OHS Canada May/June 2015 by Annex Business Media

C A N A D Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E MAY /JU NE 2015

C A N A D A

Towards the Ligh t Work disability deals a blow to longevity

OUT OF THE WOODS

Trimming risks in the forestry sector

YOUTH ZONE

A supplement on young-worker safety

THE WILD WEST

Provinces tackle oil-and-gas hazards

OPEN LEARNING

Oh&s training gets novel

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C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E

FEATURES CC A A NNA AD DA A

WOR K D IS AB ILITY 16

Spiralling Down

M AY/ J U N E 2015 Vo l u m e 3 1, Nu m b e r 3

New research shows that workplace injuries resulting in permanent impairment could trigger the start of a vicious cycle that, ultimately, shortens one’s life span. BY JEAN LIAN

F OR ES TRY

In the Woods

While safety in Canada’s forestry sector has improved through the years, it remains one of the most dangerous industries. Are forestry workers out of the woods yet? BY KELLY PUTTER

SUPPLEMENT

Youth Zone

Featuring news, expert advice and interviews profiling safety organizations, this 12-page supplement zones in on the dangers that young workers face in the workplace.

DEPARTMENTS

On the Western Front

Representatives from Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia address safety developments in Canada’s oil and gas sector at the 2015 Petroleum Safety Conference.

IN THIS ISSUE

BY JEAN LIAN

ED IT O R IA L

PA N O R A MA

O H&S U P D AT E

Spring Fling with Danger

S P EC IAL R EP ORT

Feds introduce tank-car standards; new oh&s law in Northwest Territories; fresh evidence in British Columbia sawmill explosion; trench collapse kills Alberta worker; equipment on fire in Manitoba mine; Ontario inquest yields recommendations; burial benefits increase for New Brunswick firefighters; Nova Scotia firm faces charges; and more. D IS PAT C HES

PA RT N ER S IN P R E V E NT I O N 2 0 1 5 P R O D U C T S HO W CAS E

44 49

Man fired over harassment; new digs for safety research centre; tit for tat; and more.

AC C ID EN T P R EV EN TION

Air It Out

Choosing the right ventilation system to purge contaminants and introduce fresh air is a must in many industries that produce dust, fumes, vapours and gases.

S AF ETY GEAR

Back to the Future

Technology has opened up possibilities in the way safety training is delivered, but some industry professionals are wary of open-learning models. BY CARMELLE WOLFSON

TIM E OUT

Empty threats; piggy-back ride; air rage; once bitten, twice shy; a dog’s world; too much to bear; and more.

Safety is not an intellectual exercise to keep us in work. It is a matter of life and death.

– SIR BRIAN APPLETON

www.ohscanada.com

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EDITORIAL C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E

Spring Fling with Danger

Vol. 31, No. 3 MAY/JUNE 2015

ASSISTANT EDITOR CARMELLE WOLFSON cwolfson@ohscanada.com EDITOR JEFF COTTRILL CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY NEWS jcottrill@ohscanada.com

t felt like a near-miss incident when I read about the closure of several popular trails in Banff in mid-May due to a hiker’s close encounter with a bear. I had recently returned from Canmore and Banff, where I was hiking alone for several days prior to attending a conference and trade show in Banff in May — the same month in which a camper in British Columbia was killed by a bear in a separate incident while sleeping outdoors by a fire pit. Welcome to bear country in the spring. While I had a can of bear spray with me, I was often the first to hit the trails in the chilly mornings before the crowd sets in. Not the best demonstration of judgement, some might argue, considering that spring is the season when bears are out foraging for food after a winter of hibernation. In my defence, I also wore a bear bell that I constantly jangled when I was out and about in the woods. That said, workers’ encounters with wildlife, such as the one that resulted in the death of a female Suncor employee at a job site near Fort McMurray, Alberta last year offer little assurance. The 36-year-old employee was working in a group at a busy industrial site when she was singled out and attacked by a bear. Her coworkers blasted air horns in an attempt to drive away the predator, but to no avail. According to a decades-long study, Fatal Attacks by American Black Bear on People: 1900–2009, published in 2011 in The Journal of Wildlife Management, 63 people were killed in 59 incidents in Canada, Alaska and the lower 48 states during that period. While the risk of bear attacks against people is low — considering that there are millions of interactions between humans and black bears with no injuries — it nevertheless exists, says study author and University of Calgary professor emeritus Dr. Stephen Herrero. The rates of bear attacks on humans are rising with human population growth, and lone male bears are often the most dangerous, the study says. A whopping 86 per cent of fatal bear attacks between those decades occurred since 1960. Despite lower human populations in Canada and Alaska, fatalities are more common in these northern areas, where 77 per cent of 63 fatal attacks took place, compared to south of the 49th parallel. And contrary to the popular belief that surprising a mother bear with her cubs is the most dangerous, 92 per cent of the bears involved in deadly attacks during the 110 years studied were males. Lone, male black bears hunting people as a potential source of food are a greater cause of deadly maulings and related predatory attempts, the study concludes. According to a guide from the Alberta government, Bears and Industrial Workers, bears are attracted by petroleum-based products like fuel, oil and jerry cans. Bears may also lose their fear of humans if they have repeated contact with them with no negative consequences in a process called human habituation. Human and wildlife encounters will likely increase as a result of human encroachment, be that in the form of people seeking recreational opportunities in the wild or extending industrial activities into the deeper recesses of bear country. For companies with operations in remote worksites, the hazard of wildlife encounters needs to feature more prominently in their prevention efforts. Often, one does not truly appreciate danger until one has flirted and got away with it. As to whether my lonesome venture into bear country in spring was an intrepid endeavour or simply cavalier, the bottom line is that I have lived to spread the cautionary tale for the benefit of all. You are welcome. Jean Lian

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C A N A D A

EDITOR JEAN LIAN jlian@ohscanada.com

ART DIRECTOR

ANNE MIRON PHYLLIS WRIGHT

PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER

GARY WHITE

MARKETING SPECIALIST

DIMITRY EPELBAUM

CIRCULATION MANAGER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER PUBLISHER PRESIDENT, ANNEX-NEWCOM LP

BARBARA ADELT badelt@annexnewcom.ca SHEILA HEMSLEY shemsley@ohscanada.com PETER BOXER pboxer@ohscanada.com ALEX PAPANOU

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

DAVID IRETON, Safety Professional, Brampton, Ont. AL JOHNSON, Vice President, Prevention Services WorkSafeBC, Richmond, B.C. JANE LEMKE, Program Manager, OHN Certification Program, Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ont.

DON MITCHELL, Safety Consultant, Mississauga, Ont. MICHELE PARENT, National Manager, Risk Management and Health and Wellness,

Standard Life, Montreal, Que. TERRY RYAN, Workers’ Compensation and Safety Consultant, TRC Group Inc., Mississauga, Ont. DON SAYERS, Principal Consultant, Don Sayers & Associates, Hanwell, N.B. DAVID SHANE, National Director, Health and Safety, Canada Post Corporation, Ottawa, Ont. HENRY SKJERVEN, President, The Skjerven Cattle Company Ltd., Wynyard, Sask. PETER STRAHLENDORF, Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Health, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ont. JONATHAN TYSON, Association of Canadian Ergonomists/Association canadienne d’ergonomie, North Bay, Ont. OHS CANADA is the magazine for people who make decisions about health and safety in the workplace. It is designed to keep workers, managers and safety professionals informed on oh&s issues, up to date on new developments and in touch with current thinking in the oh&s community. WEBSITE: http://www.ohscanada.com INFORMATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS contained in this publication have been compiled from sources believed to be reliable and to be representative of the best current opinion on the subject. No warranty, guarantee nor representation is made by Annex-Newcom LP as to the absolute correctness or sufficiency of any representation contained in this publication. OHS CANADA is published six times per year by Annex-Newcom LP, a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business-to-business information services. The yearly issues include: January/ February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October and November/December. Application to mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is pending at Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14304. U.S. Postmaster, Office of Publication, send address corrections to: OHS Canada, 2424 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, NY 14304-0357. ADDRESS: OHS CANADA MAGAZINE, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9. TELEPHONE: Customer Service: 1-866-543-7888; Editorial: 416-510-6893; Sales: 416-510-5102; Fax: 416-510-5171. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Canada: $110.50/year; USA: $132.50/year; foreign: $137.50. (Prices include postage and shipping; applicable taxes are extra.) SINGLE COPIES: Canada: $6.00; USA: $8.00; foreign $10.00 Bulk subscription rates available on request. Indexed by Canadian Business Periodicals Inc. ISSN 0827-4576 OHS Canada (Print) • ISSN 1923-4279 OHS Canada (Online) Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. From time to time, we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: Customer Service: (Tel) 416-510-5189; (Fax) 416-510-5167; (E-mail) asingh@annexnewcom.ca; (Mail) Privacy Officer, Annex-Newcom LP, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Canada. The contents of this magazine are protected by copyright and may be used for your personal, non-commercial purposes only. All other rights are reserved, and commercial use is prohibited. To make use of any of this material, you must first obtain the permission of the owner of the copyright. For further information, please contact the editor. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

POSTAL INFORMATION: Publications mail agreement no. 40069240. Postmaster, please forward forms 29B and 67B to Annex-Newcom LP, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Canada. Date of issue: MAY/JUNE 2015

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panorama 2.3 million 1

3 2 4

Source: Government of Yukon

2. Heroes’ Homecoming: Burnaby Firefighters Local 323 announced on May 11 the safe return of 20 firefighters who had gone to Nepal to assist with rescue efforts, following a devastating earthquake that killed more than 8,000 people. The group, who was joined by members of the British Columbia Firefighters Search Dog Society, flew to Kathmandu on April 27 with enhanced search equipment and $10,000 worth of donated Milwaukee Source: Burnaby Firefighters Local 323 power tools. 3. Farm Deaths Spike: Alberta’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner investigated 25 agriculturerelated deaths in 2014 — an increase from the previous year, confirms Alberta’s Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour. Preliminary data indicate that nine of the fatalities were machinery-related. Alberta remains the only province Source: Alberta’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in which workplace safety legislation does not cover agriculture. 4. Bridging the Gap: Ontario is closing the gender wage gap by appointing a new steering committee to lead the development of a wage-gap strategy. Factors influencing the wage gap include workplace discrimination, unequal gender representation and a higher proportion of caregiver responsibilities falling on women, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour says in a statement issued on April 20. The committee will report to the provincial government early Source: Ontario’s Ministry of Labour next year with the results of their consultations and recommendations. 5. A Second Look: Newfoundland and Labrador is engaging an external consultant to review its respectful-workplace and harassment policies, which have not been amended since the fall of 2011. A statement from the province issued on March 30 says it will identify the consultant and draft terms of reference through the Human Source: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Resource Secretariat and the Public Service Commission.

