Frontline Magazine - Safety in Action Spring 2017

SPRING

2017

ISSUE

O7

SAFETY IN ACTION

Tailgate talks

FIELD NOTES

A DOG’S LIFE:

THE NOSE KNOWS

COMPLIMENTARY COPY

STEPS TO AN EFFECTIVE SAFETY MEETING Feature

CLEARING THE AIR Shift your work

HOME AND AWAY

Are you wildlife and bear aware?

If you’re working or travelling in the great outdoors you need to be ready for nature’s beasts.

Stash it.

Make noise.

Fight back.

Put your food and garbage in bear-proof containers when working or camping in the wild. It’s the law.

Wild animals will usually stay clear if you make a lot of noise, but still be prepared to come across wild animals.

If you’re attacked by a predatory bear, your best defence is to fight back.

Learn more

Take our comprehensive course Wildlife Awareness Online (includes Bear Awareness) at www.enform.ca/wildlifeaware

SAFETY IN ACTION

SPRING 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PUBLISHED BY

4 President & CEO Cameron MacGillivray Vice President, Communications & PetroLMI Carol Howes Manager, Communications Amy Krueger Editor Terry Bullick, Bullick Communications Design, Production & Project Management Kylie Henry & Katherine Stewart, Studio Forum Inc.

Contributors Mike Fisher, Collen Biondi, Anne Georg, Steven Hughes, Michael Interisano, Jason Stang, Frankie Thornhill Printing McAra Printing, Calgary, Alta.

Statements, opinions and viewpoints expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of Enform.

18 SAFE COMPANY

ON AND OFF

H2Safety ready to serve oil and gas industry

THE JOB

A hazy issue and a search for clarity

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5

TAILGATE TALKS

Steps and prep to an effective safety meeting

LIFELINES

Pink hard hat campaign

24

Taking a stand against violence Spot the hazards

THANKS

Petroleum Safety Conference sponsors

8 INTELLIGENT GEAR

Getting to the bottom of underwear safety

26 FIELD NOTES

Copyright 2017 by Enform.

Canada Post Publication Mail Agreement #40006922 For advertising rates or for consent to reprint or redistribute content in the publication, contact Enform at: communications@enform.ca.

Head Office: 5055 - 11 Street NE Calgary, Alta, T2E 8N4 P 403.516.8000Â | F 403.516.8166 Enrolment Services & Certificate of Recognition: 1.800.667.5557

10 SHIFT YOUR WORK

Home and away

12 FEATURE

Clearing the air

enform.ca To read this publication online, visit enform.ca

A DOG'S LIFE: THE NOSE KNOWS

ON THE COVER

Check it out: Ron Mistafa, owner of Calgary-based Detector Dog Services International, and Duke, one of the company's sniffer dogs. Story on page 26.

To learn more about your safety and what Enform is doing to help you protect yourself, follow us on

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On and off the job

A HAZY ISSUE AND A SEARCH FOR CLARITY The oil and gas industry has long had strict policies about alcohol and drug use on the job. Now it’s asking how those policies could change following the federal government’s promise to legalize recreational marijuana by July 1, 2018.

We, and our association partners, know that legal does not mean safe. Like any other drug, legal or otherwise, marijuana impairs. In the oil and gas industry, impairment is dangerous, especially in safety-sensitive jobs. It can make you a hazard—to yourself, your co-workers and anyone and anything around you.

This issue’s Clearing the Air story on page 12 takes a broad look at the effects and risks of marijuana use. In short, it erodes users’ ability to think and act.

And its effects can be long-term.

With recreational marijuana poised to become legal, Enform is giving a voice to industry’s and workers’ concerns about it.

As Mark Salkeld, the president and CEO of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada, says: industry needs to know how legalized marijuana can be managed in the workplace. “We’re not for or against the legalization of marijuana. We just want answers to what we think are fundamental questions that affect safety."

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And we want to give workers clear answers on what marijuana use means to them. Because no one wants safety, or their job, to be at risk.

On a different note, this issue takes a look at the jobs dogs do in the oil and gas industry. As dog handler Ron Mistafa says, specially trained sniffer dogs can save lives, time and money. See the story on page 26.

And finally, we look at something that many workers in the industry face every rotation: being separated from family and loved ones. For some families, being apart is something they’ve learned to weather. For others, sharing parenting, household and financial responsibilities is a gathering storm. Our story on page 10 offers tips for navigating the rough waters of working away from family and home.

Cameron MacGillivray Enform President & CEO

Pink hard hats

PINK HARD HAT CAMPAIGN

RAISING FUNDS AND SPIRITS

LIFELINES

Crews with Treeline Well Services wore pink hardhats and T-shirts throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 2016. "All of us have friends and family who've been touched by the disease," says company VP Matt Dagert.

FIGHTING BREAST CANCER WAS ‘UPLIFTING’ When a service rig crew starts wearing pink, you know something is up.

This past fall, about 150 employees at Treeline Well Services started wearing bright pink hard hats (in the field) and pink golf shirts (in the office) to raise money to fight breast cancer.

The company donated $1 for every hour its 19 rigs worked in October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. With matching funds from other companies, Treeline’s campaign raised $10,000.

