotion and the various programs that support health and wellness, including injury, illness and disease prevention programs; employee and family assistance programs; wellness programs; disability management programs; and addiction control programs. Additional topics include the effects of fatigue, psychosocial factors and work/life balance on worker health and wellness, as well as on performance.
Occupational Health & Safety ErgonomicsERGO-10013NoYes
Ergonomics is the study of how people interact with their workplace, with a focus on both efficiency and safety. This course provides students with basic knowledge of ergonomics and musculoskeletal injuries. Topics include regulatory requirements related to ergonomics, components of an ergonomics program, and the role of ergonomics in design and procurement. Students also learn about the role of an ergonomist within the occupational health and safety team.
OHS Fire Prevention & ProtectionFIRE-10083NoYes
Fire can lead to injury and loss of life in the workplace. This course provides students with basic knowledge of fire behaviour and fire chemistry, as well as life safety, in the context of occupational health and safety. Students learn relevant codes and standards, and the roles and functions of standard-setting bodies. Topics also include fire detection systems, fire control systems, and the devices associate with each system. By the end of the course, students are able to implement basic fire safety program and basic fire prevention procedures.
Occ Health & Safety CommunicationsCOMM-11433YesNo
Occupational health and safety technicians communicate with a variety of internal and external stakeholders, including co-workers, safety committees, management and regulatory bodies. In this course, students will produce informational bulletins, training materials, meeting minutes, reports, and policy and procedure documents for specific contexts and audiences. Occupation-specific documents and forms required by external regulatory and enforcement bodies will be a focus. Students will also develop their presentation skills in preparation for the delivery of a training program in OHS Management Systems.
Workplace DynamicsSOCI-10963NoNo
Workplace dynamics have a significant impact on employee satisfaction, health and productivity. In this course, students explore how positive and negative workplace dynamics contribute to healthy and unhealthy workplaces. Topics include organizational culture, organization of work, working in teams, and employee engagement. Students reflect on their own experiences with workplace dynamics and develop strategies to positively impact the workplace.

Level 2
Take all of the following Mandatory Courses:
Expected Availability
CreditsFall Winter Summer
Applied Safety Fundamentals 2SFTY-10783YesNo
This course provides an overview of applied safety fundamentals. The course allows students to apply the principles used when identifying hazards and applying controls to a variety of common workplace safety risks. Topics include powered mobile equipment and handling systems, hoisting and conveying equipment, automated systems, working alone/remotely, workplace inspections and accident investigations. Students will be introduced to the concepts of laboratory safety, material and process flow analysis, process safety, facility safety, storage and handling practices. Students will also learn how to perform job hazard analyses suitability and recognize and use basic mathematical statistical analysis tools.
Occ Health & Safety Risk ManagementSFTY-10813NoNo
Occupational risk management is part of an occupational health and safety management system. This course introduces students to risk management principles as they relate to occupational health and safety. At the end of the course, students are able to conduct basic risk assessments, apply the hierarchy of controls and risk control processes, and implement hazard communication. Students also gain basic knowledge of emergency preparedness and response planning, as well as workplace violence and harassment prevention programs.
Management Systems & OHSSFTY-10793NoNo
Management systems formalize an organization's commitment to health and safety. This course provides students with basic knowledge of the integration of health and safety into organizational structure, function, culture and design. Topics include training needs analyses and adult learning principles. By the end of the course, students are able to deliver routine training programs. Students complete a capstone project with an external partner.
Occupational Hygiene in OHSSFTY-10803NoNo
Occupational hygiene is the science of anticipation, recognition, evolution and control of workplace hazards that may result in illness, disease or injury. This course provides students with basic knowledge of airborne hazards, physical hazards, and biological hazards, the common routes of entry for workplace hazards, and related occupational illness and disease. Topics include indoor air quality, ventilation, measurement and sampling for occupational hygiene, and occupational exposure limits. Students also learn about the role of an occupational hygienist within the occupational health and safety team. By the end of the course, students are able to plan occupational hygiene prevention and protection programs.
Occupational Health & Safety AuditingSFTY-10773NoYes
Audits are integral to ensuring workplace safety. In this course, students are introduced to auditing principles and techniques as they relate to occupational health and safety. Students gain basic knowledge of inspections, compliance audits and management system audits. By the end of the course, students are able to conduct basic inspections, compliance audits and management system audits. (This course is designed to prepare students for the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Technician's exam by providing overview of key Occupational Health and Safety Auditing competency requirements).
Workplace DiversitySOCI-10953NoNo
Workplace diversity presents both opportunities and challenges for organizations. While progressive employers value and promote workplace diversity, employees need to cultural competence to ensure a respectful and productive workplace. The course will focus on ethnic, religious and racial diversity, but students will also explore other aspects of diversity, including gender, age, sexual orientation and ability. Students will reflect on their own experience with workplace diversity and identify opportunities to develop and demonstrate cultural competence.

Program Residency
Students Must Complete a Minimum of 10 credits in this
program at Fanshawe College to meet the Program Residency
requirement and graduate from this program

More Information

More Info

Learning outcomes

The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

  1. Apply occupational health and safety legislation and enforcement measures to support workplace safety and compliance;
  2. Assess hazards and controls related to workplace tools, substances, equipment, machinery, vehicles, and processes to protect workers;
  3. Conduct basic workplace safety inspections, incident investigations and safety-related analyses as part of a safety program;
  4. Conduct risk assessments, apply risk control processes, and implement hazard communication to protect workers;
  5. Implement occupational hygiene prevention and protection programs in compliance with best practices to protect workers;
  6. Implement workplace health and wellness practices and programs to achieve organizational goals;
  7. Apply ergonomic practices in the workplace to support worker health and safety;
  8. Implement basic fire safety programs and fire prevention procedures to protect workers and comply with relevant codes and legislation;
  9. Communicate occupational health and safety information to meet the needs of internal and external audiences;
  10. Deliver routine occupational health and safety training programs based on needs analyses and adult learning principles to support organizational goals;
  11. Conduct basic health and safety audits of inspection systems, compliance systems and management systems to support continuous improvement;
  12. Evaluate the role and obligations of certified occupational health and safety technicians in the application of ethics principles and relevant codes of practice to uphold professional standards.

Program Details

Program Code
OHS2
Delivery
Part-Time
Online
Topic Area
Apprentice, Technology, and Trades