ELDERLY HOME RAZED A fire that burned down a privately-run home for the elderly in China has killed 38 people, raising safety concerns over housing facilities for the country’s aging population. The fire broke out on May 25 in the Kangleyuan Rest Home, which housed 51 residents in the city of Pingdingshan in Henan province. An investigation into the blaze continues. Source: The Associated Press

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Source: International Labour Organization

$120,000

1. Report Gets Nod: Yukon’s legislature has accepted all 21 recommendations in a final report released on April 9 by its Select Committee Regarding the Risks and Benefits of Hydraulic Fracturing. Any proposed fracking activity will now require the support of affected First Nations communities. The government plans to conduct an economic study of fracking and develop an engagement strategy to facilitate public dialogue on the practice.

360°

Number of people who die from work-related accidents and diseases each year around the world. April 28 was World Day for Safety and Health at Work, organized by the International Labour Organization in Geneva.

Penalty issued to Sarnia, Ontario-based Bluewater Power Distribution Corporation on May 25 over the electrocution death of a worker who was performing repair work, following the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Source: Ontario’s Ministry of Labour

21%

Percentage of workers who reported receiving a diagnosis of depression at some point. This number is part of the findings of an online survey of 1,000 workers aged 16 to 64 in Canada, conducted from January 21 to 28, 2014. Source: Ipsos MORI

1.6

The historically low lost-timeinjury rate per 100 workers in Newfoundland and Labrador for the third consecutive year in 2014. The rate has been decreasing steadily for 13 years, following its high of 5.2 per 100 workers in 1989. Source: Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission

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OH&S UPDATE

RAIL CROSSINGS GET UPGRADE FEDERAL — Transport Canada (TC) is investing more than $9.7 million to improve railway crossings across the country. Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt made the announcement on April 27 upon launching Rail Safety Week, which ran from April 27 to May 3. The funding, provided through the federal government’s Grade Crossing Improvement Program (GCIP) this year, will enhance the safety of pedestrians and motorists by upgrading more than 600 rail crossings. Among the GCIP’s planned improvements are installations of warning lights, bells and barriers, new circuits or timing devices and brighter LED lights, according to a statement from TC. Factors that will determine the types of upgrades include traffic volume and accident history. “A safe and secure national rail-transportation system is important to local communities and to Canada’s economic well-being,” Raitt says in a statement. On April 23, Raitt issued an emer-

gency directive to Canadian rail companies, requiring train speeds not to exceed 64 kilometres per hour in highly urbanized areas and companies to increase risk assessments and inspections along rail routes commonly used for transporting dangerous goods. Apart from upgrading railway crossings, TC will also collaborate with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) on a joint study on railway safety, focusing on voice and video recorders in locomotives. Raitt says that both TC and the TSB would research ways in which railways can use these recorders to provide information for accident investigators, particularly about how train crews act and communicate before these incidents occur. “Locomotive voice and video recorders are a critical safety tool that provide[s] investigators with an unparalleled understanding of how and why accidents happen,” Raitt says. She adds that TC “strongly supports the use of voice and video recorders on trains” and is pleased to launch this joint initiative with the TSB.

TRAIN CONDUCTOR KILLED FEDERAL — A train conductor was fatally injured while working at a rail yard just outside of Saskatoon on April 9. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) says the incident involved the death of a Canadian National Rail (CN) worker. Kevin Timmerman has been identified as the victim by Teamsters Canada, the union that represents CN’s rail conductors. According to CN, Timmerman was sent to a hospital in Saskatoon with life-threatening injuries, but he suffered a cardiac arrest on the way to the facility and later died. This incident comes as CN — and Canada’s rail industry — is facing scrutiny over its oh&s standards, following three separate derailments of CN freight trains in northern Ontario earlier this year, two of which occurred near Gogama, Ontario. The third, which took place on March 7, involved the derailment of 30 cars, triggering a fire and oil pollution of the Mattagami River System.

NEW TANK-CAR STANDARDS INTRODUCED FEDERAL — After years of controversy regarding the suitability of CTC-111A (or DOT-111) tank cars for carrying flammable liquids like crude oil or ethanol by rail, Transport Canada (TC) has officially introduced a new standard for tank cars, in collaboration with the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt made the announcement with United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx on May 1 at the DOT headquarters in Washington, D.C. “I want to note how pleased I am that we are taking these actions in a spirit of partnership,” Raitt told press attendees at the DOT headquarters. “Canadian and American officials worked jointly to reach a solution that took into account the railway systems and industries in both of our countries, and it is this collaboration that brought us to this important agreement.” The new TC-117 tank car will include thicker steel heads and shells, as well as head shields, to prevent puncture and increase structural strength. Additional protection will come in the form of a thermal jacket to withstand heat, protective covers over valves, accessories on the car’s top and stronger bottom valves to stop leaks and withstand derailment. As recommended by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), TC is also phasing out the entire fleet of CTC-

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111A and CPC 1232 tank cars currently in operation for carrying dangerous goods in Canada. CTC-111A cars comprised the entire fleet of oil carriers on the train involved in the Lac-Mégantic disaster, which killed 47 people in 2013. Raitt added that the oldest and least crash-resistant cars would be taken out of commission first. “We must increase the safety of rail cars as soon as possible,” she said, “but we must also provide tank-car owners with enough time to comply with the new requirements while railway companies continue to meet shipping demands.” In a statement following Raitt’s announcement, TSB chair Kathy Fox says the new tank-car standard and implementation schedule “are important steps in addressing outstanding recommendations, including those stemming from the TSB’s investigation into the Lac-Mégantic accident.” Fox adds that the TSB will carefully review the new tankcar standards and the implementation timeline for retrofitting the existing Class 111 cars used for flammable-liquid service as part of its normal process for the reassessment of responses to safety recommendations. Raitt acknowledges that these changes would be both difficult and costly. “But more important than all of this is what we can save in human costs.” — By Jeff Cottrill

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NEW REGULATIONS KICK IN YELLOWKNIFE — The Northwest Territories government has implemented new workplace safety legislation. The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) in the Northwest Territories announced on April 16 that the recently drafted Occupational Health and Safety Regulations would become law on June 1. Similar regulations are expected to go into effect in Nunavut later this year. According to background information from the WSCC, the territorial government’s Safety Advisory Committee developed the new regulations through participating in extensive engagement with residents in the territory. “It is very important for organizations to thoroughly review the new Regulations to see how the changes will affect their operations,” WSCC president and chief executive officer Dave Grundy says in a statement following the announcement. “One of the major highlights of the new Regulations is the increased support for

an Internal Responsibility System, which allows employers and workers to ensure safe workplaces together.”

ENGINE FAILURE, WEIGHT CITED YELLOWKNIFE — A new report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has concluded that engine failure and excess weight led to the crash of an aircraft two years ago. On August 19, 2013, the Hay River, Northwest Territories-bound passenger flight lifted off at 5:08 p.m. from Yellowknife with three crew members and 21 passengers. It was scheduled to land at Hay River, but a fire broke out in the right engine shortly after takeoff. After an emergency engine shutdown and a right turn towards another runway, the plane collided with a stand of trees and hit the ground with the landing gear retracted. There were no injuries to any of the crew or passengers. According to the TSB report, published on April 27, the airline did not have a sufficient Safety Management

System to identify or deal with safety risks, which led to unsafe practices, such as the plane exceeding maximum takeoff weight. In addition, Transport Canada failed to address such unsafe practices. The investigation also found that a cylinder failure in the right engine had sparked the fire.

PLAN EYES HEALTHCARE VIOLENCE RICHMOND — The British Columbia Ministry of Health (MOH) has begun developing an action plan to address on-the-job violence against healthcare professionals, following a summit with unions and other industry stakeholders on April 7. The Summit to Prevent Workplace Violence in Health Care, which took place in Richmond, brought together the province’s Health Minister Terry Lake, the Health Sciences Association of British Columbia (HSA), the British Columbia Nurses’ Union (BCNU) and others to discuss acts of violence by patients against nurses and other healthcare workers.

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“Everyone really appreciated the opportunity to address the issue and come together,” MOH public-affairs officer Nicole Beneteau says. She adds that the ministry has committed to developing an action plan, slated to be completed by early summer. “It will take into consideration all of the discussions that went on at the summit from the variety of stakeholders and use that as a guide to develop some solutions.”

Lake initiated the summit in response to a public call for action by HSA president Val Avery, who had requested a meeting among key healthcare-sector stakeholders in the province in a statement issued last December. “Today, we made a good start towards working in a coordinated way to improve how we prevent violence in healthcare settings,” Avery says in a statement following the summit. “I thank

Minister Lake for taking up my call to action and inviting a wide range of healthcare workers, management and specialists to exchange frank ideas.” Gayle Duteil, president of the BCNU, reports that nurses are still facing the threat of violence every day. She adds that the union has been involved in intense negotiations with the MOH lately, “and we are encouraged by the government’s commitment to making nurses’ worksites safer.” These negotiations involve making proposals to the ministry for an action plan. “It is my understanding that they are going to consider or going to work collaboratively to implement some of our thoughts regarding more safety officers, better alarm systems including personal alarms, regular and ongoing and supportive training in violence prevention and staffing levels that don’t put nurses in danger,” Duteil says. The MOH recognizes that violence against healthcare professionals has recently become an issue of high concern. “In the last year, there have been some more high-profile cases that have come up,” Beneteau notes. On March 1, an agitated patient attacked a nurse at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre in Abbotsford. In another incident, a Penticton psychiatrist was beaten severely by a client in late 2014. “There is certainly an increasing, escalating violence in the society,” Duteil says, “and it is filtering into the hospitals. We can’t let it continue.”