“Breast cancer doesn’t directly affect our guys,” says Matt Dagert, Treeline’s vice president of sales and marketing, “but it does affect their wives and girlfriends. And all of us have friends and family who’ve been touched by the disease.”

Dagert, who thought up the idea of wearing pink to raise money, says the hardest part of the campaign was not convincing field crews to wear the hot pink headgear, but to source it. He eventually found a

supplier in Pittsburg. “Our guys were pretty good about wearing the shirts and the guys in field were pretty good about wearing the pink hard hats”, Dagert says. He describes the month-long effort as “uplifting.”

At first glance, wearing the pink hats neither increased nor decreased Treeline’s site safety.

In fact, the campaign wasn’t even about safety.

But it “brought out camaraderie—everyone from the president to the roughnecks wore pink,” Dagert says.

And camaraderie can help crews improve their performance and safety record. That same team spirit can also help green hands learn their jobs better because experienced co-workers have their backs.

Dagert says the campaign generated so much goodwill that Treeline will repeat it in October 2017 and hopes to raise $20,000 by having more oil companies match the company’s donation.

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Taking a stand against violence

TAKING A STAND AGAINST VIOLENCE CAMPAIGN AIMS TO HELP MEN SAY NO TO ABUSE AGAINST WOMEN

There are two kinds of men when it comes to violence against women. Those who stand by and say nothing and those who stand up and do something.

The Be More Than a Bystander campaign aims to put more men in the latter camp.

The campaign was launched by the Ending Violence Association of British Columbia (EVA BC) in 2011 in partnership with the B.C. Lions football team. First taken to schools across the province, it’s since found its way to worksites across the oil and gas industry in Western Canada.

While more women than ever work in oil and gas, men still dominate—in numbers and sometimes in attitudes.

“There’s a lot of data about harassment and violence against women in the world, including on the job,” says Tracy Porteous, the executive director of EVA BC. “Women who have been targeted or hurt by genderbased violence can feel isolated and could be dealing with serious safety concerns.”

She adds that the vast majority of men do not abuse or harass women, but don’t necessarily know how to respond to those who do. And there’s a lot of pressure in the workplace to not question or challenge such situations for fear of losing favour or even a job.

“We want to show men how they can speak up and break the silence of abuse,” Porteous says. “It’s a bit of a global phenomenon to see men standing up for women.”

The Be More Than a Bystander campaign has produced a 31-minute training video for the oil and gas sector.

Encana co-sponsored the production with the BC Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour.

"IT’S A BIT OF A GLOBAL PHENOMENON TO SEE MEN STANDING UP FOR WOMEN”

“We’ve leveraged our involvement in this program by extending its value into our own operations, training our oilfield and wellsite supervisors in its techniques to positively impact the wellness of our own staff,” says Richard Dunn, vice president of Government Relations for Encana.

To see the video and other campaign materials, visit endingviolence.org and search for “anti-violence workplace training resources.”

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Spot the hazards

LIFELINES

SPOT THE HAZARDS Pipelines are one of the safest and most efficient ways of moving oil and liquefied gas from where they're extracted to where they're processed and eventually used.

The recent approval of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline will see some 1,600 kilometres of pipeline constructed between east-central Alberta to southern Nebraska.

Our picture shows some of the hazards pipeline workers will be watching out for.

ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN HUGHES

pails of anti-corrosive material 4. Improperly stored oxygen cylinder 5. Welding oxygen line a tripping hazard 6. Worker using grinder without hearing protection.

SPOT THE HAZARD ANSWERS: Clockwise from top left: 1. Bears and other wildlife in remote areas 2. Truck and other equipment too close to embankment 3. Improperly stored

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Intelligent gear

A brief look at your most intimate apparel You can take the sass out of undergarments by calling them “base layers” but you’ll put it right back in by talking about “enhanced visual profile.” No matter how you twist your knickers, they’ve got to be comfortable enough to work in all day long.

GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF UNDERWEAR SAFETY 1

We take an unflinching look at your most intimate apparel to get to the crux of the matter.

In some settings (cold, remote), underwear also needs a weightto-warmth ratio: lightweight thermal insulation.

Ideally, you don’t even notice that you’re wearing underwear.

2 THREE BASIC ELEMENTS ARE NECESSARY IN UNDERWEAR: Four-way stretch for movement and to minimize chafing

WRITTEN BY ANNE GEORG PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL INTERISANO

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Moisture management to wick away moisture from the body Odour management.

1 STANFIELD'S Stanfield’s women’s 100 per cent merino wool underwear factor in female shapes with modified leg length, sleeve size and torso length.

3

Merino wool is a popular natural base layer fabric; its tiny fibres keep reduce itching and give it a soft feel. Wool also regulates moisture and temperature better than synthetic fibres, but is less durable. To stop chaffing, the garments use a flat seam that creates an almost seamless piece of fabric at the underarm, crotch, and other sensitive areas.

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2 SAXX At the Grammys, the band Twenty One Pilots pulled off their pants and accepted their awards in SAXX underwear.

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The high-performance underwear is constructed with the company’s patented BallPark Pouch, Three-D Fit and Flat Out Seams, a combination that provides the comfort men need while preventing unwanted friction.

