Small Business Health and Safety Training
Small business health and safety training helps owners, operators, managers and supervisors build a safety system that fits the way their business really works, without a binder nobody reads.
Most small businesses don’t get hurt by hazards nobody knew about. They get hurt by a guard that was set aside, a hazard assessment nobody discussed, a contractor nobody briefed, or a near miss nobody followed up. Owners and supervisors usually know their work inside out. What they often don’t have is a simple, practical way to turn that knowledge into a safety program for a small business: clear duties, current hazard assessments, controls that work, training that sticks and records that show the reasonable steps they took.
Calgary Safety Consultants offers this training as a self-paced online course for small employers across Canada. It covers all 14 Canadian OH&S jurisdictions, so it works whether your business is in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, the Atlantic provinces, the North or anywhere else in the country.
Enrol individual learners today, buy seats for your owners and supervisors, or book a free 30-minute Consultation if you’d like hands-on help building your program.
Online training for small businesses in Calgary, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and across Canada.
Online course
Build Your Small Business Safety Program Online, at Your Own Pace
Running a small business doesn’t leave much room for a week in a classroom. That’s why this training is delivered online. Owners and supervisors can work through one lesson at a time, between jobs, after hours or during a slow week, and put each piece in place before moving on to the next.
The Health and Safety for Small Business online course walks through a complete safety management system, one building block at a time. Each lesson connects the content to decisions owners and supervisors make every week, and ends with a practical step you can take in your own business.
- 100% online and self-paced
- 24 narrated video lessons in six modules
- about 16 to 18 hours (estimated)
- a knowledge check after every lesson
- a 15-question final exam
- a downloadable Student Reference Guide
- 17 templates and supporting resources
- a Certificate of Completion
Buying for a team? Employers can buy seats for several learners in one order, and 10 or more seats of this course in one order saves 10%. After you check out, complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up each learner’s account.
Why it matters
Why Small Business Health and Safety Matters
Canada has 14 OH&S jurisdictions: the federal government, 10 provinces and 3 territories. The details change from one to the next, but every one of them places a general duty on employers to protect the health and safety of their workers, and gives workers the right to know, to participate and to refuse unsafe work. Small employers carry the same core duties as large ones, usually with far fewer people to share the load.
Most small businesses fall under the province or territory where the work happens. Federally regulated work, such as banking, airlines and interprovincial trucking, falls under the Canada Labour Code, Part II. On top of that, section 217.1 of the Criminal Code places a legal duty on anyone who directs how work is done to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm. In Alberta, for example, the requirements sit in the OHS Act, Regulation and Code, while British Columbia’s are published by WorkSafeBC.
A working safety system pays off in day-to-day results, not just on audit day:
- fewer serious injuries and WCB claims
- less downtime and lost production
- smoother client and contractor prequalification
- a clear record of due diligence
- supervisors who know what’s expected
- a stronger starting point for COR or SECOR
Weak systems show up as repeat injuries, rising premiums, stop-work orders, lost bids and owners who can’t show an inspector what they did to prevent an incident. A clean injury record doesn’t prove your risks are controlled. It may only mean you’ve been lucky so far.
This is foundation-level training. It isn’t a certification, it doesn’t make anyone competent for a specific task, and it isn’t legal advice. It doesn’t replace your jurisdiction’s OH&S law or your business’s own hazard assessments, procedures and training, and it isn’t approved by any regulator.
A safety system that fits your businessClear duties, current hazard assessments and controls that work
Learn online, one lesson at a time24 narrated lessons, a reference guide and a certificateCourse content
What Does Small Business Health and Safety Training Cover?
The training follows six modules that build on each other, so by the end you have every major piece of a working safety program in view:
- Getting oriented: why safety matters, your legal duties and roles
- Finding hazards: the three levels of assessment, the job hazard analysis (JHA) and field-level hazard assessments (FLHAs)
- Controlling hazards: the hierarchy of controls, critical controls, managing change and contractors
- Building competence: training, orientation, supervision, inspections and maintenance
- Learning and responding: incident reporting, immediate and root causes, emergencies, records and leader review
- Keeping it working: why programs fail, common mistakes, outside help and a 30-day plan
Each lesson has a narrated video, written lesson notes with worked examples, case studies and decision points, and a three-question knowledge check that requires 100% to continue. The 15-question final exam draws on all six modules and requires 80% to pass, with unlimited retries.
