Coming soon · Book Profile
Construction Hs Manual
A comprehensive reference manual for preventing occupational injury and illness across the full range of construction tasks, hazards, equipment, and legal duties in Ontario.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
The Construction Health and Safety Manual from Ontario's Infrastructure Health & Safety Association is the definitive field companion for anyone working on a construction project. Covering legal responsibilities, emergency procedures, occupational health, personal protective equipment, fall protection, scaffolding, electrical hazards, trenching, confined spaces, welding, tools, formwork, and dozens of other topics, it translates the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its regulations into practical, actionable guidance. Grounded in decades of combined experience from the construction, electrical, utility, and transportation sectors, and shaped by labour-management committees, it equips constructors, employers, supervisors, and workers to recognize hazards, apply engineering controls first, select and use PPE correctly, and build a culture where everyone goes home safe. Whether you need to know the shade number for arc welding, the safe angle for a trench slope, the classes of confined-space operations, or who must be certified to remove asbestos, this manual gives you clear, regulation-based answers.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- A construction worker, supervisor, employer, or constructor who wants to complete the job efficiently while ensuring that everyone on the project goes home uninjured.
- The problem
- Construction sites are full of life-threatening hazards—falls, cave-ins, electrocution, toxic atmospheres, moving equipment—and complex legal requirements that are hard to track. They feel uncertain about whether they are doing enough to protect themselves and their crew, and anxious about the consequences of an accident or a compliance failure.
- The plan
- Learn your legal responsibilities and the hazards specific to your task.
- Assess each hazard and apply engineering controls before resorting to PPE.
- Select, fit, use, and maintain the correct protective equipment.
- Follow the prescribed safe work procedures for tools, equipment, and high-risk activities.
- Verify controls, train and supervise workers, and prepare written emergency and rescue procedures.
- The payoff
- Workers complete tasks without injury or illness and return home safely. · Sites remain compliant with legislation and avoid stop-work orders and penalties. · Hazards are recognized and controlled before they cause harm, improving both safety and productivity.
See our guide
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Additional reading
- Construction Safety Management · Levitt, R.E. and Samelson, N.M.
Cited frequently throughout the book as a foundational text on the principles of managing safety specifically within the construction context, covering topics from management's role to cost implications.
- Construction Safety · Hinze, J.
Referenced in multiple chapters as an authoritative source on accident causation, safety performance measurement, and the specific hazards and controls relevant to the construction industry.
- Managing the Risks of Organisational Accidents · Reason, J.T.
This book is cited for its influential theories on systemic accident causation, human error, and the concept of safety culture, providing a theoretical underpinning for many of the arguments made about moving beyond blaming individuals.
- Rethinking Construction (The Egan Report) · Egan, J.
Frequently mentioned as a key driver for change in the UK construction industry, its recommendations for improving efficiency, integration, and teamwork through concepts like partnering are directly linked to creating a better culture for safety.
- Constructing the Team (The Latham Report) · Latham, M.
Cited as a landmark report that diagnosed the adversarial, conflict-ridden nature of the UK construction industry, providing the context for why new collaborative approaches like partnering are seen as essential for improving all aspects of performance, including safety.
- Application of the New Production Philosophy to Construction · Lauri Koskela (1992)
This is the seminal report that catalyzed the Lean Construction movement. The entire book is framed as a 25-year review and advancement of the ideas first presented in this paper.
- The Toyota Way · Jeffrey K. Liker (2004)
Cited frequently as the source for understanding the 14 principles of the Toyota Production System, which provides the philosophical and practical foundation for Lean thinking.
- Program Policy Manual (PPM) · Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
The book frequently cites the PPM as the definitive source for interpreting how MSHA standards are to be applied in practice, providing crucial context beyond the raw regulations.
- National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) National Consensus Standards · NFPA
Chapter 12 on Fire Prevention explicitly lists several NFPA standards (e.g., NFPA 10, NFPA 13) as resources for mine operators seeking further information on firefighting equipment and systems.
- Dust Control Handbook for Industrial Minerals Mining and Processing · National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Recommended in Chapter 30 as a must-read resource for M/NM operators seeking to implement engineering controls to comply with the new Part 60 silica standard.