3 STANFIELD’S FR

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Some worksites require fire resistant (FR) clothing. Stanfield’s FR underwear fits the bill.

Even the elastic at the waist is enclosed in Kermel Lenzing fabric, developed by Stanfield’s about 16 years ago. It is permanently flame resistant, offers thermal

insulation, holds its colour and shape, is comfortable to move in and feels good against your skin.

4 MEC For its synthetic base layers, MEC uses a recycled polyester that it tests in its own laboratory.

Meeting the three elements described on the previous page makes the fabric highperforming; being made of recycled material makes these underwear a more efficient use of resources.

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MEC

Bras are complex. They come in dozens of sizes and can be made from more than 20 pieces.

MEC’s medium-support sports bra offers wide straps and an elasticized chest band for added breast support.

The polyester/cotton/ spandex fabric helps regulate moisture and offers comfort and mobility. Perforated mesh fabric in high-sweat areas gives extra breathability.

6 2UNDR 2Undr promises “perfection in your pants.”

Made from recycled cellulose modal, the underwear feels soft, moves with you and resists shrinkage and pilling. 2Undr has its own proprietary Joey Pouch, which separates a man's package from his body to prevent chafing.

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Shift your work

HOME AND AWAY

WRITTEN BY COLLEEN BIONDI

Weathering the rough waters of working away from your family A dad in Sherwood Park leaves home for 21 days at a time to work as a welder in Fort McMurray. A Calgary mom works as a field engineer on a rig off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Even with lower energy prices, the demands of many jobs and careers in Canada’s oil and gas industry can take mothers and fathers away from their homes and children for days and weeks at a time.

For some families, being apart is something they’ve learned to weather. For others, sharing parenting, household and financial responsibilities is a gathering storm.

These tips can help you navigate the rough waters of working away from your family.

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KEEP THE KIDS HEALTHY Keeping relationships strong and supportive between parents and children has big rewards: both will be healthier and happier.

One way to stay connected is by “bridging” the time between when you are away and when you are at home, says Elsa Campos, managing director of the family outreach and resiliency team at Carya in Calgary.

Lots of families connect with texting, FaceTime, Instagram, Skype and even old-fashioned phone

STAY IN TOUCH calls before or after work.

Leaving a piece of your clothing for your child to sleep with or writing notes or jokes for their lunch boxes can comfort and reduce your child’s anxiety while you’re gone.

Peter Shanomi knows all about this. An operations superintendent with Chevron, he’s worked 28 days on, 28 days off at deep offshore operations off Nigeria for the past nine years. When overseas, he sets an alarm to call his kids before they leave for school and prays

What happens when children are separated from a parent? “The answer is complicated,” Campos says. And When you’re working away it depends on the from home, it helps to have relationship spouses a healthy mindset and have with one another. perspective. Shanomi, for example, posts pictures When parents frequently of his family at the office fight and ignore their kids, and talks about them with this can amp up children’s colleagues to get through stress. Extreme or toxic the “sad seasons,” such as stress can affect children’s when he misses birthdays brain development and and other special family result in difficulties in events. He also takes part school, trouble sleeping, in recreational activities lack of focus and a long list of other health and and feels a sense of social problems. “family” with co-workers.

with them over the phone and organizes fun activities for when he’s home.

When a family has strong, nurturing connections—even when one parent is away—the children have a better chance of coping with a parent’s absence.

Plus, when an away parent shares how and what they’re doing, it helps their children understand and deal with their absences, adds Shanomi. Let your children know when you are leaving for work and when you will be back.

Most importantly, follow up on promises for time

NEED HELP? FIND IT THROUGH:

Family Counselling Services (Edmonton, Leduc and Beaumont) at: familycounselling centres.com Family Counselling Centre (Saskatoon) at: family-counselling.ca Northern Health (in British Columbia) at: northernhealth.ca and search for counselling services Family Services of Central Alberta at: fsca.ca Calgary Counselling Centre at: calgarycounselling.com Canadian Mental Health Association at: cmha.ca Your employee assistance program

ASK FOR HELP and plans together.

Be prepared for push back, anger and acting out, especially as children get older. Keep conversations going; if they don’t go well, try again later.

“I have three kids and get offended by them constantly,” Campos says.

“They are testing how to handle relationships through what they do with me.” Parents need to be patient, calm and present in the relationship. “That is the best gift you can give to a child.”

For parents at home and away, a strong network can help with unexpected changes in relationships and the dynamics of parenting.

For a lot of people, it takes courage to admit they’re struggling and yet it’s a common feeling.

So are depression and anxiety. All can erode relationships and can increase the risk of missing working or being injured on the job for both the away and athome parent.

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS Campos encourages people to ask for help.

They’ll often get it.

“We innately want to be there for one another,” she says. “Typically people (family, friends, colleagues) will open their arms and welcome us in.”

Keeping relationships strong and supportive is good for parents and children

When one parent pops in and out of family life, it can lead to heartache and drama, says Debra Macleod, a couples’ mediator, relationship coach and the owner of MarriageSOS in Calgary.

It’s easy to have competing views about family separation, she says. Ease the heartache and end the drama by talking openly and honestly with your partner. It’s as important for your children as it is for you and your spouse. When parents

have strong and healthy relationships, families tend to have strong and healthy relationships and can support one another through life’s ups, downs and absences.

