INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION SAFETY
Implementing Your Safety Program
Steps
- Maintain Contact with Your Production Safety Consultant
- Complete and Print Out Production Safety Manual
- Distribute Production Safety Responsibilities to All Production Employees
- Conduct Risk Assessments
- Ensure Employees are Trained
- Establish Site-Specific Emergency Action Plans (EAPs)
- Department Heads Complete Inspection and Other Forms
- Include Safety Information with Call Sheets
- Conduct Toolbox Talks
- Maintain Safety Program Records
Step 1 - Maintain Contact with Your Production Safety Consultant
- A Production Safety Consultant provides overall support to the production with regard to:
- Health & Safety and Environmental regulations;
- Safety issues associated with locations, stunt/SFX sequences, industrial hygiene and crew activities overall;
- Security matters.
- Invite to ALL key events including tech scouts and production meeting(s).
- Inform of all schedule and other changes
Step 2 - Complete and Print Out Production Safety Manual
- Describes how production management will manage health and safety throughout the course of production.
- Complete Form 12 or similar
- Sample Health & Safety Policy Statement
- Then print, and make available, completed copies of the Production Safety Guidelines in the Production Office, AD Office / Trailer and Construction & Rigging locations.
Step 3 - Distribute Production Safety Responsibilities to All Production Employees
- Safety Responsibilities Summaries, are found in Section 4 - Production Health & Safety Responsibilities:
- Production Management (Producer, UPM, Prod. Supervisor and Director)
- 1st Assistant Director / Stage Manager / AD Department
- Department Heads (HODs) (General)
- Department Heads (HODs) (Supplemental)
- Location Manager and Locations Department
- Production Office Coordinator (POC)
- Supervising Medic and Medical / First-Aid Providers
- Health and Safety Advisor
Health and Safety Advisor (HSA)
Where required by regulations or recommended, an HSA acts as a source of safety advice to the production.
- Risk Assessments
- Monitor production activities
- Provide training
- Investigate incidents
- Provide overall ongoing support
Step 4 - Conduct Risk Assessments
Hazard - A potential to cause harm
Risk - Consequence(s) (i.e. the likelihood AND severity) associated with a hazard
- Where the risks (likelihood and/or severity) are significant, the risk assessment must be completed in written form.
- The owner of the risk assessment should instruct and inform everyone affected by the risks, and is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of control measures.
Step 5 - Ensure Employees are Trained
- Productions should confirm that all crew members have received training as required by local regulations.
- Training for production crews should be individually confirmed.
- NOTE: In the absence of region-specific training guidelines, the Safety Pass Program Course List is a good baseline, to confirm whether the production should conduct additional training.
- Copies of training documents should be maintained locally by the production, and uploaded to Prodicle.
Step 6 - Establish Site-Specific Emergency Action Plans (EAPs)
- An EAP facilitates and organizes employer and employee actions during workplace emergencies
- Create an EAP for each worksite and filming location
- Helpful Note: For each EAP, start with a site/location plan, then incorporate annotations/notes showing path(s) of egress, muster locations, emergency contact information etc.
- Include in each EAP, procedures for notifications of applicable regulatory bodies.
Step 7 - Department Heads Complete Inspections and Other Forms
Head of Department (HODs) should:
- Conduct and document (daily) inspections of work areas. See Section 16 of the Production Safety Manual for appropriate forms;
- Complete various forms ensuring crew members participate (Incident/Accident Investigation Report, Unsafe Conditions Report; etc.)
- Use hierarchies of control to eliminate/reduce risks, as outlined here.
- Discuss hazards observed/reported with all department members;
- Completed forms should be uploaded to Prodicle on a weekly basis.
Step 8 - Include Safety Information with Call Sheets
- Add the Safety Hotline number/website +1 844-222-1739 www.productionhotline.com to ensure issues of safety can be raised by any production employee (anonymously if need be), without fear of reprisal.
- Include the contact information for the Production Safety Consultant;
- Attach applicable Safety Bulletins and/or include in Call Sheet email blasts (HSE, CSATF, ActSafe, CNESST, Ontario Ministry of Labour, MEAA, etc.)
At each filming location: Post printed Safety Bulletins at crew assembly areas (catering, craft services and/or AD office(s)/trailer(s).
Step 9 - Conduct Toolbox Talks
- All HODs should conduct Toolbox Talks with their crew every 10 working days.
- Completed training documentation forms should be uploaded to Prodicle weekly.
Step 10 - Maintain Safety Program Records
- Maintain copies of the completed written Production Safety Program, inspections forms and incident reports (as applicable) in Prodicle.
- Copies of applicable department-specific program records (e.g. inspections) should also be maintained at the Production Office and/or at stages and locations.
CONGRATULATIONS!
By completing these steps, you are on track to ensuring that your Production Safety Program is in place. Please contact your Production Safety Consultant if you have any questions.
Have a SAFE and SUCCESSFUL production!