EMAIL HALTS PROCEDURES EDMONTON — Operations were suspended at three hospitals in Edmonton on May 4 following the receipt of a mysterious email sent by an Alberta Health Services (AHS) staff member, which potentially threatened the safety of operating-room equipment. As a precautionary measure, 23 operations were postponed at the Walter C. MacKenzie Health Sciences Centre, which includes the University of Alberta Hospital, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and Stollery Children’s Hospital. As of May 5, all scheduled surgeries and procedures had resumed at the Centre, an AHS statement reports. On top of regular procedures, which require that physicians and technicians complete routine equipment checks, an additional assessment of equipment in the main op-

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INQUEST ADJOURNED IN LIGHT OF NEW EVIDENCE BURNABY — British Columbia Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe announced on March 25 that an ongoing inquest into the fatal Lakeland sawmill explosion in Prince George in 2012 had been temporarily adjourned, citing newly disclosed information about subsequent investigations into the tragedy. Inquest counsel John M. Orr, Queen’s Counsel, reveals that lawyers for Lakeland Mill commissioned a separate forensic investigation into the blast and that WorkSafeBC has known about this for more than two years. “I had started asking a number of questions during the inquest about whether or not the company had done their own internal investigation,” Orr says. “Initially, I was told no.” But Orr and his team discovered that Case Forensics (CF), a Seattle-based forensic-engineering firm, had done a very extensive investigation. At first, the Lakeland legal team refused to release the information, citing client privilege. But the lawyers later relented. “And so we get a USB stick with 30 gigs of information. This was a massive, really, really big investigation,” says Orr, who stresses that CF never compiled a report. Orr adds that WorkSafeBC declined to meet with CF and accept all of the latter’s information in 2012, instead proceeding with issuing its own report. “That raises a lot of questions about the WorkSafeBC report,” he notes. Orr requested the adjournment so he could “go through the case report, compare it to all the WorkSafeBC materials and see if we have got a problem, in that the WorkSafeBC report may not be reliable.” eration room was conducted. “Following an in-depth investigation, as well as additional safety precautions, we are confident in the decision made by AHS physician[s] and senior leadership to proceed with today’s procedures,” AHS communications director Kerry Williamson says. “The ongoing safety and care of patients, their families and our staff is our chief priority, and we will continue to make sure this is upheld.”

TRENCH COLLAPSE KILLS WORKER EDMONTON — A 55-year-old male construction worker in Edmonton has died after a sewer trench in which he was digging collapsed, burying him under a few metres of clay and dirt. The incident took place just before 5:00 p.m. on April 28. According to information from the provincial Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour, the worker remained buried for several hours as emergency services arrived at the scene to extricate him. Ministry spokesperson Brookes Merritt confirms that the victim was deceased by the time

Lapointe’s announcement came two days after the western district of the United Steelworkers pulled out of the inquest because of issues with the way the investigations had been handled. “We were not satisfied that the proper questions were going to be answered,” United Steelworkers District 3 director Stephen Hunt says. “It was really turning into a public-relations exercise.” Hunt charges that the inquest focused too much on what the employers and WorkSafeBC had accomplished since the disaster, and that it ignored the relevant facts. “There was an anonymous call from a worker who said, ‘I am afraid that this mill is going to blow up like Babine Lake,’” he says, referring to a similar explosion at the Babine Forest Products mill near Burns Lake in January 2012. In addition, a fully qualified hygiene inspector visited the mill before the blast, but did not measure the dust level, Hunt claims. WorkSafeBC’s investigations into both explosions had already come under heavy criticism, as neither had resulted in criminal charges. Last year, a government inquiry into the Babine disaster accused WorkSafeBC of handling evidence inappropriately, treating the disaster as merely an oh&s case rather than as a criminal one. The Coroners Service of British Columbia says a date for the resumption of the inquest will be set as soon as possible. Orr considered the adjournment a positive development. “We found a large amount of new information,” he says. “The strength of the inquest process is that we get to everything.” — By Jeff Cottrill

he was extricated the following morning. The worker had been hired for the construction project via the Bissell Centre Temporary Labour Agency in Edmonton. This was the second workplace-burial accident to occur in Edmonton in less than a week. Both resulted in fatalities. On April 22, a 37-year-old City employee was hospitalized in critical condition after a dump truck spilled sand and gravel sweepings onto him at an industrial park. A supervisor discovered the driver’s condition and contacted emergency medical services immediately. Merritt confirms that a stop-use order on the truck was issued in the above incident and that the victim passed away on April 28. Gord Cebryk, the City’s branch manager of transportation operations, points out that while similar situations in which the end gate did not open have occurred in the past, this is the first time that a City employee has been injured in this way. “There is a procedure on how to dump and what to do if the end gate doesn’t open,” Cebryk says. Alberta’s oh&s authorities are investigating both incidents.

REFINERY FIRE PROMPTS FINE REGINA — Saskatoon-based Consumers’ Co-operative Refineries Limited has been fined $280,000 for a workplacesafety violation that led to an explosion and subsequent fire at its facility in 2011, resulting in 52 injuries. Consumers’ Co-op pleaded guilty to contravening clause 17(a) of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 1996, which states that all work at a place of employment must be sufficiently and competently supervised, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety in Regina reported on May 12. Four other charges against the company were withdrawn.

MINERS UNSCATHED BY FIRE THOMPSON — A fire broke out in an underground nickel mine in Thompson, Manitoba on April 5, when a piece of equipment burst into flames after being struck by a large chunk of falling debris. All 39 of the miners escaped unharmed. www.ohscanada.com

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According to United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6166 president Murray Nychyporuk, workers at Vale Canada’s T1 Mine were using a remote control to operate a scoop tram, also known as a load-haul-dump (LHD), located in an open production block of a vertical-block mining shaft. The chunk fell onto the tram at about 3:30 p.m., crushing the equipment and causing the battery to short, which sparked the fire.

After the mine’s warning system was fired, all miners proceeded to underground refuge stations immediately. A Vale statement notes that workers at an adjoining mine also moved to safe rooms as a precaution and were let out by 10:00 p.m. that same day. The fire was eventually contained to the equipment, and rescue teams returned seven of the miners to the surface the next morning. All of the remaining

workers had returned to the surface as of 1:25 p.m., with no injuries reported. The company initiated a fire watch as a standard practice. “While the interruption to production and the damage to equipment are unfortunate,” Vale says in a statement, “we are reassured by the fact that our fire and rescue procedures worked and we achieved zero harm to our people, who will be returning safely to their homes and families today.” The mine was back in full production by the following day. Ryan Land, manager of corporate affairs and organizational development with Vale’s Manitoba operations, notes that such incidents take place from time to time. “Damage to equipment and equipment fires do happen, and we are always looking for ways to prevent through maintenance and procedures,” Land says. “When it is not possible to manage risk to as reasonably achievable in operating equipment, we operate by remote, as in this situation.” In many cases, an onboard fire-suppression system could have prevented this, to some degree, he adds. Vale and USW Local 6166 are conducting a joint investigation of the fire.

FALLING CRANE CLAIMS WORKER AURORA — A construction worker from Aurora, Ontario has died, after a crane tipped over and fell onto him at a worksite in Brampton on April 21. According to information from the Peel Regional Police (PRP) and the Ontario Ministry of Labour, a large crane was lifting a load when it tipped over and landed on the 40-year-old employee of Forma-Con Construction, who was standing on the ground. The construction project, undertaken by Concord-based Bondfield Construction Company Ltd., is an ongoing Phase Two expansion of the Gore Meadows Community Centre and Library on behalf of the City of Brampton. Emergency medical services were called to the site immediately. Peel Paramedics posted on its Twitter account at 11:26 a.m. that the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Police who responded to the scene found no evidence of a criminal element, says PRP media-relations officer Constable Lilly Fitzpatrick. Three requirements were issued to the employer to produce documentation, says ministry spokesperson William Lin.

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COMPANY FINED FOR BURNS HAMILTON — A Waterdown, Ontariobased firm was fined $8,000, and its owner ordered to pay two fines totalling $19,000 on April 30, over a fire that endangered a crane operator at a residential construction project in Kingston two years ago. On December 17, 2013, a fire forced the worker of A & A Crane Inc. to exit the cab and crawl up the crane, which was raised at about 100 metres in the air, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour reports. Canadian Forces Base Trenton sent a military helicopter to rescue the crane operator, who suffered burns, and transported him to the hospital. When the labour ministry tried to contact A & A’s owner, Aram Malek, two days later, Malek did not provide all of the requested documents and was difficult to reach by phone or in person, resulting in the inspectors abandoning the investigation. The company was found guilty of failing to cooperate with a ministry inspector. Malek was convicted of failing

to provide required information and the necessary means to facilitate an inspector’s entry, search, inspection, investigation, examination, testing or inquiry.

UNIONS PROTEST NEW BUDGET OTTAWA — The new federal budget proposed by the Conservative government has come under fire from national public-sector unions, who feel that the budget’s plan to create a $1.4 billion surplus comes at the price of the health and safety of federal employees. Introduced by Treasury Board President Tony Clement on April 21, the budget proposes replacing the current sickleave system, which gives federal public employees a maximum of 15 paid sick days annually, with a short-term disability plan that offers only six paid sick days per year. The intention is to save $900 million through the reduced amount of sick days. The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) and the Canadian Association of Professional

Employees (CAPE) are among the organizations that have criticized the Tories’ plan, saying that it could damage labour relations and negatively affect the welfare of public employees. “Their plan just doesn’t cut it,” PIPSC vice-president Shannon Bittman says. “What this government is proposing is going to mean that our members will not have the income protection they need.” Emmanuelle Tremblay, president of CAPE, agrees that federal employees have a lot to lose if the proposed plan goes into effect. “The model that they are proposing, there is a wait period between the time you start being sick and the time when you can actually have access to short-term disability,” Tremblay explains, saying that the period lasts for seven calendar days. Bittman claims that the plan will have a huge effect on public employees’ morale, adding that the government is ignoring more important problems with the system in order to discourage employees from abusing it. “It is going to mean that our members will choose to come into work sick versus foregoing income,” she