“Acknowledge and appreciate your partner,” Macleod says.

For example, the away parent could say: “I am grateful for how you look after the kids at home.”

The home parent could say: “I appreciate the sacrifices you are making to financially look after our family.”

Avoid assuming how your partner is acting while away. If you are afraid your partner is living the “single” life, say so. Try: “I love you, but I feel vulnerable and I don’t like that.” If you are not honest about your feelings, you will come across as controlling or suspicious.

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Feature

CLEARING THE AIR 12

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MARIJUANA A REAL SAFETY HAZARD

WRITTEN BY TERRY BULLICK

MARIJUANA MAY BE WIDELY ACCEPTED AND POISED TO BECOME LEGAL IN CANADA, BUT NO AMOUNT OF CHANGES TO ATTITUDES AND LAWS CAN MAKE IT SAFER. ON OR OFF THE JOB Weed, pot, herb, ganja, grass, reefer.

Dried, hash, resin, oil, wax, shatter.

TOP 5 SUBSTANCES USED IN CANADA

Most commonly used substances in Canadians 15 years and older.

POT 200 11%

THE WORLDS MOST USED ILLICIT PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE USED MARIJUANA IN 2012 OF CANADIANS OVER 15 HAVE SMOKED POT IN THE PAST YEAR

1

Alcohol (75.9%)

2

Marijuana (10.6%)

3

Cocaine/crack (0.9%)

4

Hallucinogens & salvia (0.6%)

5

Ecstasy (0.4%).

2 Marijuana

1 Alcohol

Source: Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug Survey, 2013

Marijuana is called many names and sold in many forms. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to make weed legal in July 2018, lifting a 97-yearold prohibition.

Whether that promise becomes law, one thing is certain: marijuana is widely accepted across the country. That acceptance might have you thinking marijuana is harmless. But it’s not, especially in the oil and gas industry.

In a word, marijuana impairs. Not always exactly the same way alcohol or other drugs (legal or illegal) do, but it still erodes your ability to think and act; see sidebar: Effects of Cannabis on page 14.

Marijuana’s effects can take days, weeks, months or years to go away, depending on how long it’s been used and when use began, says Health Canada.

“Don’t assume people understand the risks, especially those related to driving and equipment operations,” says Loretta Bouwmeester, a Calgary lawyer with Mathews Dinsdale & Clark LLP who specializes in occupational health and safety. She points to Washington state, where one-third of impaired drivers have tested positive for marijuana every year since weed was legalized in 2014.

Bouwmeester says employers have a responsibility to help their workers understand the effects—and risks—of marijuana use in the workplace.

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Feature

POT CAN MAKE YOU A RISK

THE RISKS OF POT

A WORKPLACE HAZARD

If you work in a safety-sensitive job—as in you work in the field in the oil and gas industry and are surrounded by heavy equipment and complex systems—pot can make you a workplace hazard. To yourself, your co-workers and anyone and anything around you.

Both workers and employers have a personal and legal responsibility to take every reasonable precaution to ensure a workplace is safe.

Many employers have already reviewed and updated (where necessary) their workplace policies and procedures to prepare for marijuana’s expected legalization. If your company is one of them, you’ll want to know about those changes.

Employers are also looking to government for additional guidance and changes.

“We are looking to have some feedback from the government on what they might do in terms of prohibition or restriction in the workplace,” says Cameron McGillivray, the president and CEO of Enform.

In the fall, he wrote a letter on behalf of Enform’s partner associations to the federal government’s Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation seeking direction on marijuana use and workplace regulations.

“Restriction in the workplace is important for us.

The ability to test is important for the industry and in safety-sensitive environments.”

McGillivray adds that workers are also “very concerned about their own safety and the safety of their peers the workplace. We have had those concerns expressed to us over the years. Nobody wants to put themselves or their fellow workers in danger.”

CLEARING THE AIR

Mark Salkeld, the president and CEO of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada, says industry needs to know how legalized marijuana can be managed in the workplace.

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Diana Dow-Edwards is a neuroscientist and research scientist with the Fulbright Canada-Palix Foundation. She’s studied marijuana for more than two decades.

Dow-Edwards and other neuroscientists know marijuana can lower a person’s IQ, lead to mental illness and cause abnormal responses to stress.

Pot’s effects vary according to when and how a person uses it and for how long. The effects are most dramatic in teens who are heavy users (those who smoke a joint four times a week) of weed and its synthetic versions such as K2 and spice. Their brain development can be permanently altered.

“The brain is sensitive from (before birth) through adolescence and into adulthood. Sensitive meaning if you expose the brain to a drug, it will cause a change,” says Dow-Edwards.

Whatever your age, using pot in any form can slow down your thinking and physical reactions.

THE EFFECTS OF CANNABIS SHORT-TERM

LONG-TERM

Changes in perception Time distortion Deficit in attention span Euphoria and relaxation Less ability to divide attention Decrease in memory Body tremors Impaired motor functioning, coordination and balance Increased heart rate, blood pressure and appetite Dilated pupils, red eyes, dry mouth and throat, and expansion of breathing passages.

