George Gritziotis: An OHSI Exclusive Interview with Ontario’s First Chief Prevention Officer

One of the key recommendations in the Dean Report is establishing a new Prevention Council and a Chief Prevention Officer (CPO) to:

• Develop a provincial OHS strategy;
• Coordinate and align Ontario’s workplace health and safety prevention system; and
• Provide advice on preventing workplace injuries and occupational diseases.

Since Bill 160 got Royal Assent on June 1, everyone in Ontario has been eagerly awaiting appointment of the CPO so that the OHS reform ball can get rolling. On Aug. 30, that wait ended with the announcement of the appointment of George Gritziotis, founding executive director of the Construction Sector Council (CSC), as the province’s first CPO.

Gritziotis, who hasn’t officially started as CPO yet and is still trying to find an appropriate replacement for himself at the CSC, graciously agreed to sit down with the OHS Insider for a one-on-one. Here’s what he had to say.

His Experience

Gritziotis told us that he has a “keen respect for the importance of health and safety.” But he recognizes why some people may not perceive him as an obvious choice for the position of CPO.

Gritziotis explains that “safety was embedded” in all of the work they did at the CSC. But because the organization has a broader mandate that includes, but goes beyond, workplace safety, he says it didn’t necessarily tout the safety aspects of its work. The CSC’s primary goal, says Gritziotis, was to develop programs on topics such as training and mentoring and get them to the people who needed them. But, he emphasizes, ensuring worker safety underscored all of their efforts.

In addition, although Gritziotis has worked mainly with the construction industry, he notes that there’s plenty of cross over among industries on safety issues and their solutions, such as training for new workers, dealing with foreign workers and ensuring supervisors have a “heightened awareness” of their safety role. Plus, he points out that he has experience working with other industries, including manufacturing.

Lastly, Gritziotis told us he believes that there are “a lot of parallels” between his job at the CSC and the position of CPO. Most notably, his work at the CSC required him to mobilize a diverse community of stakeholders, including employers, workers, government agencies, trainers and safety organizations. The CSC’s programs were largely the result of a “multi-stakeholder effort,” which is the approach he plans to take as the CPO.

“Bringing Stakeholders Together Is Key”

Gritziotis says no one individual can fix the issues with Ontario’s OHS system. The CPO is a “strategic role,” whose primary function is to “bring various stakeholder groups and experts together so they can develop solutions that everyone buys into,” he explains. Gritziotis believes the “recipe for success” is having all of the key players in the safety community at the table and working in unison.

It’s clear that the players are already at the table, says Gritziotis, and everyone recognizes that there are issues with the OHS system that need to be fixed and are motivated to make the necessary changes. “The sense of urgency to move forward is there,” he believes. And there’s “lots of positive energy” they’ll be able to harness to that end, he adds.

Gritziotis says he has the luxury of coming in after the hard work was done. That is, the Dean Panel did the heavy lifting by identifying the primary issues with the current OHS system and recommending how those issues can be addressed. As CPO, his first priority will be to focus on the Dean Report’s key recommendations, particularly mandatory safety awareness training for all workers. He also believes that “mandatory entry level training for new workers is critical.”

One challenge facing the CPO and Prevention Council is that many great safety initiatives are taking place across Ontario but without any coordination or consistency. So Gritziotis wants to align prevention activities throughout the province and leverage best practices.

Bottom Line

Gritziotis says that he took the job of CPO because it was “a great opportunity to make a difference on an important issue that touches many people on a professional and personal level.” He hopes that in this position, he’ll “leave a positive stamp on the safety community.”

As Gritziotis hasn’t yet started work as CPO, it’s far too early to tell how effective he’ll be in this role. (Gritziotis apologized for not being able to answer some questions because he’s so new to the position. However, he agreed to speak to the OHS Insider again once he’s settled into the job.) But given the Dean Report’s emphasis on involving workplace parties in making decisions about OHS system priorities, it appears that Gritziotis is at least on the right path.