Free webinar, Nov 25: Practical AI in Safety with Ashley Mckie. Save your spot →
BIS Safety Software
Safeguarding for Employers and Workers
Learn machine safeguarding in this 30-minute online course for employers and workers: hazard identification, risk assessment, the hierarchy of controls, guarding vs lockout-tagout, types of guards and choosing the right safeguard. Earn a certificate when you pass.
Every machine, every workstation, and every shift carries the potential for serious injury when safeguards are missing, bypassed, or poorly chosen. This safeguarding training course is designed to give employers and workers practical tools to identify hazards, assess risk, and select the right physical controls before an incident occurs.
Designed for anyone who works near machinery or oversees a team that does, the course covers Canadian safeguarding legislation, the hierarchy of controls, and the critical difference between guarding and lockout/tagout. You leave with skills you can apply on the floor the next day.
Course Overview
This safeguarding online course is built around learning modules that cover every layer of workplace machine safety, from foundational definitions to hands-on selection decisions. Each topic builds toward a single practical goal: giving you the knowledge to recognize a hazard, assess the risk, and choose the right control.
The modules include:
- Safeguarding general definitions
- Safeguarding legislation in Canada
- Hazards
- Hazard Identification
- Risk Assessment
- Qualitative Risk Matrix
- Semi-Quantitative Risk Matrix
- Field-Level Hazard Assessment
- The Hierarchy of Controls
- Guarding vs Lockout-Tagout
- Types of Guards
- Safeguarding Devices
- Selecting the Right Safeguard
- Unsafe Practices
- Safeguarding Failures
- Reporting
Completing the course earns a certificate of completion and a practical framework for protecting workers on your site.
What You’ll Learn
This course covers the decision-making process from hazard identification through to guard selection and incident reporting.
Safeguarding fundamentals
- Identify what workplace safeguarding means across industries and roles, and describe why it applies to every employee regardless of job title.
- Recognize why removing or bypassing a safeguard creates serious risk, and explain the legal and operational reasons safeguards are not optional.
- Describe the difference between safeguarding and lockout/tagout, and explain when each control applies.
Hazard identification and risk assessment
- Apply a field-level hazard assessment process to a real or simulated worksite scenario.
- Evaluate hazard severity and likelihood using both qualitative and semi-quantitative risk matrices.
- Work through the hierarchy of controls to determine the most effective risk-reduction measure for a given hazard.
Guard selection and safeguarding devices
- Identify the types of physical guards you may encounter and describe the protection each type provides.
- Apply a structured selection process to choose the right safeguard for a specific machine hazard.
- Recognize common safeguarding failures and unsafe practices so you can report them before an incident occurs.
Assessment and completion
- Demonstrate competency by achieving the 80% pass mark on the final assessment and receive a certificate of completion.
The course is structured around a single practical goal: identify the gap, apply the control, and document the decision.
Who Should Take This Course?
- Production and machine operators. You work directly with or near machinery and need to recognize inadequate guards and report unsafe conditions before they cause harm.
- Supervisors and team leads. You verify that safeguards are in place, correctly installed, and not being bypassed on your shift.
- Health and safety officers. This course is designed to support the hazard assessments, compliance documentation, and worker training that the role typically involves.
- Employers and site managers. Setting safeguarding policy and approving equipment purchases is easier with the working knowledge of Canadian safeguarding legislation this course covers.
- Maintenance and trades workers. Removing guards during servicing makes it essential to understand the boundary between safeguarding and lockout/tagout procedures.
- New workers in any industry. A foundational grounding in machine hazards, physical guards, and the hierarchy of controls supports safer entry into hands-on work.
Why Take This Course?
A missing guard, a bypassed device, or a misunderstood procedure can result in permanent injury or fatality, and machine-related incidents are generally considered among the most severe workplace events an employer can face. These outcomes may be reduced when workers and employers know how to identify and control the hazard before exposure occurs.
Safeguarding failures rarely trace back to carelessness. They happen because workers have not been shown how to assess risk, what a proper guard looks like, or when a safeguard is inadequate for the machine it is meant to protect.
This course closes that gap directly. It covers Canadian safeguarding legislation to build a working understanding of the regulatory context. It builds practical skills, hazard identification, risk matrix application, and guard selection, that translate into safer decisions on the floor.
Documented decisions can provide a defensible record when it matters. Employers who ensure their teams can carry out a field-level hazard assessment and select the right safeguard are better positioned to build a defensible record, not just a training log.
Key Benefits
- A certificate of completion is included. You receive a shareable credential that documents your competency for personnel files, audits, or client requirements.
- You can identify a safeguarding failure before it becomes an incident. Workers who spot an inadequate guard or unsafe practice early reduce the risk of lost-time injuries and equipment damage.
- The course takes 30 minutes and runs entirely online. No travel, no classroom scheduling, and no lost production time. You finish on any device, at your own pace.
- The skills transfer to any worksite with machinery. The hazard identification and risk-assessment frameworks you practise here apply across industries and roles, not just one sector or job title.
- Each seat costs $44.99. A fixed, low per-seat price makes it practical to train an entire crew without a lengthy budget approval process.
Course Details
- Duration: 30 minutes
- Format: Online, self-paced
- Pass mark: 80%
- Certificate: Certificate of completion included
- Price: $44.99
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the Safeguarding for Employers and Workers course take to complete?
The Safeguarding for Employers and Workers course is designed to take approximately 30 minutes to complete. You can finish it in a single session on any device.
What is the passing score for the safeguarding course?
You need 80% or higher to pass the final assessment. Achieving that mark earns your certificate of completion.
Is a certificate included when I complete the safeguarding training?
Yes, the Safeguarding for Employers and Workers course is designed to issue a certificate of completion after you successfully pass the assessment.
Who should take this safeguarding course?
This course is designed for employers, supervisors, machine operators, health and safety officers, maintenance workers, and any employee who works near machinery, regardless of industry.
What is the difference between safeguarding and lockout/tagout, and does this course cover it?
Yes, the course includes a dedicated module, Guarding vs Lockout-Tagout, that explains when each control applies and why the two are not interchangeable.
How much does the Safeguarding for Employers and Workers online course cost?
The course is priced at $44.99 per learner, with no additional fees.
Enrol in the Safeguarding for Employers and Workers course now and give your team the hazard identification and guard-selection skills to protect every worker on site.
Course Details
Course Length
This course will take roughly 30 minutes
Passing Mark
To pass this training course, you need to score 80% or higher on the quiz
Certificate
Upon the successful completion of this course a certificate with your name will be stored on your profile and available to print
Additional Training Courses
Elevadores de Plataforma y Elevadores de Tijera – Global
El propósito de Elevadores de Plataforma y Elevadores de Tijera - Global es habilitar a los estudiantes para que reconozcan los modelos fundamentales de...
Motor Grader Operator Safety Training (OSHA)
An online training course compliant with OSHA for Grader operators, also known as Motor Grader or Road Grader operators. The course meets OSHA's classroom...
Prevención de la violencia en el lugar de trabajo
Este módulo aborda la prevención, intervención y recuperación de situaciones de violencia laboral. Aunque la prevención es nuestro objetivo principal, reconocemos que es inevitable...