Deficits in memory, attention, psychomotor speed and executive functioning (especially when use begins in teen years)

Increased risk of psychosis, depression and anxiety, breathing problems, respiratory conditions and possibly lung cancer.

Source: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse

MARIJUANA A REAL SAFETY HAZARD DRUGS AND DRIVING HOW DRUGS AFFECT DRIVERS:

Marijuana: two to six times more likely to crash DUTY TO

Sedatives: two to eight times more likely to be in a fatal crash

ACCOMMODATE

If you have substance abuse problems with alcohol or drugs, your employer may have a duty to accommodate your treatment and recovery. This obligation can include:

Opiods: up to eight times more likely to crash Cocaine: two to 10 times more likely to crash Recently started benzodiazepine (sleep aids or downers): two to five times more likely to crash.

The College of Family Physicians recommends their doctors give the following advice to patients using medical marijuana; it applies equally to recreational marijuana use:

Referring you to a substance abuse expert

DO NOT DRIVE FOR AT LEAST:

Four hours after smoking (inhaling) pot

Referring you to your employee assistance program

Six hours after eating pot Eight hours after experiencing euphoria from smoking or eating pot.

Working with human resources to determine how you are to be accommodated

Health Canada advises that your ability to “drive or perform activities requiring alertness” can be impaired for up to 24 hours after a single use of marijuana.

34% 39%

Determining if, how and when you can return to work.

OF FATAL ROAD CRASHES IN 2010 WERE A RESULT OF DRUG USE

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Talk to your manager or supervisor

OF FATAL ROAD CRASHES IN 2010 WERE A RESULT OF ALCOHOL USE

Source: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse

DRUGS AND DRIVING

Contact your employee assistance program or human resources department.

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FENTANYL DEADLY AND ADDICTIVE

Whatever you know about fentanyl, chances are it’s only part of the story. Here are four insights into this potent synthetic opioid.

ALCOHOL AND DRUGS AND YOU

If you work Canada’s oil and gas industry, you’re expected to know the broader details of your company’s alcohol and drug policy. This means you must know:

Your responsibility: by law, you must protect your own safety and your coworkers’ safety

How alcohol and drugs affect your ability to work safely The signs of alcohol and drug use When to report alcohol and drug use, including medications How the policy protects your rights Where to find help if you or a co-worker need it.

1: WHO’S USING FENTANYL

“Many people would think of fentanyl as something used by ‘downtown’ populations and the homeless,” says Dr. Nicholas Etches, a Calgary medical officer of health with Alberta Health Services. “But it cuts across all ages and socio-economic groups. It’s mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. People who are just like the rest of us.”

Etches says users don’t choose to become addicted to the drug. But it happens. And the drilling supervisor with chronic back pain in Estevan, Sask. and a Calgary hydraulic engineer who was in a car crash have just as much chance of becoming dependent on fentanyl as someone out of a job and a home in downtown Edmonton.

Many people living with chronic pain turn to illicit fentanyl after they can no longer refill prescriptions for legal opioid painkillers.

2: UNCONTROLLED SUBSTANCE

CLEARING THE AIR

Drowsiness Constipation Nausea and vomiting

Difficulty breathing Euphoria (feeling high) Itching and sweating.

Headaches, dizziness and confusion

Long-term use of opioids can lead to: Increased tolerance to the drug (more is needed to produce the same pain relief or high); this can increase the risk of an overdose and death.

Withdrawal symptoms include:

Signs of overdose include:

Nervousness Restlessness Body aches Diarrhea Nausea and stomach cramps.

Slow or weak breathing Dizziness, confusion and drowsiness Cold and clammy skin Pinpoint (small) pupils Collapse and coma.

This potency makes the drug easy to smuggle and cheap to sell on the streets. A kilogram of pure fentanyl powder can produce up to one million pills that sell for about $20 each. Some fentanyl pills look like OxyContin but can be far more potent. Fentanyl can also be laced into other opioids and sold in other forms.

Fentanyl has become a public health problem: in the first 10 months of 2016, 332 people in B.C., 193 people in Alberta and at least 18 in Saskatchewan died of fentanylrelated overdoses.

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Short-term effects of using opioids include:

A painkiller, Fentanyl is 100 times more powerful than morphine. Taking an amount equal to two grains of salt can be fatal.

3: PUBLIC HEALTH ENEMY

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4: SIDE EFFECTS OF FENTANYL & OPIOIDS

Whether legal or illegal, opioids such as fentanyl can be dangerous and unpredictable. Other opioids include oxycodone, morphine, heroin, hydromorphone and cocaine.

DEADLYAND ADDICTIVE

DRUG TESTING

If the federal government keeps its promise to legalize marijuana, Enform and its member associations are asking that new laws call for anyone who tests for marijuana use be removed from safety-sensitive positions until they test negative (as is currently the case).

DRUG TESTING ON THE JOB

In Canada, employers can only test employees for drugs (including alcohol) when they have reasonable cause. Suncor, however, has a case before the courts challenging this stance; the company wants to conduct random drug testing.

Currently no simple, reliable test, comparable to the breathalyzer used to detect alcohol, exists for determining degrees of marijuana impairment.