The downloadable Student Reference Guide includes jurisdiction reference tables and 17 supporting resources you can adapt for your own business, including a one-page safety system map, a responsibility matrix, a CSC Energy Sources hazard prompt, JHA and FLHA templates, a contractor responsibility map, training and inspection tools, a corrective-action log, an investigation worksheet, an emergency quick sheet, a monthly safety dashboard and a 30-day implementation checklist.
Emergency planning in the course follows a simple standard: evacuate and call 911, and nobody does more than that unless they’re specifically trained and assigned to.
The book behind the course
The Small Business Health and Safety Playbook
We wrote the book on this. John Duplessis, B.Sc., CRSP, President and Principal Consultant of Calgary Safety Consultants, is the author of The Small Business Health and Safety Playbook: A Practical Framework for Safer Work, Stronger Compliance, and Better Business. He wrote it for owners, managers, supervisors, safety representatives and growing companies that need a health and safety system they can understand, put in place and keep running. The online course follows the book chapter by chapter.
The book starts from a practical position. Policies, forms and manuals support a safety system, but they aren’t the system. A working system is the way a business identifies hazards, assigns responsibility, makes decisions, responds when conditions change, corrects problems and learns from experience. The practical test is simple: do your documents lead to decisions, do those decisions lead to action, and does someone confirm the action was done and worked?
Inside the Playbook, you’ll find:
- clear roles and responsibilities for owners, managers, supervisors, workers, committees, representatives, contractors and advisers
- a practical method for assessing hazards at the business, task and field level
- guidance on choosing controls with the hierarchy of controls and checking that critical controls keep working
- a competency-based approach to training that goes beyond attendance records
- practical direction for inspections, maintenance, defect control, incident reporting, investigations and corrective action
- emergency planning built around credible workplace events, tested to see whether the response would really work
- why safety programs fail, and the common gaps behind incidents, fines, claims and poor audit results
- starter templates, checklists, a monthly safety dashboard and a 30-day implementation plan
The Playbook is organized in four parts, Getting Oriented, Building Your System, Further Explanation and Simple Tools, followed by an adaptable workplace framework, a plain-language glossary and selected sources and standards. It uses a universal management framework rather than the law of one jurisdiction, so the course adds a full lesson on your legal duties across Canada’s 14 OH&S jurisdictions, along with jurisdiction reference tables in the Student Reference Guide.
Use them on their own or together. The book gives you the full explanation to come back to whenever you need it. The course walks you through it with narrated lessons, worked examples, knowledge checks and a Certificate of Completion. You don’t need the book to take the course, but learners who have it can read further in each chapter.
Owners and supervisors
Small Business Health and Safety for Owners and Supervisors
In a small business, the owner usually is the safety department, and supervisors are the ones who make it real on the shop floor, the job site or the service call. Their decisions about scheduling, staffing, equipment and contractors shape how safely the work gets done far more than any policy statement.
The course is built around those decisions. Owners and supervisors learn how to:
- set clear safety duties for owners, supervisors, workers and contractors
- build a job hazard analysis (JHA) for the work you actually do, and use field-level hazard assessments (FLHAs) to keep it current
- choose controls with the hierarchy of controls and check that they work
- orient, train and supervise new and young workers until they’re competent
- run inspections, report incidents and fix the immediate and root causes
- keep the records and run a simple leader review that shows the system works
Many owners take the course with a supervisor so they can build the system together, using the Student Reference Guide’s templates as they go. The final lesson turns everything into a 30-day implementation plan.
Looking for broader leadership training? Our OH&S Leadership Training focuses on due diligence, supervision and safety culture for supervisors and managers in organizations of any size.
Leading safety in a small businessFor owners, supervisors and the people who help themBeyond training
Need Hands-On Help With Your Small Business Safety Program?
The course teaches you how to build and run a working system, but it won’t write your safety program for you. If you’d rather have the program built around your business, or you need it in place quickly for a client, a prequalification platform or an inspection, our consultants can help.
