CNESST OHS action plan: the template and the example
The document CNESST asks for first during an inspection: written, dated, specific to your establishment. Download the ready-to-fill template with a worked example for an SMB under 20 employees — free, no credit card.
No time to fill it in yourself? We fill it in from your answers — $129, one-time
What your plan looks like
Everyone hands out the blank template. What follows are lines as the questionnaire writes them for your sector: the hazard stated the way an inspector expects it, and the measure that goes with it.
| Hazard identified | Expected measure |
|---|---|
| No emergency evacuation plan is posted or known to workers | Post the evacuation plan visibly, conduct evacuation drills at least once a year, and designate floor wardens. |
| Lighting is inadequate for the tasks performed | Assess the lighting at each workstation, install supplementary lighting where needed, and replace burned-out bulbs promptly. |
| Workers perform repetitive movements for long periods | Implement task rotation, integrate active breaks (micro-breaks and stretching), and assess at-risk workstations with an ergonomist. |
| No psychological and sexual harassment prevention policy is in place, although one is mandatory | Draft and distribute a harassment prevention policy, designate a person responsible for handling complaints, and train all employees annually. |
Four lines out of your sector's 28 to 54 questions. Severity and deadline are yours to set — the questionnaire asks for both on every hazard.
Your CNESST score in 3 minutes
An honest assessment of your OHS compliance — tailored to your sector, no form to fill, no email required.
- 1
Choose your sector
Office, restaurant, retail, workshop or construction — questions adapt to your reality.
- 2
10 questions on your key obligations
Written action plan, liaison officer, harassment policy, psychosocial risks assessment... 3 minutes max.
- 3
Get your score + action plan
Score out of 100, sector comparison, 3 priority gaps, and real fine exposure based on your missing items.
- 1Written OHS action plan missing
- 26-category risk assessment missing
- 3Harassment policy not written
The new OHS reality — October 1, 2026 deadline
Since October 1, 2025, the RMPPE (Regulation on Prevention Mechanisms) has been in force. Full implementation will be required by October 1, 2026 — are you ready in time?
New legal obligation (Bill 27 / Bill 59)
The Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety (LSST), modernized by Bill 27 and Bill 59, now requires a written OHS action plan for ALL establishments with fewer than 20 workers.
6 risk categories to assess
Physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, psychosocial, and safety/security — including the new psychosocial risks required by Bill 59.
Fines from $2,000 to $60,000 per violation for a company (s. 236-237)
Under the OHS Act (sections 236 and 237) enforced by the CNESST, fines range from $1,000 to over $60,000 per violation depending on severity. For serious offences (s. 237), amounts double on repeat offence and triple on subsequent repeat (up to $300,000 for a corporation). Amounts are indexed annually.
Additional obligations
Designate an OHS liaison officer (ALSS), train them within one year, assess psychosocial risks, and review the plan every year. For a workplace under 20 workers, filing the plan with CNESST is not required: it has to be dated and shown to an inspector on request.
After the diagnostic — close your gaps
The blank template and the diagnostic are free. For $129, you answer your sector's questionnaire and your action plan comes out already filled in — hazards, measures and deadlines — with the PDF export and four more documents.
OHS action plan template
The six hazard categories, with the sections to fill in for your business. Print it or fill it in the app. Available in French and English.
Hazard identification checklist
28 to 54 items depending on your sector, across the 6 hazard categories. One checklist per sector, twelve in all.
Guide: before a CNESST inspection
3 pages in plain language. What to prepare, what the inspector asks for first, common mistakes to avoid.
Risk register
An Excel file built from your plan: one row per measure, with severity, owner, deadline and status.
Harassment prevention policy
Generated in your company's name under Bill 42 (in force September 27, 2024) and LSA s. 81.19 (since 2019). The person who receives reports is yours to designate.
OHS action plan tailored to your industry
Templates, checklists and CNESST obligations specific to your business type.
OHS action plan for offices
Accounting firms, agencies, startups, admin clinics: your office with fewer than 20 employees must now have an OHS action plan.
OHS action plan for restaurants
Restaurants, cafés, bistros, caterers: the kitchen is one of Quebec's most dangerous work environments.
OHS action plan for retail
Boutiques, convenience stores, pharmacies, clothing shops, bookstores: all Quebec retail businesses with fewer than 20 employees must now have an OHS action plan.
OHS action plan for construction
Renovation, finishing, electrical, plumbing, roofing contractors: construction is the sector most monitored by CNESST.
OHS action plan for manufacturing
Factories, workshops, production lines, subcontractors: manufacturing carries Quebec's most severe machine and amputation risks.
OHS action plan for daycares and CPEs
Everyone thinks about the children, rarely about the educators.
OHS action plan for auto repair shops
An engine running in a closed bay, a lift never inspected, degreaser jugs with no data sheet: three findings a CNESST inspector makes within ten minutes in a garage.
OHS action plan for healthcare clinics
Working bent over a mouth eight hours a day, helping a patient back to their feet, absorbing an anxious patient's anger: in a private clinic, it's the caregiver's body that wears out.
OHS action plan for transport
Your driver spends the day alone, at 100 km/h, far from the shop and any supervisor.
OHS action plan for warehouses
A 4,000 kg forklift and an order picker crossing paths in the same aisle: that is the number one risk in any warehouse.
OHS action plan for salons
Salon hazards are invisible: they settle in the lungs and on the hands, over years.
OHS action plan for farms
On a farm the workplace is also the home, and the workforce changes with the seasons.
Need a ready-to-fill template? Download the free CNESST template.
What the tool covers
A tool built in Quebec, for the CNESST framework, by a product manager who read every line of Bill 59.
Template downloaded 251 times since April 2026.
What you get
- Action plan template compliant with CNESST framework
- Risk identification checklist by industry
- Harassment prevention policy (Bill 42)
- Ready-to-fill Excel risk register
- Pre-CNESST inspection guide
- Professional bilingual PDF export (FR/EN)
Why I built PlanSST
« When Bill 59 came into effect in October 2025, I watched my cousin who owns a small restaurant freeze: consultants were charging $1,500, CNESST guides ran 80 pages. He asked if a simple tool existed. None did. So I built one. »
Who fills in your documents?
The legal content is the same either way. What changes is how much of the work you do yourself.
Free: the blank template and a worked example Download the template
Complete plan
We fill it in: you answer the questionnaire, your plan comes out with your hazards, measures and deadlines.
- Guided questionnaire: your answers, your plan
- Hazards, measures and deadlines already written in — you add the owner
- PDF export to show during an inspection
- 12 months of access for the annual review
- Refund within 14 days
Frequently asked questions
Start with the free diagnostic
3 minutes to know where you stand against RMPPE. Score, priority gaps and fine exposure — anonymous, no credit card, tailored to your sector.