Certificate in Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Systems

This course deals with extending the responsibilities of safety program policy and administration in organizational cultures. In some jurisdictions, “joint safety committees” are a regulatory requirement, while in others, they are a vehicle to improve corporate culture and enhance mutual trust/respect across the hierarchy. Those in roles responsible for producing results for the safety program require a rich understanding of the human qualities of communication, trust, power-sharing, and engagement, regardless of whether an issue is compliance or policy-related.

This course introduces the basic concepts of management and organizational behaviour in the context of using those concepts for the strategic development of occupational health, safety, and environmental processes within an organization.

Learn the language of communication, the power of ethical messaging, and how thoughtful design is essential to leading in an OHS workplace. In this course, students will learn the elements of communication, the history of management models, leadership styles, and how strong business relationships are fundamental to an effective OHS agenda.

This course introduces the basic concepts of incident causation and investigation with the intention of using those concepts for the strategic development of occupational health, safety and environmental processes within an organizational context. Students will learn how to apply the content to a wide variety of industrial and commercial settings, as well as many different types of organizations.

People, sometimes referred to as human capital, are the most underutilized resource in the developed world. People are our most valuable resource, yet we often do not do a good job of equipping them with the intellectual and practical skills they need to perform optimally. In this course, students learn effective workplace training tools and the ability to implement intelligent training strategies that are key for effective leadership.

A requirement of any management system is the ability to prevent losses to the organization’s resources. In most jurisdictions, a primary focus of any safety program is compliance with regulatory standards. This is typically an ineffective approach to reducing workplace losses. The field of health and safety has matured and offers a variety of approaches to accomplish this prevention goal.

In this course, students learn several basic risk assessment tools and the skills necessary to mitigate risk proactively. Students will learn how to apply these tools by becoming familiar with the process, needed resources, and practical examples for various methods. The intended outcome for these tools and skills is to foster collaboration with stakeholders to identify and prioritize workplace risks.

Litigation for workplace losses can reach into the corporate boardroom, and cut deeply into the corporate treasury. This course offers the basic principles of applying due to diligence, as well as compliance with health, safety, and environmental standards.

Workplaces typically represent many unseen but highly hazardous risks, including air quality, sound pressures, temperature extremes, workstation design, and more. Knowing basic identification and management principles to deal with these common workplace hazards will enable a more effective health, safety and environmental management program.

This course is meant to broaden one’s knowledge and skills in fire safety. It will cover the standards and requirements for a Fire Prevention and Management Program and a range of fire prevention, protection and suppression systems.

One of the most important challenges facing this generation is learning the skills that enable appropriate stewardship of our environment. An effective health, safety and environmental management program integrates stewardship of people, property, environment and processes into one seamless entity.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have an in depth overview of the principles of auditing as well as an appreciation of audit instruments. The theory and practice of performing the essential steps of a health and safety audit will also be covered.

Upon completion of the courses (or equivalent), students will undertake a Guided Practicum. Here, students will choose from six options, including development of a comprehensive program in a particular context, a detailed program addressing a particular risk issue, development of a business case for their current OHS Program, either one of two Minerva Case studies to perform a detailed analysis, or creating a presentation or another similar option. The Practicum will be evaluated based on the application of context from the courses, additional research, and the utility of the project. Students will be coached through the entire process, starting with a review of a proposal, and feedback at key points through the project.