STOBIE MINE INQUEST MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS SUDBURY — A coroner’s jury has released 24 recommendations to improve mining safety, following the conclusion of May 7 inquest into a double fatality at Vale’s Stobie Nickel Mine in Sudbury, Ontario. The Crown counsel, Vale and the union representing Stobie Mine workers all say they were pleased with the outcome of the inquest. “The jury, in our opinion, did a fantastic job,” says Joe Guido, recording secretary for the health, safety and environment executive committee at United Steelworkers Local 6500 in Sudbury. “Ultimately, the 24 recommendations were what we were looking for, and the next plan for us is trying to ensure that they are implemented by the Ministry of Labour and the company.” Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, were transferring muck through a transfer gate at an ore pass on June 8, 2011, when a sudden release of muck and water broke through the gate. Both miners died from smothering and compressional asphyxia; Chenier also suffered blunt-force injuries. Vale received the largest workplace-safety fine ever issued in the province for the violations, after pleading guilty to three of six charges in 2013. Susan Bruce, counsel to the coroner, says the jury’s recommendations, if implemented, “will go a long way towards ensuring that workers in Ontario are never killed by another run of muck in a mine.” The jury accepted all eight recommendations put forward by presiding inquest coroner Dr. David Eden and suggested an additional 16. Sixteen recommendations were directed at the Ministry of Labour, some of which include the follow-

ing: ensure that workers are out of the way of uncontrolled material, water or slime; implement the recommendations in the Mining, Health, Safety and Prevention Review regarding water management and the internal responsibility system; require a supervisor to attend workplaces during every work shift when high-risk tasks are being performed; ensure that work in a hazardous condition and a barricaded area is done only if authorized by a supervisor; establish a database of field visits; and review the coroner’s inquest recommendations in the province during inspector training. After the Mining Legislative Review Committee has reviewed the recommendations and reached a consensus, that advice will be passed on to the Minister of Labour for consideration. Guido says the process could take anywhere from six months to six years. Clifford Bastien perished in a similar incident at the Stobie Mine in 1995. The inquest into Bastien’s death recommended that all control valves be located outside the Ross Feeder control/gate. In future, Vale plans to ensure that recommendations coming out of inquests and other major incidents are followed through. “That is certainly something that we are going to concentrate on moving forward,” says Angie Robson, corporate affairs manager at Vale’s Sudbury operations. Following an internal investigation, Vale has implemented 42 recommendations on safety at the mine, which have been endorsed by the jury. Robson says Vale will review the further recommendations made by the jury. — By Carmelle Wolfson

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says. “They are going to adversely impact virtually each and every one of their employees to fix a so-called problem that really doesn’t exist that much.” Tremblay calls the government’s planned surplus “artificial savings”, accusing Clement of misleading the public. “How can they announce the savings ahead of the conclusion of a current round of bargaining?” she questions.

LACK OF LOCKOUT SPURS FINE ST. CATHARINES — Thorold-based company TSP Canada Towers Inc., which produces wind towers, was ordered to pay an $80,000 fine on April 10 for a worker injury two years ago. On June 1, 2013, a TSP employee was polishing a segment of a cylindrical steel tower while standing on tracks powered by adjustable welding rotators. At the time, the control boxes for the rotators had not been locked out, the Ontario Ministry of Labour reports. The worker was collecting his tools after finishing the task, when one of the tower segments begun to move on the track towards him. A trainer shut down the rotators, but not before the worker was crushed between two tower segments. The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that control mechanisms of machinery were locked out and other precautions taken to ensure worker safety.

CEMENT COMPANY PENALIZED NEWMARKET — A company that manufactures cement and other construction products was handed a $75,000 fine on April 20 for leg injuries sustained by a worker trapped in a sand and gravel hopper in Sunderland, Ontario. The provincial labour ministry says an employee of St. Marys Cement was inside the 80-tonne-capacity hopper trying to remove some gravel blockage on July 19, 2013. When the materials inside the hopper were released out of the bottom, the worker’s body dropped through the opening and became trapped there. An investigation by the ministry found that the company contravened Section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which states that all further supply of material must be stopped and any removal of material must be prevented before an employee enters a container with bulk material.

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PLATFORM COLLAPSE KILLS TWO TORONTO — Two workers have died after a mast-climbing work platform collapsed at a construction site in west Toronto on March 27. “One worker was pronounced deceased at the scene,” Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) spokesperson William Lin confirms. “The other worker was transported to hospital, where the worker succumbed to injuries.” The labour ministry issued an immediate order to Daniels Oakmount Corporation, the project’s constructor, not to disturb the incident scene and to provide various documents. Two of the many employers involved with the project, Brampton-based Venice Masonry Contractors Ltd. and Milton-based Klimer Platforms Inc., also received orders for documentation. The ministry ordered Klimer to provide a record of completed training. On March 30, the labour ministry issued a stop-work order to Venice Masonry. The order remains in effect until the company rectifies deviations from the manufacturer’s design drawings on two unrelated mast climbers, consisting of a horizontal platform upon a vertical mast that raises it up and down as required, using electric or gasoline power. A typical working mast climber can hold and transport as much as 4,500 kilograms. Venice has also been ordered to supply documentation related to the collapsed climber. The following day, the MOL ordered Venice to complete a report on the incident and to have a professional engineer inspect the two other climbers. Daniels Oakmount has also been ordered to complete an incident report, while Klimer must provide various documents regarding all mast climbers on the construction site.

STANDARD SIMPLIFIES RULES QUEBEC — The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ) has announced a new national standard on the manufacturing and storage of explosives on May 4. NSC CAN/BNQ 2910-510 Explosives — Quantity Distances helps the explosives industry control risks to workers, the public and infrastructure by serving as a guide for those involved in planning the location of explosives storage or

manufacturing facilities. The new standard replaces Natural Resource Canada’s (NRCan’s) User’s Manual for Quantity Distance Principle, a reference document used in issuing licences and certificates under the Explosives Act. It includes all the requirements for separation distances for explosives in one document and incorporates new information on technical requirements. “What we have tried to do is come up with a comprehensive document that you would have all the requirements that applies to quantity distance,” says standards writer Sylvie Gingras. Previously, industry professionals had to go through many revisions contained in multiple documents to find the information applicable to minimum distances at explosives sites. “In setting minimum separation distances between the different sites, this standard is designed to improve safety within the industry,” BNQ senior director Jean Rousseau says in a joint statement from the SCC and BNQ. John Walter, chief executive officer of the SCC, says the standard demonstrates a commitment to lead the modernization of standards referenced in regulations. Jacinthe Perras, spokesperson for NRCan, says there are no current plans to update Canada’s Explosives Regulations. “This new standard supports Natural Resources Canada’s modernized Explosives Regulations, which came into force on February 1, 2014, with a phased-in approach for some provisions over the following 24 months,” she notes.

BURIAL BENEFITS TO INCREASE FREDERICTON – New Brunswick is increasing burial and related-expenses benefits for the families of eligible firefighters and former firefighters. Labour Minister Francine Landry introduced amendments to the legislation on May 13, which will ensure that benefits for the families of eligible firefighters and former firefighters are equivalent to those in the Worker’s Compensation Act, the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour reports. “Firefighters across the province risk their lives every day,” Minister Landry says. “With these amendments, we are supporting firefighters and their families in the time they need us the most and providing assistance to the loved ones they leave behind.”

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The Firefighters’ Compensation Act was inadvertently overlooked when provisions increasing burial and related expenses were added to the Workers’ Compensation Act in 2012, the minister says. The proposed amendments will be made retroactive to December 20, 2012.

FIRM FACES MULTIPLE CHARGES HALIFAX — A home-renovation company has been charged with eight counts under Nova Scotia’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, in connection with a workplace fatality nearly two years ago. Forty-seven-year-old Shaun McInnis, an employee of Halifax firm Truss Worthy Framing and Renovations Ltd., fell from the roof of a four-storey building where he had been working on May 9, 2013, says a statement from the provincial Ministry of Labour and Advanced Education. The ministry announced on April 29 that it was charging the company with failure to ensure the safety of people at the worksite, provide a fall-arrest system for workers, keep an appropriate lifeline in place and provide information and training for employee safety. Truss Worthy owner David Busk, Sr. also faces two charges, while property owner Hanias Properties faces one count under the Act. Penalties could include fines or imprisonment or both.

FALLING TREE STRIKES EMPLOYEE ELLERSHOUSE — The Hants County District RCMP in Nova Scotia is investigating the death of a 57-year-old farm worker, who was apparently struck by the tree that he was felling. A statement from the RCMP says officers, who were called to a wooded area in Hants County on the morning of April 16, determined that the man had been killed at the site. Police do not suspect foul play at this time. Background information from the Department of Labour and Advanced Education says this is the seventh workplace fatality in the province this year so far.

FARM WORKER DIES IN ROLLOVER HAZEL GROVE — A farm worker in Prince Edward Island has died after the tractor he was driving rolled over onto the shoulder of the road.

Police, emergency-services personnel and the New Glasgow Fire Department responded to reports of a single-vehicle collision on March 27, according to a statement from the Queens District RCMP. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The road was closed for a period of time, while the responders examined the scene and removed the tractor. An investigator from the Island’s oh&s authorities also attended the scene.

MAN SHOT OVER COMMENTS ST. JOHN’S — Officers have seized a loaded rifle from the home of a man whom a police investigator shot dead for perceived online threats against Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Paul Davis. According to the RCMP, 59-year-old Don Dunphy was killed by a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) officer — a member of Davis’ security team — at the former’s home in the southern Newfoundland community of Mitchells Brook, southwest of St. John’s, on April 5. The officer was investigating comments that Dunphy, who described himself as a “crucified injured worker from N.L., Canada, where employers treat injured [employees] like criminals,” had made on Twitter. The officer had interpreted these comments as physical threats against the Premier and his family. On April 3, Dunphy posted tweets in response to a conversation between Davis, folk musician Sherman Downey and Sandy Collins, Newfoundland’s Minister for Child, Youth and Family Services. Collins had begun the thread on the previous day by writing that he had

just been riding in Davis’ car with the Premier, adding, “Guess what CD was playing? [Downey’s] The Sun in Your Eyes.” “I won’t mention names this time, 2 p—k dead MHAs [Members of the House Assembly] might have good family members I may hurt,” Dunphy wrote in the thread, while referring in a separate post to “God” taking away politicians who ignored the poor and received undeserved pensions in the end. Two days later, the unnamed RNC officer reportedly travelled to Dunphy’s residence for a routine risk-assessment investigation, which led to the fatal confrontation. The RCMP are leading an investigation into the incident. Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada Many of the preceding items are based on stories from our sister publication, canadian

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CORRECTION In the January/February 2015 issue of OHS Canada, “Fatality In Training Mishap“ on page 17 reported that there were three known soldier fatalities in Canada since last October. There were four soldier fatalities, including that of Private Steven Allen, killed in Wainwright, Alberta during a training incident on November 3, 2014.