Our Starter Safety Manual Package gives small employers a customized safety manual, forms and core procedures built around their own work, hazards and workforce. If you already have a program, our OHS compliance audit and safety program gap assessment shows what’s working and what isn’t, and our safety program maintenance and compliance support keeps it current. You can see the full range on our workplace safety consulting services page.
Many small employers combine the two. Owners and supervisors take the online course, and we build or review the program they’ll be running, so the training and the paperwork match what really happens at work.
How the online course works
How Small Business Health and Safety Training Works
Enrol online
Register and enrol on the course page, or buy seats for your team and send us each learner’s details with the Group Training Student Information form.
Work through the lessons
Watch each narrated lesson, read the notes and pass the three-question knowledge check before moving on. Stop and return whenever you need to.
Pass the final exam
After Lesson 24, complete the 15-question final exam and download your Certificate of Completion.
Put the plan to work
Use the Student Reference Guide’s templates and the 30-day implementation plan to put a working system in place in your own business.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business Health and Safety Training
Clear answers about who the training is for, how it’s delivered, how long it takes, what it covers and how to enrol a team.
What is small business health and safety training?
Small business health and safety training teaches owners, operators, managers and supervisors how to build and run a working safety system in a small business. It covers legal duties, roles and responsibilities, hazard assessment, the hierarchy of controls, contractors, training and supervision, inspections, incidents, emergencies, records and leader review, and finishes with a 30-day implementation plan.
Who should take this training?
Small business owners, operators and senior leaders; managers, supervisors, forepersons and crew leads; office managers, administrators and HR staff who look after safety; safety coordinators and joint committee members or health and safety representatives in small workplaces; and contractors who need a working program for clients or prequalification. It’s especially useful if you’re hiring your first workers or building a program for the first time.
Is this training available onsite or as a live class?
No. Health and Safety for Small Business is offered as a self-paced online course only, so learners can start at any time and work at their own pace. If you’d like hands-on help with your program, our workplace safety consulting services can work with you directly.
How long does the online course take?
We estimate about 16 to 18 hours. The 24 lesson videos run about 14.7 hours in total, and the knowledge checks and final exam add time depending on your pace. You can stop and return at any time.
Does the training cover my province or territory?
Yes. The course covers all 14 Canadian OH&S jurisdictions: the federal government, the 10 provinces and the 3 territories. It teaches the principles they share and shows where small-employer duties differ, and the Student Reference Guide includes jurisdiction reference tables. Laws change, so always confirm the current official text with your regulator.
Will the course write my safety program for me?
No. It teaches you how to build and run your own system, step by step, and gives you 17 templates and resources to adapt. If you’d like a program built for you, our Starter Safety Manual Package is designed for small employers.
Do I need The Small Business Health and Safety Playbook?
No. The course stands on its own. It follows The Small Business Health and Safety Playbook by John Duplessis chapter by chapter, so learners who own the book can read further in each chapter. The book is available on Amazon.ca.
Is this a certification, and is it approved by a regulator?
No. Learners receive a Certificate of Completion after completing all 24 lessons, their knowledge checks and the final exam. It records completion of foundation-level online training. It isn’t a professional designation, it isn’t approved by any regulator, and it doesn’t confirm that a business’s safety program meets the law.
How much does the training cost, and can I enrol my team?
The online course is priced per learner, plus GST, and the current price is shown on the course page. Employers can buy seats for several learners in one order, and a 10% group discount applies to 10 or more seats of this course. After you check out, complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up each learner’s account.
Get started
Start Building Your Small Business Safety System
Give yourself and your supervisors a practical, step-by-step way to build a safety program that fits your small business. Enrol online today, or book a free 30-minute Consultation to talk through the help your program needs.
Training a team?
Group enrolment for online courses
Enrol your crew, supervisors or safety committee in any of our online courses. Buy your enrolments online, then complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up an individual account for each worker. Each worker completes the training online and receives a certificate of completion. Training 10 or more workers on the same course? A 10% group discount is applied automatically at checkout. For instructor-led training or a custom group arrangement, use the form below to request a group quote.