Health & Safety Workplace Inspection Reports

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) publishes the Health and Safety Workplace Inspection Reports on an annual basis consistent with its commitment to increase transparency and accountability. These reports list health and safety issues observed during school inspections as well as corrective measures taken to address them. The data corresponds to the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years.

Health and Safety (H&S) workplace inspections are conducted every month in all of our 582 operating schools. During each inspection, high risk areas such as tech shops, fan rooms, pool filter and boiler rooms are inspected. At the same time, one twelfth of the remaining areas are inspected on a rotational basis. That means that over the course of a year, all areas are inspected.

Workplace Inspections Process

After inspecting the facility, Health and Safety (H&S) inspectors enter the data into the electronic workplace inspection program.

The system generates a corrective action for each H&S issue identified and notifies the principal and caretaker.

Once the corrective action has been taken, the principal prints and posts the inspection report on the school’s H&S bulletin board as required by the Occupational Health & Safety Act.

The electronic workplace inspection program tracks the number of days that an item is outstanding:

After 60 days, if no action has been taken, a reminder email is automatically sent to the principal and caretaker to alert them.
After 90 days, if no action has been taken, the superintendent of education and the Facilities team leader responsible for that school are notified.

Note: based on the class code assigned for each hazard, the principal or caretaker must undertake a corrective action. If the corrective action requires a repair, then a notification is entered into the SAP system by the caretaker and a work order is generated by the Facilities team leader or maintenance team leader and assigned to a skilled trades person.

How to View the Data

You can select a school by visiting our 'Find Your School' page. On each individual school web page there will be a link on the left side entitled ‘Health and Safety Inspections’. When selected, the link will take the visitor to a new page that shows a list of the Health and Safety Workplace Inspection Reports for that individual school. Below is a sample of what a typical report looks like.

Sample Report

Date Inspected	Location in School	Health & Safety Issue Observed	Class	Action Taken By	Date Action Taken	Details
09/12/17	366	damaged surface (i.e.: wall, ceiling, flashing, drywall, flooring, stairs)	A	Principal	09/13/17	Details

Note: details about the H&S issue and information about the corrective action taken can be accessed by clicking on Details. If you have questions regarding the inspection process, please contact the Occupational Health and Safety Office at:

OccupationalHealth&Safety@tdsb.on.ca.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How often are the Health and Safety inspections conducted?
Health and Safety inspections are conducted every month in all of our 582 operating schools. During each inspection, high risk areas such as tech shops, fan rooms, pool filter rooms and boiler rooms are always inspected. One twelfth of the remaining areas are also inspected on a rotational basis so that over the course of one year, all of those areas are inspected.
Who are the TDSB’s Health and Safety inspectors?
The Toronto District School Board employs 13 certified safety inspectors. The inspectors represent the following employee groups:
- Four represent CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees)
- Four represent the skilled trades (Maintenance and Construction Skilled Trades Council)
- Two represent ETFO (Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario)
- Two represent OSSTF (Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation)
- One represents PSSP (Professional Support Services Personnel)
What are the types of health and safety issues identified by the inspectors?
We have identified 116 health and safety issues that the inspectors routinely look for. An A-1 rating is used for health and safety issues that require immediate attention, such as asbestos.
What does SAP stand for?
SAP (Systems, Applications and Products) is the internal tracking system that Facilities Services uses to track and record maintenance defects within the TDSB.
How are the inspection reports submitted for action and what is the process?
The inspections are submitted electronically – the inspector enters the data into an electronic device and when completed the report is electronically sent to the school principal and caretaker. The principal prints and posts the inspection report on the school’s Health and Safety bulletin board once the corrective actions have been completed.

In the report, the safety inspector identifies the deficiencies and the electronic system identifies the corrective action required for each identified hazard in an effort to streamline the completion of the corrective action.

The electronic system tracks the number of days that an item is outstanding. After 60 days, if no action has been taken, an email is automatically sent to the principal and caretaker to alert them to take corrective action.

If, after 90 days, no action has been taken, the superintendent of education and the Facilities team leader responsible for that school are notified.
What do the various classes represent?
Each identified health and safety issue has a rating associated with it known as "Class".

Here is a list of the four different classes:
- Class A1 – Caretaker inputs an emergency notification into SAP system and the Occupational H&S Department is notified.
- Class A – requires action by Facility Services.
- Class B – requires action by the principal/site manager or has been identified through a high risk rooms checklist.
- Class C – requires action by the landlord.
Why does the Toronto District School Board post the Health and Safety Inspection Reports on its public website?
The Toronto District School Board publishes the Health and Safety Workplace Inspection Reports for its 582 operating schools annually consistent with its commitment to increase transparency and accountability. This also ensures greater access for the public and TDSB employees. The publishing of this data also:
- Aligns with the TDSB’s Open Data initiative aimed to implement an online platform where the public can access published Board data.
- Provides an opportunity for parents, students, employees and community members to know that the TDSB regularly conducts health and safety inspections of its operating schools and sites and corrects all identified health and safety issues in a timely manner.
What is the notification number?
A notification number is the number assigned by SAP once a repair/work is initiated.
How can I see the Health and Safety Workplace Inspection Reports for a particular school?
To learn more about the Health and Safety Workplace Inspection Reports, please visit the TDSB website. To find the report for a particular school, please visit the Find Your School page and choose the name of the school. On each individual school web page you will see a ”Health & Safety Inspections” link in the navigation menu on the left side of the page.
Who takes corrective actions at the school level?
Based on the class code assigned for each hazard, the principal or caretaker must undertake a corrective action. If the corrective action requires a repair, then a notification is entered into the SAP system by the caretaker and a work order is generated by the facilities team leader or maintenance team leader and assigned to a skilled tradesperson.
I would like to know more about the monthly workplace inspection process.
If you have questions regarding the inspection process, please contact the Occupational Health and Safety Office at OccupationalHealth&Safety@tdsb.on.ca.
I have a question about the specific hazard or safety issue identified in the monthly report. Who should I contact?
Questions regarding the items listed within the report should be directed to the school.
Our school had some emergency maintenance/repairs done last year, but I did not see it listed in the school’s Health and Safety Workplace Inspection Reports.
Emergency maintenance and repairs are identified and acted on very quickly, before a Health and Safety report is processed. Emergency maintenance and repairs are reported in the TDSB’s annualFacilities Work Order disclosure.