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New research suggests that seriously injured workers tend to have shorter lifespans, and that those who are permanently impaired following workplace incidents in their younger years have the highest risk of dying early.

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or both men and women with a permanent work-related impairment, a crucial factor that predicts whether they die early is what we call ‘work disability’ — the difficulty they face staying in the labour market,” says Heather Scott-Marshall, Ph.D., associate scientist with Toronto’s Institute of Work and Health (IWH) and lead author of a 19year study published in the September/October issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health. Work disability stems from physical, psychological and emotional difficulties that people experience when coping with, or adapting to, an acquired impairment. These hardships can affect their sense of self and create problems on how they fulfill their roles as workers, spouses and parents. The findings of the study, entitled Long-Term Mortality Risk in Individuals with Permanent Work-Related Impairment, are based on a sample of 19,000 individuals with workers’ compensation claims for accidents occurring in Ontario from January 1, 1986 to December 31, 1994 that resulted in permanent impairment. “This particular study is unusual in Canada,” says Dr. Cameron Mustard, president and senior scientist with the IWH. The study links a set of data kept by Statistics Canada with another database kept by the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to examine differences in mortality rates between permanently-injured workers and a group of non-injured workers over nearly two decades. Results indicate that the overall fatality rate among men with permanent impairments was 14 per cent, compared to nine per cent of men in the non-injured control group, which translates into a 55 per cent higher mortality risk. For women, the death rate among those with permanent impairment was six per cent, compared to four per cent in the non-injured group, or a 50 per cent higher risk of mortality. A permanent impairment can adversely affect an injured worker’s longevity in two ways. The first one relates to how the injury has harmed the individual’s physiology. For example, a crushing injury to the abdomen may lead to long-term consequences or cause an impairment to organ function. “I think we have all seen this in our personal experience: a family member who labours under a serious limp may be the kind of person we sense ages more quickly,” Dr. Mustard illustrates. Another way in which permanent impairment can reduce the quality of life is by compromising a person’s ability to participate in work, he adds. The study also compares

differences in mortality risk among participants with varying levels of disability. Permanently-injured female workers with no or low disability — defined as those who earn at least 75 per cent of their pre-injury income — are 27 per cent less likely to die in the follow-up period than women with high work disability or who earn less than 25 per cent of their preinjury income. Men with no or low work disability are 38 per cent less likely to die than those with high work disability. As well, the risk of death showed up most starkly a decade or more following the injury: the divergence in death rates between claimants and the control group peaked after 13 years for women and after 15 years for men. “This suggests to us that the risk of dying from a disabling injury can persist for decades,” Dr. Scott-Marshall says. The study did not identify the causes of death and looks at a broad spectrum of permanent disabilities, ranging from minor to severe, Dr. Mustard notes. The health information of participants was limited to the presence of work injury, which means that researchers cannot be certain that the health status of cases and controls was equivalent at baseline. As well, the sample comprises only workers from Ontario, making for the possibility that labour-market conditions in other jurisdictions could have a different impact on employment and work disability after injury, the study acknowledges. “The only information we can take from this confidently is there is a shorter life expectancy, in this case, workers who are injured and awarded permanent-impairment benefit,” Dr. Mustard says. “Why is a good question, and it is complicated.” TIP OF THE ICEBERG John McKinnon, executive director of Injured Workers’ Consultants Community Legal Clinic in Toronto, thinks that the study is part of a growing body of research confirming that the consequences of work injuries, especially those resulting in permanent disabilities, are a lot more serious than we generally understand them to be. “This study is a wake-up call for Ontario to take a closer look at the impact of workplace injuries,” he says. The vast majority of claims that the WSIB receives involve injured workers who have lost a very short period of time or no time at all and whose lives have not been seriously affected by their injuries, McKinnon notes. The majority of claimants with permanent-impairment ratings that the WSIB deals with are not those who have lost an arm or a leg. “They would have fallen into that median zone of people who have been rated at somewhere between 10 [and] 15 per cent impairment,” he observes. “But there are still about 15,000 people every year who have a recognized permanent impairment. That number grows, and how we treat those people is the most important measure of whether the work-

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ers’ compensation system is doing the job it needs to do.” Mary Ann McColl, Ph.D., academic lead with the Canadian Disability Policy Alliance in Kingston, Ontario, thinks that the study offers “very interesting preliminary findings,” but does not provide enough information to allow any specific policy implications to be drawn. “What struck me as the chief weakness is we don’t really know anything about the nature of the disability or the cause of death,” says Dr. McColl, who is also the associate director of research with the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research at Queen’s University in Kingston. “All we have is a population-level, very raw indication that there is some sort of a relationship between workplace injury and premature death.” The only definite implication, she adds, is to fund more research to understand the relationship between specific types of disability and specific causes of premature death. Catherine Connelly, Canada research chair and associate professor of organizational behaviour with DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, agrees. “I think it just points to the importance of finding further ways to reduce injuries in the workplace,” she says. “Some might assume that once the worker has returned to paid employment, everything is fine. But this study shows that the long-term impact of these injuries is significant.” FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT Steve Mantis, a 65-year-old resident of Thunder Bay, Ontario, says the study “validates what we have seen anecdotally for years.” Mantis, who does contract work for the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy, has his own injury story to tell. He was 28 when he worked in the construction sector back in 1978, helping to lift up a house with a crumbling foundation. “We had a winch truck moving big heavy bins, and I was just winding the cable under the winch after the job is done,” Mantis recalls. As he was doing so, his glove got caught on the cable and was pulled in, amputating his left arm within a couple of inches of his shoulder. The bone splintered and some of it got driven up underneath his arm and came up by his neck. “It was a life-changing event,” he says. After the incident, Mantis went to see a prosthetic technician, who told him to find a good woman to look after him for the rest of his life. “I was very upset,” Mantis says. “I didn’t know whether to punch this guy in the nose or cry.” He adds that families break down following serious injury for a number of reasons. “People become isolated, and their lives and health suffer.” Mantis attributes the declining health of injured workers to stress and depression. The fear of risking further injury may also deter them from being physically active. “People need to be healthy mentally, physically and emotionally. And that has to do a lot of it with getting support you need in those critical times so that you do take charge. You don’t become the passive recipient,” he emphasizes. “The people I know who have lived the longest are people who are out there, active in one way or another.” McKinnon says a major problem with the current work-

Injured Body, Wounded Mind Depression, sleepiness, anxiety and problems concentrating are present in a large proportion of injured workers with permanent impairment, according to a study by Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario and the Research Action Alliance on the Consequences of Work Injury. The study, Mental Health Status of Ontario Injured Workers with Permanent Impairments, was published in the July/August 2012 issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health. It paints a troubling picture of the mental health of injured workers with permanent impairments: more than one-third of the sample reported five out of nine mental-health conditions; nearly half indicated symptoms of depressed mood and problems concentrating; and 12 per cent reported ill effects from medication abuse. The findings are based on surveys of 494 respondents aged between 25 and 55, who filed first-time claims with the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and were certified permanently impaired between January 2005 and November 2007. “Given the risk of experiencing workplace injury facing all Canadian workers, and the risk, for some, of permanent impairment, attention to the mental-health consequences of work injury ought to figure prominently in worker compensation claims adjudication,” the study says.

ers’ compensation system is that it does not track what happens to injured workers in the long run after injury. “Research shows there is something about our workers’ compensation systems that is related to significantly higher levels of mentalhealth problems, and we need to look at that.” There is also the cascading effect following a work injury. “A range of other health problems continue to pile on on injured workers over time, and after they have a permanent disabling work injury. In that way, you might expect there to be higher rates of premature death because of the snowballing effect of work injury on people’s health,” McKinnon explains. DOMINO EFFECT A report, Poverty Status of Worker Compensation Claimants with Permanent Impairments, published in Taylor & Francis Online in March, looks at the extent to which injured workers who sustained bodily impairments live in poverty. Employing two poverty indicators — proximity to or depth of poverty and factors associated with poverty in the post-injury period — the report describes the poverty levels of injured workers with permanent impairments in Ontario at an average of 52 months post-injury. Estimated poverty rates for the injured-worker sample, which range from 17 to 26 per cent, compare unfavourably to published estimates of poverty in the general population of working-aged Canadians and equate to rates of people with disabilities. The findings also reveal that sample members in postinjury poverty were more likely to report having sustained www.ohscanada.com

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multiple injuries at the workplace and were less likely to have returned to employment or to have recovered their preinjury earnings. Yet they contributed significantly more to post-injury household incomes than those who were not in post-injury poverty. The disturbing correlation between workplace injury and poverty was highlighted in a report published in June 2006 by Street Health Community Nursing Foundation in Toronto. Failing the Homeless: Barriers in the Ontario Disability Support Program for Homeless People with Disabilities says workplace injury played a role in becoming disabled for 57 per cent of Toronto’s 85 homeless participants with disabilities who worked and that 46 per cent had received worker’s compensation benefits at some point. None of them were able to maintain ongoing benefits. “Poverty is clearly a factor in early death,” McKinnon says. Mantis, who received benefits following his workplace injury, speaks of the frustration and alienation he experienced when dealing with the workers’ compensation system. “Because I had an amputation, I got the best service they had. Even so, there were bumps along the way, because there was this bureaucracy that didn’t really pay that much attention to the individual.” Interactions with workers’ compensation boards (WCBs) can leave injured workers feeling bitter. Mantis points to the disability recovery guidelines and expected healing times used by WCBs to assist clinicians, case managers and medical advisors with the clinical management of claims. These guidelines provide the approximate time required for employees to return to work after various job-related injuries and treatments. While the maximum time given for each injury is not necessarily a definite return-to-work date — considering that many factors like, age, medical conditions, complications and treatment, which influence recovery time, must be taken into account — the timelines indicate when questions should be asked if a worker has not returned to work. For instance, if the chart says that it takes six weeks for a certain type of injury to heal, and the recovery of a worker takes longer than that, case managers may start probing deeper. “Are you trying to take advantage? Are you trying to extend the amount of time you are on benefits?’ That is the attitude that far too often comes out,” Mantis suggests.

to those provided by doctors, chiropractors, physiotherapists, surgery, prescriptions and dental expenses. “An injured worker would have to talk with their case worker to determine which specific services are available to them for their claim,” Reeves advises. While injury prevention is the best way to keep workers safe and reduce overall costs, putting an effective return-to-work program in place is the best way to manage the impact of an injury, she adds.

