Safety manager at LRI Engineering on why nothing beats drills for building owners and the challenges of the hybrid working model
In the realm of fire safety, H. Sonny Truong distinguishes two distinct types of clients. Those who prioritize health, safety, and security – and those who come to him in a panic. Speaking to COS, the manager of Fire and Life Safety Services at LRI Engineering says that the first group are often amongst the top building owners and property managers in Canada, possessing a clear vision of their compliance needs.
“They really know what they want already,” says Truong. “They want a compliance plan or compliance program and just need someone to put it together for them. Generally, those types of clients are the ones from bigger building owners and property managers. The second group are the ones who generally come to me when they're in trouble. They’ve received notice of violations from the fire service and they want me to solve or fix their problem for them.”
Generally, in those cases, it’s gotten beyond the point of Truong snapping his fingers and telling them what to do.
“That's when we have to delve in, start from the beginning and create a program for them. Some of things that we advise them they may not necessarily agree with but it is something it's in their best interest to be compliant.”
It’s this variety of work that keeps Truong on his toes. The changing nature of the health and safety sector, especially after COVID, means that there’s constant updates to keep abreast of. As Truong tells COS, the new hybrid models of work mean that professionals in the sector need to keep up with any legal changes.
“Post-pandemic, the property industry has to cope with a hybrid system where employees are working from the office as well as working from home. As the employer, you have to have emergency plans in place for your office. However, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act you’re also required to have safety plans and procedures for your employees while they're in the workplace. And if you define a workplace as being their home, technically your health and safety policy has to cover that as well.”
That's something all Canadian employers are having to grapple with – legislative updates around remote working policies. Speaking to COS in a previous interview, Lorenzo Lisi, partner at Aird & Berlis, reiterated that from a health and safety perspective, working at home extends an employer’s obligation to the employee remotely.
“Remember that where an employee is working from home, their home is their ‘workplace’,” says Lisi. “Employers have a duty of care to ensure that there are proper policies in place to address health and safety for remote workers.
“This should be part of your remote working policy, which should in turn what part of the home is the ‘office’. For example, if the employee injures themselves taking out the garbage, is this a ‘workplace injury’ or unrelated to the job. The policy should address this.”
However, as Truong explains, he’s worried that employers simply aren’t taking this very real obligation seriously.
“I haven't seen [these procedures] being adopted throughout the industry as much as [they] potentially should,” adds Truong. “The reason for that is as an employer under the fire code, and also under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, is required to make sure that if there are any hazards in the workplace, you do need to identify it. You do need to have proper safety procedures for them. And we tend to forget that – [they think] because employees are working from home that it doesn't matter, but it does.”
Looking ahead, in the era of remote work, Truong hopes to see an uptick in employers taking their remote responsibilities seriously.
“As an employee, you have every right to have an emergency plan in place that your employer provides you with. And if you are an employee that falls under the Accessibility of Ontario's Disabilities Act, then your employer is legally required to provide you with a specialized emergency response plan just for you which addresses your concerns. [Because] knowing what your emergency procedures are, knowing how to properly evacuate and how to safely evacuate a building is important.”
As Truong tells COS, you can have the best plans in the world, you can take the training, either in person training or virtual online training – but nothing beats practicing. The building owner, is required to have drills on an annual basis. And, depending on what type of occupancy, they're required to have drills more frequently within the year. Tenants and employers in the building should follow the building owner’s fire drill schedule.
“My recommendation to any employee is, if you're in the office, practice those drills when they do happen. You want to know exactly where your stairs are. You want to know what the evacuation routes are and you want to know where your assembly locations are. Practicing that when there's no emergency is much better than when your adrenaline is pumped up.”
