Lagging Indicators

The sudden collapse of excavation walls or trench sides onto workers below. Under provincial OHS regulations, subcontractors must implement protective systems before personnel enter any excavation deeper than 1.2 metres. Failure to comply can result in work stoppages, fines, and serious liability exposure.

The length of time a work permit remains valid before requiring renewal or reissuance. Short permit durability can stall field crews and create costly downtime between tasks. Subcontractors should confirm permit expiry windows before scheduling labour and equipment.

A struck-by hazard refers to any situation on a worksite where personnel risk injury from a moving object, such as swinging loads, dropped tools, vehicles, or pressurised line failures — a leading cause of fatality that subcontractors must identify and control in their site-specific hazard assessments and toolbox talks. For field service crews working around heavy equipment, cranes, or high-traffic laydown yards, recognising and mitigating struck-by risks is a core compliance obligation under provincial occupational health and safety legislation.

A formal engineering assessment that determines whether aging or damaged equipment is safe to keep operating. Subcontractors may be required to conduct or document FFS evaluations before resuming work on pressure vessels, pipelines, or structural components. Results directly affect your scope of work, liability exposure, and project timelines.

The process of restoring a work site to its original or agreed-upon condition after project completion. Subcontractors are often scoped for reclamation work including grading, revegetation, and soil remediation. Reclamation scopes are regulated and must meet provincial closure criteria before sign-off.

A worker's real-time understanding of hazards, personnel, and conditions on a job site. For subcontractors, it means knowing who is working nearby, what equipment is active, and how conditions are changing. Strong situational awareness reduces incidents and keeps crews aligned with the prime contractor's safety expectations.

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