IHSA Lighting Guidance Adds Cheap Fix to Jobsite Hazard Checklist
Safety+Health Magazine reports that the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA), based in Toronto, has published a new safety talk focused on adequate lighting at construction worksites. The talk flags poorly lit sites as a contributor to slips, trips and falls, eye strain, headaches and blurred vision, and reduced visibility for equipment operators, which raises the risk of struck-by incidents. IHSA recommends regular lighting assessments and a mix of fixed and portable lighting that can be adapted to different tasks and areas, along with worker feedback channels on lighting conditions. For constructors, IHSA specifically calls for maintaining adequate lighting in shared areas, planning sitewide lighting for each project phase, updating plans when routes or layouts change, communicating lighting plans and outages to workers and subcontractors, and working with employers and joint health and safety committees to resolve issues and confirm closures.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Site supervisors running night shifts or winter schedules with shortened daylight hours should add a lighting walkthrough to daily toe-box or pre-shift talks, checking that portable lighting covers active walkways and equipment zones, not just fixed installations.
- Subcontractors should request written lighting plans from the general contractor at each project phase change (excavation, structural, finishing) since IHSA puts the onus on constructors to communicate updates when routes or layouts shift.
- Equipment operators and struck-by exposure trades (crane, forklift, heavy equipment) should flag inadequate lighting through the joint health and safety committee process IHSA describes, rather than waiting for a formal complaint, since IHSA frames issue resolution as a joint employer-committee responsibility.