“When you buy alcohol, you know exactly what you’re getting,” says Dr. Charl Els, a psychiatrist and addiction specialist with the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. Els also presented at Enform’s 2017 Petroleum Safety Conference on May 2 in Banff, Alta.

In contrast, marijuana has hundreds of strains with varying strengths of the main psychoactive ingredient (tetrahydrocannabinol or THC).

“Certain blood-alcohol readings will indicate how impaired an individual is. For marijuana, we have no widely accepted test to determine impairment.

The technology for marijuana is far behind what we have for alcohol,” Els says.

Oral fluid testing was recently included in the impaired driving regime, but its potential role in safety sensitive workplaces remain unclear.

Chronic heavy users of marijuana can test positive on urine tests for up to approximately 30 days. So a joint smoked at a Friday evening party when you were off rotation could see you sidelined from work for weeks. The same holds true for medical marijuana.

75%

OF ILLICIT DRUG USERS ARE EMPLOYED

GETTING HELP

Where to find help if you have a problem with alcohol or drugs.

Alberta Health Services Addiction Helpline A 24-hour toll-free confidential service available to all Albertans.

866-332-2322 B.C. Alcohol & Drug Information & Referral Service Help across B.C. for any kind of substance abuse 24 hours a day.

800-663-1441 Manitoba Provincial Adult Addictions Information For adults with problems with substance use or gambling.

855-662-6605 Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Health and Community Services Mental Health and Addictions 709-737-4668 or tollfree 1-888-737-4668.

Saskatchewan HealthLine 811 Confidential, 24-hour health information and support telephone line.

8-1-1 (in Saskatchewan)

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Safe company

H2SAFETY READY TO SERVE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY COMPANY OFFERS EMBEDDED EMERGENCY RESPONSE MANAGEMENT

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H2SAFETY READY TO SERVE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY PHOTO COURTESY OF

H2SAFETY SERVICES

H 2S A F E T Y – S E RV I N G T H E O I L A N D G A S I N D U S T RY

Since 2003, Allied military forces have used embedded teams to train and mentor forces serving in Afghanistan.

H2Safety Services has used similar objectives, strategies and tactics with companies for nearly as many years, but with a different offensive plan: emergency preparedness in the oil and gas industry.

“Whether a client is in the startup phase or has been operating for a number of years, we are here to protect their company, their stakeholders and the environment in which they operate,” says Greg Marshall, vice president of Operations for H2Safety Services. “We become part of their company by thoroughly understanding their operations in order to deliver exceptional service and a quality product at a competitive price.”

H2SAFETY MANAGES CLIENTS’ EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAMS

BY PROVIDING TRAINING, PUBLIC CONSULTATION, GIS AND A SUITE OF SOFTWARE TOOLS AND APPS

While an oil and gas company’s size and resources may vary, each must know—and meet—federal, provincial and local regulations governing the industry. Marshall says many startup companies need external expertise to develop an emergency response program from the ground up. As well, established companies often lack the resources required to manage their emergency response plans.

H2Safety brings instant expertise—and value—to companies in countries around the world. They build custom emergency response plans based on a company’s operations and operating and regulatory environment.

Advantage Oil & Gas is a Calgary-based company with world-class natural gas and liquids in the Montney formation in northwest Alberta, at its Glacier operation. The company worked with H2Safety to generate its ERP in 2016.

“It is a standard ERP, but we have grown our field and the plan required expanding for our operations,” says Reg Beck, Advantage’s director of HSE and Regulatory Compliance. While the company has considerable production (240 million cubic feet/day), it has minimal staff.

“We’re a smaller company with a sizable operation and H2Safety took on a significant role, including the modelling calculations for emergency planning zones, setting up emergency response drills and representing Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. by contacting area residents."

Programs differ, but can include well, pipeline and facility operations (conventional, oilsands and offshore), environment, corporate leadership, wildfire and other natural disasters. Although every emergency is unique, they all share a common initial response (see graphic to left: Five Steps to Initial Emergency Response).

The company manages clients’ emergency response programs by providing services such as training, public consultation and GIS, along with a suite of software tools and apps (see next page). Marshall says H2Safety staff has “extensive knowledge, experience and skills in emergency response preparedness and training, regulatory, safety systems, engineering, GIS and software development.”

FIVE STEPS TO INITIAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE

1

2

3

4

5

Determine the level of the emergency

Internal notification

External notification

Incident briefing

Public safety

He adds: “Taking a proactive approach to emergency response management prepares companies for the unexpected. We design training programs to ensure responders are comfortable in their roles and continually invest in our team and technology to ensure responders have the tools they need to respond to an emergency situation.”

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Safe company

H2SAFETY READY TO SERVE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY H 2 S A F E T Y S E R V I C E S S O F T WA R E T O O L S A N D A P P S

H2Safety offers a suite of software tools and apps to help companies in an emergency response. Among them are these three: Emergency Documentation System (EDS)

A mobile or computer-based application companies can use to notify, communicate and document an emergency response. EDS highlights include: Alerts, calls and emails sent to custom contact lists

BASED IN CALGARY WITH MORE THAN 50 EMPLOYEES

Ability to securely share information such as maps, photos and documents Time-stamps all exchanges in chronological order Summarizes available personnel Assigns ICS roles Reports on demand.