DIFFERENT STROKES As every injured worker’s case is different, the return-to-work program varies from individual to individual, explains Sarah Reeves, communications advisor with Nova Scotia’s WCB in Halifax. In general, the WCB covers costs of pre-approved services and personal equipment, including but not limited 20

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“The longer employees are off work, the less likely they are to return. So when an injury does occur, the best result for everyone is a safe and timely return to work,” Reeves says. “Creating a successful return-to-work program requires a team effort, and each partner must have a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities.” Return-to-work partners include employers, workers, WCB case workers and case-management teams, relationship managers, WCB consultants, healthcare providers and, if applicable, union representatives. Mantis thinks that changing the bureaucratic approach of WCBs is a step in the right direction. He stresses the importance of understanding the individual and the level of support needed. “The interaction takes away, in many cases, people’s own initiative,” Mantis says, referring in particular to the way in which WCBs identify injured workers by their claim numbers. “I refused to memorize my number. I won’t. You want to deal with me? This is my name. Here I am. I want to maintain that I am a person.” Dr. Mustard thinks that while much emphasis has been put on the principle that employers cannot discriminate against people with disabilities, “we have not gone far enough.” The key message of the IWH study, he says, is to create opportunities for people with disabilities. He cites Ontario and British Columbia as provinces that have well-administered permanent-impairment programs. “These programs,” he says, referring to two people with the same permanent impairment getting the same treatment, “are very difficult to administer fairly.” While other disability income-security programs, such as employer-based long-term disability plans, are available, these programs do not meet the same standards as provincial workers’ compensation programs in terms of providing economic security to injured workers. He stresses the importance of protecting them and ensuring that they are strong in the future. McKinnon thinks that it is time to start checking in on injured workers and conducting long-term studies to find out what is happening to them. “The fall from being a proud worker happens much more quickly for injured workers than it did 30 years ago,” he observes. “We can do better.” Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

Jean Lian is editor of

ohs canada.

FRANCK BOSTON / HEMERA / THINKSTOCK

“I want to maintain that I am a person.”

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MAKING THE

CUT TEACHING YOUNG WORKERS TO AVOID DANGER

WORDS TO LIVE BY / p10

Expert advice on managing new employees

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Editor’s Note / School’s Out

MA KING THE

What’s Up /

Featuring young-worker news from across the nation on legislation protecting interns, fresh research from the field, workplace accidents and oh&s charges and fines.

CUT TEACHING YOUNG WORKERS TO AVOID DANGER

WORDS TO LIVE BY / p10 Expert advice on managing new employees

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On The Cover:

Having a good mentor is key to protecting young and new employees.

Spotlight / Rob Ellis

Photo: Jean Lian

Youth Zone interviews Rob Ellis, founder of MySafeWork, an organization promoting safe workplaces for youth employed in Canada. By Heather Angus-Lee

Rob Ellis and Ontario Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn at a MySafeWork presentation at a Catholic school in Toronto.

Words of Wisdom / First Impressions Count

OUTH ZONE

When it comes to safeguarding green hands, the importance of learning safe work practices through hands-on training cannot be understated. Four safety experts offer advice on how young workers can stay safe on the job. By Carmelle Wolfson

Be part of the conversation. Join “OHS Canada’s Youth Zone” discussion group on LinkedIn. To contribute to the conversation, email socialmedia@ohscanada.com.

SUMMER 2015

Vol. 1, No. 1 Summer 2015 EDITOR EDITOR (OHS Canada) EDITOR (Canadian OH&S News) ART DIRECTOR

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS CARMELLE WOLFSON cwolfson@ohscanada.com JEAN LIAN jlian@ohscanada.com JEFF COTTRILL jcottrill@ohscanada.com MARK RYAN

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DAVID IRETON, Safety Professional, Brampton, Ont. ALLAN JOHNSON, Director of Construction, Hospitality, Oil and Gas, Workers’ Compensation Board of B.C., Vancouver, B.C. JANE LEMKE, Program Manager, OHN Certification Program, Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ont. DON MITCHELL, Safety Consultant, Mississauga, Ont. MICHELE PARENT, National Manager, Risk Management and Health and Wellness, Standard Life, Montreal, Que. TERRY RYAN, Workers’ Compensation and Safety Consultant, TRC Group Inc., Mississauga, Ont. DON SAYERS, Principal Consultant, Don Sayers & Associates, Hanwell, N.B. DAVID SHANE, National Director, Health and Safety, Canada Post Corporation, Ottawa, Ont. HENRY SKJERVEN, President, The Skjerven Cattle Company Ltd., Wynyard, Sask. PETER STRAHLENDORF, Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Health, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ont. JONATHAN TYSON, Association of Canadian Ergonomists/Association canadienne d’ergonomie, North Bay, Ont. OHS CANADA is the magazine for people who make decisions about health and safety in the workplace. It is designed to keep workers, managers and safety professionals informed on oh&s issues, up to date on new developments and in touch with current thinking in the oh&s community. WEBSITE: http://www.ohscanada.com INFORMATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS contained in this publication have been compiled from sources believed to be reliable and to be representative of the best current opinion on the subject. No warranty, guarantee nor representation is made by Annex-Newcom LP as to the absolute correctness or sufficiency of any representation contained in this publication. OHS CANADA is published six times per year by Annex-Newcom LP, a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business-to-business information services. The yearly issues include: January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, and November/ December. Application to mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is pending at Niagara

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School’s Out

CARMELLE WOLFSON

Editor cwolfson@ohscanada.com

pring and summer can be a dangerous time of the year. I was distraught when I read in the news recently that 22-year-old worker Alexie DallaireVincent had died in an underground railhaulage accident at St. Andrew Goldfields Ltd.’s Holt Mine in Timmins, Ontario on May 23. Not long before that incident, another young worker — this one, a 21-year-old flagger — was sent to the hospital following a car accident that tragically took the lives of three teens (see page 6). No one should have to die to earn a living. It is especially heartbreaking when such a fate befalls workers who are still in their early years. In a country such as Canada, which prides itself on high standards of workplace health and safety, we should not be hearing about these types of tragedies with the frequency that we do. Contrary to what some employers may think, youth are not prone to accidents because they are risk-takers or because their brains have not fully developed. As Peter Smith, Ph.D., scientist at the Institute for Work and Health, recently explained to me, research has shifted away from this notion. Being new on the job can pose many risks, whether that worker is a teen or an elderly new immigrant. Instead of focusing on characteristics unique to young workers, Dr. Smith has been conducting research on worker vulnerability that looks at the factors that contribute to increased risk of workplace accidents. These factors include job hazards, an organization’s safe-work policies, awareness of worker rights and responsibilities and young workers’ readiness to refuse unsafe work. While risk may not be due to the personal characteristics inherent in being youthful, it is affected by workplace practices as well as the safety awareness and culture of the workforce, making it vital for employers to be vigilant when it comes to training, mentoring and observing new hires. It is apparent that Canadian employers are

not investing in adequate opportunities for learning and growth for young employees. The Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) echoes this sentiment, saying that employers should be doing more to train new employees. “Investing in workplace learning benefits individuals and organizations alike,” Elyse Allan, president and chief executive officer of GE Canada, noted in a statement from the CCCE on April 13. “Employees gain job satisfaction, security and better pay. For employers, training represents a valuable recruitment and retention tool.” Although the Council was speaking about general skills-development training, the same can be said of safety training. If we want to protect inexperienced workers from meeting the same fate as Dallaire-Vincent did, employers must improve on safety training. Government efforts to supply funding for training, including safety training, would be a good start. The government must also take a proactive approach with stiffer regulations and enforcement. The Ontario Federation of Labour, for instance, is pushing police to lay criminal charges for workplace fatalities. However, some promising new developments in the way that Canada is dealing with young-worker safety seem to signal that the conversation is shifting. It is encouraging to see that Ontario will be inspecting young workers at industrial workplaces this summer, at a time when many youngsters are employed. The federal government has also proposed extending workplace health and safety coverage under the Canada Labour Code to interns and other unpaid learners under federal jurisdiction (see page 6), while similar changes were recently introduced in Ontario. These steps are heading in the right direction, but as a society, we can and should be doing more to protect our young. Z Carmelle Wolfson is editor of outh Zone.

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WHAT’SUP Collision at work zone claims three teens Three teenagers have been killed and a flagperson has been critically injured in a four-vehicle crash at a construction zone in Saskatchewan. The collision occurred on Highway 6 just south of the town of Spalding, about 200 kilometres north of Regina. On May 3, a crack-sealing project was underway when a semi-tractor trailer reportedly rear-ended a car, carrying three people aged 14, 15 and 17. Their car was then pushed into a truck, which hit a 21-year-old flagperson. The three teenagers in the car were pronounced dead on the scene, while the flagger was flown to a hospital in Saskatoon. Saskatchewan’s Minister of Highways and Infrastructure Nancy Heppner issued a statement on May 4 urging caution in work zones. “As road work ramps up for another season across the provincial highway system, drivers must exercise the utmost caution at all times.” In Saskatchewan, drivers are legally required to slow down to 60 kilometres per hour when passing highway workers or flaggers within signed work zones or when passing equipment with its amber warning lights on. “Highway work zones are active construction sites with numerous and significant potential safety risks,” Heppner said. Changes made to improve safety in the province’s work zones include simplified signage, rumble strips and photo enforcement, according to the statement. In 2012, 18-year-old Ashley Dawn Richards was on her first shift as a flagperson at a road construction site near Midale, Saskatchewan when a vehicle drove through the site, killing her. Following the incident, heavier fines were introduced. The base fine for speeding in a work zone is $210 and increases by $3 for every kilometre over the speed

limit, up to 90 km/h, and by $6 for every kilometre over 90 km/h. Speeding through a work zone at 100 km/h would result in a $530 penalty, which includes an $80 victim surcharge.