Automatic File Delivery System (AFDS) Software that eliminates the confusion and frustration of working with outdated manuals. AFDS offers a number of features, including: Automatically checks and delivers documents to all registered users and devices through a web portal

FOUNDED IN 2004

BY JAMES HARASEN

Eliminates bulky binders Ensures current content and reduces errors; allows for easy information updates Files can be viewed without Internet access Tracks update compliance with time and date stamps.

Mapping and Response System (MARS) H2Safety’s Mapping and Response System helps oil and gas companies quickly and effectively manage an emergency anywhere in the world.

Highlights of this customized callout and mapping tool include: Designed specifically for oil and gas emergency responses Proven to reduce response time from hours to minutes Improves public safety in emergency response area Reduces resources required for an emergency response.

See the MARS video demo at: mars.h2safety.ca/demo.php.

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OPERATES IN CANADA, U.S.A, IRAQ, CHINA & INDONESIA

Tailgate talks

STEPS AND PREP TO AN EFFECTIVE SAFETY MEETING Whether you call them tailgate talks or toolbox topics, short safety meetings with your team can be highly effective. These meetings can be informal, but you’ll get more out of them by including the following:

1 2 3 4

HOLD THE MEETING AT THE JOBSITE. HOLD MEETINGS AT THE START OF A SHIFT OR AFTER A BREAK. CHOOSE A SPECIFIC TOPIC AND MAKE IT ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY PROBLEMS ON THE JOB. RESEARCH THE PROBLEM BEFORE THE MEETING. BE PREPARED:

Explain why the topic is timely and important Know your company procedures, policies and safe practices Make a short list of key points to cover.

5 6 7 8 9

KEEP THE TOPIC SPECIFIC. TRYING TO COVER TOO MUCH IS TOO MUCH. MAKE IT PRACTICAL. DEMONSTRATE SAFE WORK PRACTICES AND PROPER USE OF TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT. ENCOURAGE WORKERS TO ASK QUESTIONS AND DISCUSS ANSWERS. TALK ABOUT PERSONAL EXPERIENCES; THEY CAN DRAMATICALLY ENHANCE SAFETY MESSAGES. KEEP THE MEETING SHORT, USUALLY 10 TO 15 MINUTES.

10

AFTER THE MEETING CONSIDER:

Did the topic fit the jobsite and did the crew participate?

Did someone demonstrate safety equipment or safety practices?

Did the meeting lead to changes in work practices?

11 12

EVALUATE THE MEETING. ASK QUESTIONS, WALK THE JOBSITE AND OBSERVE. DOCUMENT/RECORD THE MEETING AND FOLLOWUP ACTIONS.

Adapted from: Setting Up a Tailgate/Toolbox Safety Meeting, California Department of Industrial Relations

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FOR YOUR NEXT SAFETY MEETING Tailgate talks

STRUCK BY AN OBJECT

Struck by an object is the leading cause of injury in the upstream oil and gas industry. This information from Enform is ideal background for your next tailgate talk or toolbox topic.

TOP THREE LEADING CAUSES OF STRUCK-BY-AN-OBJECT INJURIES: HANDLING PIPE, RESULTING IN ARM, LEG AND HEAD INJURIES 2 STRUCK BY PULLEYS AND SHEAVES, RESULTING IN HEAD AND LEG INJURIES 3 STRUCK BY HOSES, RESULTING IN ANKLE AND HEAD INJURIES

FROM 2012 TO 2016 IN ALBERTA, SASKATCHEWAN AND B.C., BEING STRUCK

BY AN OBJECT ACCOUNTED FOR: ~4,000 CLAIMS ~$16.5 MILLION IN CLAIMS ~26,500 LOST DAYS

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HOW TO AVOID SPECIFIC STRUCK-BY-AN-OBJECT INJURIES

These quick tips are ideal to use for your next tailgate talk or toolbox topic.

STRUCK

BY PIPE

Conduct load calculations to ensure the sheave is right for the job

Don’t rush and be aware of your surroundings

Secure the sheave during transport to the elevated attachment point

Follow established procedures

Do not stand below equipment being installed or dismantled

Don’t be in the line of fire Establish “no go” zones

Inspect sheaves for damage or wear on a regular basis

Secure pressurized pipes

If something doesn’t feel right, stop and investigate

Ensure effective communication

STRUCK

BY HOSES

See Enform’s Safety Alert, Snatch Block Sheave Fall

Ensure good communication and work hand-off Know the position of all the valves

STRUCK BY SHEAVES

Stay away from hoses when flow is initiated to avoid the kick Inspect the lines on a regular basis for leaks Never disconnect a line if you are unsure if it is pressurized Ensure connections are secure

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SAFETY

IS ALWAYS PERSONAL A TRYING ECONOMY. IMPROVING PERFORMANCE. DOING MORE WITH LESS. PSC 2017

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR 2017 SPONSORS FOR YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT.

PREMIERE

PLATINUM

SILVER

FRIEND

Feature Field notes

A DOG’S LIFE: THE NOSE KNOWS 26

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It was just below zero on a February morning north of Edmonton. The sun beat down, making the snow slushy, revealing patches of dirt. A man and a dog moved cautiously through the muck, hunting the prey they’d been hired to find. It was tiny and invisible, but boy, could it stink.