Federal budget promises intern protections The Canadian government has announced plans to protect unpaid interns from dangerous work scenarios. In its Economic Action Plan, released on April 21, the Conservatives said they would amend the Canada Labour Code to ensure that interns under federal jurisdiction are subject to basic safety standards. The budget also promises to clarify the circumstances under which unpaid internships can be offered. “Internships can provide important workplace-based learning experiences and support youth in making a successful transition from school to work,” the action plan states. “However, many Canadians are concerned about the potential for abuse and lack of protections offered to unpaid interns.” The government has also committed to strengthening compliance with the Canada Labour Code by hiring 10 new health and safety officers, bringing the number of officers across the country to 100. Additionally, it plans to amend the Government Employees Compensation Act to simplify and accelerate claims processing and clarify coverage, so that ill or injured employees receive compensation and return to work in a safe and timely manner. The Canadian Alliance of Students Associations (CASA) welcomed the new protections for interns, saying that it is pleased that $419 million will be allocated to the Canada Student Loan and Canada Student Grant Programs over four years. “Young Canadians and students have been waiting a long time for this type of investment,” CASA executive director

Jonathan Champagne said in a statement. Career Edge Organization, a group that presented briefs to the Standing Committee on Finance on the topic of youth employment last year, also applauded the announcement. “This inclusion of intern protections in the budget is also being celebrated by all those who have supported the Intern Protection Act (Bill C-636), which is scheduled for voting tonight,” communications coordinator Sydney Helland wrote on the Career Edge blog on April 22. But the Conservatives’ announcement was met with cool reception from the federal opposition, which had introduced the private member’s bill to amend legislation as it relates to interns. Federal NDP Member of Parliament (MP) Laurin Liu (Rivière-des-Mille-Îles) first proposed the Intern Protection Act, but the Conservative Party defeated the motion when it came to a vote on April 22. In a statement issued earlier that day before the Bill’s defeat, NDP MP Andrew Cash (Davenport) suggested that the budget proposal had been copied and pasted from the text of the NDP Bill that was already before the House.

Farm worker trapped in silo rescued Firefighters have rescued a 20-year-old agriculture worker who fell into a grain elevator and was nearly buried alive in corn. The man was clearing a clogged augur in the feed silo on February 23 for Balamore Farm Ltd. in Colchester County, Nova Scotia, when he became trapped. He called a co-worker from his mobile phone, who turned off the augur and contacted emergency assistance, the Colchester County RCMP reports. The Great Village and District Fire Brigade, with help from two other local fire departments and the Special Hazards Response Unit, helped the worker out of the silo through the top. The man was sent to the Colchester East Hants Health Centre with non-life-threatening injuries. The Department of Labour and Advanced Education placed a stop-work order on Balamore employees entering silos and hoppers.

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Liu said in the statement that if the Conservatives were sincere about protecting interns, they would support the Bill. “I hope they won’t put political games over the opportunity to take real action to ensure that young workers have the rights they deserve.” While a large number of young workers are subject to provincial labour regulations, some must follow federal labour standards, including those working in industries such as telecommunications, financial institutions and transportation.

Teens prone to “micro-accidents”: study Young workers are at heightened risk of non-lost-time injuries and are less likely to speak up about dangers at work, a recent study concludes. The study examines self-reported, non-lost-time injuries or “micro-accidents” involving more than 19,000 workers aged 15 to 25 across Canada over a four-week period. The report, published in the June issue of the Journal of Safety Research, found that about one third of part-time workers as young as their early teens had experienced at least one jobrelated injury in the last month. “The difference between a micro-accident — with a young worker getting a treatable burn, and a young worker getting a more severe injury that would require hospitalization and may take them off work — can all derive from the same event or set of conditions,” study co-author Nick Turner, Ph.D., a professor at Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, said in a statement on April 20. The report says the incidence of microaccidents is the highest among workers aged 15 to 18. This demographic of workers also spoke up less frequently in the face of dangerous work situations and reported neglecting work safety rules more frequently than their older counterparts. The study also found that young males reported the same frequency of microaccidents as young females. But while boys indicated that they spoke up more often in dangerous work situations, they also reported neglecting work safety rules more often than girls. Workplace hazards may be com-

pounded by the casual nature of work performed by youth, who often work part-time, take up summer jobs or hold after-school hours, placing them on the periphery of the organizations in which they work. “Although work-related training for young workers is especially important, it is often complicated by informal work environments in which young people find themselves, such as babysitting or lawn-mowing, which nonetheless may contain hazardous work conditions, but are considered harmless,” Dr. Turner said. While research shows that parents, siblings, friends and teachers can help promote safer work attitudes among young workers, it is the supervisors who play the most important role. “There is an opportunity for parents and teachers to educate about work, but this doesn’t excuse the organizations and supervisors who employ them from taking responsibility for ensuring youngworker safety — and listening to young workers who speak about unsafe work conditions,” Dr. Turner added.

No criminal charges laid in co-op student’s death The death of a 17-year-old co-op student at an auto-parts facility last September in the township of West Lincoln, Ontario has been deemed an accident with no criminal liability. No charges have been laid, following investigations by the Niagara Regional Police (NRP) and the Ontario Ministry of Labour, a spokesperson for the ministry confirmed on March 24.

Adam Keunen, a Grade-12 student at Beamsville District Secondary School in Beamsville, Ontario, was in his first week at a co-op placement at Plazek Auto Recycler when he was hit and crushed by a front-end loader on September 26. Both the NRP and the Ministry sent investigators to the scene of the fatality. Despite the perceived lack of criminal responsibility in the fatality, Keunen’s death has resulted in a public reaction leading to legislative change. Following the incident, the Canadian Intern Association called for increased oh&s protection of unpaid work-integrated learning programs under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), the Employment Standards Act and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. “The exclusion of co-op students from OHSA meant that it was the Niagara Regional Police that led the investigation into the workplace accident, rather than the Ministry of Labour, who normally investigates such incidents,” the association said in a statement issued on September 29. “These tragic incidents necessitate that the Ontario government undertake a fulsome review of co-ops, academic internships and experiential learning programs, to ensure the safety and well-being of students and young workers is being protected.” In November, Ontario revised the OHSA to cover unpaid co-op students, as well as learners taking part in a work placement that a school board or postsecondary institution has approved. Z

Halifax company charged after workplace fatality Occupational health and safety officers with Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour and Advanced Education have issued charges to Parkland Construction over the death of a 21-year-old worker more than a year and a half ago. On November 7, 2013, employee Alan Fraser was cleaning on the sixth floor of a Clayton Park building, which was under construction, when he fell from the edge, the labour department said. Parkland Construction was charged on February 18 for failing to do the following: provide fall protection to an employee who was working at an elevation of three metres or more; have a safe-work plan in place; provide fall-protection training to the worker; and have a chute or other safe method to lower rubbish or debris. A company supervisor was also charged with failing to take every precaution reasonable to protect an employee’s health and lack of fall protection at a height of three metres or more.

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ROB ELLIS

By Heather Angus-Lee

Editor of MySafeWork.com

Founder of MySafeWork

OHS: How did you go from being the president and shareholder of an industrial manufacturer to dedicating yourself fulltime to promoting young-worker safety? RE: In February 1999, my son David died on his second day on the job at an Oakville bakery. He was 18 and was trying to save some money for university. As Dave cleaned a giant industrial dough mixer, he was hit by the machine’s rotating blades and died of massive head injuries six days later. His death made me realize that anyone’s child could get seriously hurt or killed at their workplace. Dave was a good kid, and smart. We never thought it could happen to one of our children. We never really thought about it happening to anyone’s kids, to be honest. After Dave died, everything changed and my life needed to go in a different direction — one that would honour Dave’s memory and, most importantly, prevent other young workers from suffering a similarly tragic fate. OHS: Do you think anything could have been done to prevent David’s death? RE: There were several people and factors that could have saved David’s life that day. One would have been proper orientation and training. Dave only got a bit of

Photo: Courtesy of MySafeWork

n 1999, Rob Ellis established MySafeWork (formerly Our Youth at Work), a non-profit organization that educates new and young workers across Canada on workplace safety. The organization connects students, parents, educators, corporate executives and workers to talk face-to-face, leading with Ellis’ own personal story of loss — the death of his son, David, due to a workplace accident. Since its inception, MySafeWork has reached more than 12 million people across Canada and the United States. Ellis spoke to outh Zone about how this tragic incident spurred him to fight for change.

training on his first day. On his second day, the “buddy system” at work failed when Dave’s supervisor left him alone on the floor of the bakery, working on a dangerous piece of industrial equipment. As well, we found out that Dave’s employer and supervisor had ignored a mandatory order by the government to install safeguards and lockout devices on the outside of the industrial bakery mixer. That information came out after David’s death. These safety devices could have prevented the rotating blades from striking our son. When David took the job, I assumed — as a businessman and as a parent — that the place he was going to work was safe. I assumed wrong. I urge other parents to be vigilant and ask more questions. I want parents to find out as much as possible about safety training, orientation and other practices in any job their child takes, at the onset, even before he or she starts the job. OHS: Did the employer face any repercussions following David’s death? RE: The employer was given a small fine, paid over two years. The supervisor

served a 22-day sentence in jail, which was served on weekends. OHS: Do you think the onus to find out information about job safety falls on young workers themselves? RE: A big part of our mandate at MySafeWork — talking to thousands of high-school students each year — is to inform them of their rights at work, which includes the right to ask questions, and we encourage them to do it. But it takes a lot of courage to ask questions of a new boss — even for an adult, let alone a teenager! I often hear from teens that they are afraid they will lose their jobs if they rock the boat about a safety issue. OHS: What do you say to young workers who share that fear with you? RE: I tell them, I understand why you might hesitate. But I also say, “Can I just ask you one thing… Will you think of my son, Dave?” I am relying on each and every young person with whom I speak to think of Dave. Because we can make a change in how safe youth are at work. Today, young workers are beginning to

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understand that they have the right to say no to unsafe work conditions and that they have the right to ask questions and participate in building safer workplaces.