Prowling near a new pipeline that engineers suspected was leaking, Ron Mistafa, owner of Calgary-based Detector Dog Services International and his yellow lab, Duke, were seeking a particular scent: mercaptan, also known as methanethiol.

Mercaptan smells like rotting garbage and holds a special value for the oil and gas industry—it can be detected in very small quantities. Put it into a pipeline and pressure the line up with air, and, bingo, it can help you pinpoint a leak, Mistafa says. Especially when a dog is on the scent.

A DOG’S SENSE OF SMELL IS UP TO 10,000 TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN A HUMAN’S

The canine brain is wired to identify scents and a dog’s sense of smell is up to 10,000 times more powerful than a human’s. Dogs are perfect for tracking hard-to-find pipeline leaks.

“When Duke found the leak, the engineers were really surprised,” Mistafa says, recalling the job from several years ago. “They’d said we’d never find it.”

A former trainer and dog handler for the Calgary Police Service who has also taught dogs and their handlers to locate landmines in Bosnia, Mistafa says sniffer dogs contribute to greater human safety. In the case of the pipeline leak, he says the company didn’t have to dig up the pipeline.

“That’s hard work . . . and they were able to fix it quickly. In my experience, using sniffer dogs can save workers, time and money.”

WRITTEN BY MIKE FISHER PHOTOGRAPHED BY JASON STANG

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Field notes

IN MY EXPERIENCE, USING SNIFFER DOGS CAN SAVE WORKERS, TIME AND MONEY. 28

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D O G S C O M P L E M E N T P I P E L I N E D E T E C T I O N SYST E M S

The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) and its members recognize the critical importance of leak detection and are continually seeking ways to improve their technology.

“Companies have automatic leak detection alarm systems, automatic shut-off devices and devices that monitor the internal condition of the pipe,” says CEPA spokesperson Leanne Madder. “The use of leak detection dogs is a unique form of monitoring that complements an operator’s existing leak detection system.”

Phil Graham was a trainer and instructor at the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre for six years and has been involved in operational searches for narcotics and explosives searching for more than 20 years. Today, he runs PVA Canine Services near Red Deer. The company’s clients are in the oil and gas industry, along with the hydro and mining sectors. Launched six years ago, PVA specializes in canine searches for illicit substances.

Oil and gas companies have mixed views about canine detection for drugs, Graham says. Some companies don’t allow dogs on their work sites.

Nonetheless, he is certain that he and his dogs are beneficial.

“We know we are a deterrent against substance abuse when we visit a safety-sensitive worksite with our dogs,” he says. “Our dogs (sporting breeds such as labs and spaniels) are very good at identifying illicit items.

I can say anecdotally that when we are consistently at a site, there is a reduction in events.”

Roger Miller, security manager at North West Redwater Partnership Sturgeon Refinery, south of Redwater, Alta., says PVA Canine provides proactive safety and security. “We use their dogs inside the gates and it is a demonstration of our commitment to safety and our workforce.”

C A N I N E S W O R K TO M A K E U S S A F E

Working in the oil and gas industry is part of the bigger picture in a modern working dog’s life.

Police and border guards also use dogs to detect drugs. Some arson investigators count on dogs to find clues after fires. Search and rescue teams depend on dogs to detect people lost in natural disasters. Some canine companies, including PVA, have used their dogs to detect bedbugs.

Bill Allen, founder of Out West Canine Consulting in Saskatchewan, has two pipeline-sniffing dogs: Kaaxan, a black lab, and Ruff, a chocolate lab.

“Sometimes we’re the company’s first resort, sometimes we’re the last,” Allen says. In good years, Out West averages more than 25 jobs a year in oil and gas. “Most of our work is right after construction, if a pipeline fails the initial pressure test. So typically, we are pre-startup.”

Dogs working in the oil and gas sector help companies meet safety standards and their owners collect a paycheque. What do the dogs get?

Their reward is a bouncing ball, a training device that most dogs love.

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Field notes

DOGS WORKING IN THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR HELP COMPANIES MEET SAFETY STANDARDS AND THEIR OWNERS COLLECT A PAYCHEQUE. THE REWARD FOR THE DOG IS CHASING A BOUNCING BALL.

SA F E T Y C O M E S F I R ST F O R D O G S TO O

Dogs are not safety decoys—Ron Mistafa of Detector Dog Services says he never sends his animals into a situation or site that’s unsafe for humans.

“My dogs are my family’s pets and they’re members of our family and our business,” he says. “And I’m not going to push them into something dangerous.”

The oil and gas industry doesn’t have specific protocols for using animals to detect leaks. In their absence, however, Mistafa is working to set up protocols for such businesses. (He’s working with Indigenous groups in Alberta to set up detection businesses that use pigs, as well as dogs.)

Meanwhile, he keeps well informed of the chemicals used in oil and gas production and their risks to his dogs (and him). And he takes steps to reduce them.

“If a company wants to locate a leak on a line with H2S, we ask them to have it purged or filled with water first and then add mercaptan," he says.

That way his dogs are detecting an odorous chemical rather than a deadly substance.

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For details, rates and bookings, email us at Frontline@enform.ca.

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