Photo: Courtesy of MySafeWork

OHS: Which industries, organizations or companies have you partnered with? RE: Each year, MySafeWork has been fortunate to partner with more than 5,000 chief executive officers, presidents, boards of directors, ministers of government, senior supervisors and union leaders from industries including services, construction, transportation, health sciences, education, agriculture, oil and gas, utilities and manufacturing. On a more personal note, I will never forget the pain on the face of a 17-yearold boy who spoke to me at a MySafeWork presentation about his uncle who died, along with four other men, when their scaffolding platform broke on a construction job and they fell 13 floors to their deaths. He told me, “Nobody gets it. Nobody will understand the deep hurt of our family when that happened… We are new to this country. How could we have prepared for something like this?” OHS: Is there a higher incidence of workplace accidents among those who are new to Canada? RE: Yes, there is. There is often a language barrier where new Canadians do not know enough English to ask questions or learn all the safety instructions, whether written or verbal. There is also a lack of self-confidence and knowledge due to being new in a foreign land and even fear that they could lose a job they really need to keep their families fed and housed, since their work opportunities in Canada may be limited. OHS: Does current legislation hold companies accountable for accidents? RE: There are nowhere near harshenough penalties and consequences — like jail time — for employers who put their workers at risk. For example, the

RE: The signatures are a way for people to show their support for young-worker safety. We are pretty proud of garnering more than 350,000 signatures on thousands of Team Canada and Team USA jerseys. We call it the “Jersey of Courage.” Companies have asked that all levels of the organization across Canada participate in signing the jersey. It is exciting to see both students and experienced leaders wearing their signed Jerseys of Courage. OHS: Since Bill C-45 Amendments to We have also challenged schools to the Criminal Code Affecting the create their own “safety charter” before Criminal Liability of Organizations signing the Jersey of Courage. The first came into effect in March 2004, execu- safety charter was completed by Central tives and supervisors now face the pos- Technical School in Toronto in early 2012. sibility of jail time if they are aware It has now been used in schools across about unsafe conditions when their Canada. Most of them hang an oversized workers get injured or killed on the version of the charter in the gym or other job. Do you think this has helped? common space in the school. scaffolding accident that I mentioned earlier had no less than six safety violations that caused multiple deaths. We are talking about improper harnessing for the workers, inadequate training, a scaffolding platform overloaded in maximum weight capacity and inadequate welds. Sure, the company had to pay a total of $400,000 in fines paid over time like a loan, but they got no jail time.

RE: That legislation was a big and important step forward in holding Canadian employers accountable for the well-being of their workers. But jail time has only happened in a minimum number of cases in the decade since Bill C-45 passed. Fines are still the predominant means through which companies pay the price for deaths on job sites. Is that really enough to protect vulnerable workers? Money talks, but jail time talks louder.

OHS: What does this safety charter say?

OHS: How did your daughter get involved in MySafeWork?

OHS: What is your latest endeavour to raise awareness about workplace safety among young people?

RE: Vice-president of MySafeWork Jessica Di Sabatino, who is my eldest child, was very close to her brother, Dave. His death — when she was 20 years old — had a significant and permanent effect on her life. She started doing presentations with me at 29, although she had been a big part of the organization behind the scenes since day one. Jess is a very busy woman; she is a married mother of four young kids and is finishing a Master’s degree while working on a book about how people can and should “own” their jobs. OHS: You are often seen at events wearing a hockey jersey covered in signatures. What is that about?

RE: The charter has seven principles: 1. Safety is our priority; 2. We ask when we are not certain; 3. We are responsible for everyone’s safety; 4. We do not take risks; 5. We address all safety concerns; 6. We promote and maintain a safety culture; and 7. We report all incidents.

RE: We are really excited about our new “#LostLimbs Challenge”! We are spreading the word on Instagram and Twitter about how many young workers are injured at work by asking them to upload to Instagram a short video of themselves or friends trying to eat food with their hands behind their backs. Already we have high-school students in Ontario filming and uploading the #LostLimbs. We are also asking people who take the challenge to text “safety” on their mobile phones to 45678 to donate $10 to MySafeWork to help fund our continuing efforts to drop the number of accidents and deaths at work. Z YOUTH ZONE SUMMER 2015

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First Impressions Count By Carmelle Wolfson

Y “They need to do more than sit them in front of a video.”

oung workers entering the workforce for the first time face many on-the-job hazards. But what puts this group of workers most at risk? It is their employers, according to Halifax-based workplace respect and safety expert Paul Kells, Ph.D. “That is the biggest barrier we have,” he says, noting that many employers do not provide proper safety training to new employees. In 2004, Dr. Kells founded Passport to Safety, a program run by Parachute Canada that provides online safety testing and certification for young adults. In a survey that Passport to Safety conducted over six years of more than 200,000 high-school students in Ontario, less than 25 per cent reported that they had received safety training at work. “When it comes to laws and legislation, it is the employer’s responsibility to train workers, and in particular, young workers,” says Layne Clark, young-worker-program coordinator at the British Columbia Federation of Labour’s Health and Safety Centre in Vancouver. Clark organizes the Alive After Five program, which visits high schools across the province to educate students on job hazards, their rights and responsibilities in the workplace and workers’ compensation protections. The following are some recommendations from experts in the field on how to safeguard green hands: 1) Keep an eye out Young workers are often inexperienced, eager to prove themselves and not properly trained. As such, they may be hesitant to ask questions and betray their lack of knowledge. Dr. Kells points out that new workers are at increased risk of injury. The majority of jobrelated incidents involving young workers occur when no supervisor is present. A 2005 Institute for Work and Health (IWH) study found that the risk of lost-time injuries for employees in their first month on the job was more than three times as high as for those with more than a year of work experience. If constant supervision was provided for every young worker, “we could probably cut it conservatively by three times fewer injuries

than we have now,” Dr. Kells suggests. “In the first three months, assign a mentor to those kids, don’t leave them alone and make sure you are guiding them by the hand.” The person who has been assigned to supervise a new employee should be experienced, be welltrained and feel responsible for mentoring the fresh employee, he adds. 2) Provide proper training Many young employees receive workplacesafety education through videos. In 2009, Curtis Breslin, Ph.D., clinical psychology researcher at the IWH in Toronto, co-authored a study that looked at the results of an online survey completed by 1,886 participants aged 16 to 24 at youth employment centres in Ontario. Almost half of the respondents (44 per cent) reported that the training had been delivered by watching a videotape, while less than 30 per cent said they had learned by watching someone demonstrate the job. “If they really want to improve safety skills and knowledge, they need to do more than sit them in front of a video,” Dr. Breslin says. “In terms of memory recollection and retention, a passive training — like just sitting somebody in front of a video — is probably going to be the least able to transfer that information and skills into the workplace.” He recommends hands-on training through apprenticeship, mentorship or a buddy system. Employers may want to consider offering a graduated licensing program, similar to that of a driver’s license. “Practise in low-risk conditions, build up their skills and knowledge, before stepping them up to higher-risk tasks,” Dr. Breslin advises. In addition to the appropriate skills and knowledge, budding employees also need to learn the social context of workplace-safety-management systems. This includes understanding safety procedures and policies. In British Columbia, Section 3.23 of the Workers Compensation Act states that young and new employees are required to complete special orientation and training. If they feel that additional training is needed to do their jobs, they have the right to ask their employers for it.

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3) Know the laws Depending on the jurisdiction in which a workplace is located, different oh&s legislation may apply. “Providing young workers with training and operating a workplace that complies with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) will go a long way to assisting new and young workers,” says Toronto-based labour lawyer Andrew Langille. He recommends training staff, like managers and human-resources personnel, in workplace-safety compliance, and consulting a labour lawyer. “Even if you don’t have a pressing legal concern, they can always direct the employer or the staff to resources that they can use or can direct them to health and safety professionals who can assist with compliance. You don’t always need a lawyer to deal with the day-to-day issues.” Over last spring and summer, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour conducted a youngand new-worker safety blitz, which found 7,941 violations of the OHSA. Recently,

the provincial government introduced new legislative measures that Langille says will help “address some of the worst excesses that employers are foisting upon young workers.” However, he stresses that more still needs to be done. Last November, the province expanded the definition of a “worker” under the OHSA to include unpaid secondaryschool students participating in a workexperience program, unpaid learners participating in a program approved by a post-secondary institution and certain other unpaid trainees. This means that co-op students and unpaid interns have the same rights as paid workers, such as the right to know about hazards and to refuse unsafe work. As well, employers and supervisors now have the same responsibilities towards unpaid learners as paid workers. Since last July, employers in Ontario are also required to ensure that all workers have completed health and safety basic awareness training, which must cover the

Parental Guidance Needed For parents, educating their offspring about workers’ rights and responsibilities could mean the difference between a close call and a lost limb. While some youngsters receive safety training at their workplaces or schools, many do not. As such, parents should not take it for granted that their children are prepared for their first day on the job. Many resources exist to give kids a helping hand. Inexperienced workers should educate themselves by reading provincial employer standards and occupational health and safety legislation, which can be found on the websites of their respective provincial labour ministries. Instructional videos and guides are typically available on these sites. New employees should also be aware of the inherent hazards in their field of work, notes Toronto-based labour lawyer Andrew Langille. “If they are working in landscaping, to see what the most common causes of injuries are, to apprise themselves of any equipment that they are going to be using, any chemicals, what protections they need to be using with regards to the various activities and work that they are going to be undertaking” can be helpful, he says. Commonly, advice to youngsters will revolve around messages like “speak up” and “know your rights”. But it can be very difficult to voice concerns in a work scenario, says Dr. Curtis Breslin, scientist at the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto. He recommends the buddy system instead. “Don’t do it alone. If you see something that you think is hazardous, talk to your co-workers; go as a group,” he suggests. “If several people agree and go as a group, I think that that carries more weight.” One final word of advice comes from workplace respect and safety expert Paul Kells, Ph.D. in Halifax. “In your first day, if you don’t have somebody talking to you about the safety around your job and what you are doing and you feel afraid to ask questions, [my] number one tip would be quit.”

following topics under the Act: • The duties and rights of workers, employers and supervisors; • The roles of safety representatives and joint health and safety committees; • The roles of the provincial labour ministry, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and entities designated under section 22.5 of the Act with respect to workplace health and safety; • Common workplace hazards; • The requirements set out in the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System with respect to information and instruction on controlled products; and • Occupational illness. 4) Encourage dialogue Young people will most likely be afraid to ask questions. “All they want to do is prove, unlike their habits at home, that they can work hard and do great jobs. And that is what will get them in trouble, by overextending themselves,” Dr. Kells observes. For this reason, young workers should not be disciplined for speaking up about safety concerns, but rather, for not speaking up, he suggests. If a young worker has done something that they are unsure about that could put their safety in jeopardy, they should be given a warning that their jobs will be on the line if they pursue the same course of action in future. Dr. Kells recommends constantly encouraging young workers to keep the lines of communication open. “For employers, the main thing is to drive the fear out of the kids.” Clark emphasizes the importance of creating a workplace culture that supports young workers to ask questions and refuse unsafe work. “Supporting young people and supporting everybody in using that [right] is so important,” she says. “If you brought your kids in, and you knew what risks there were, what would you do to prepare your own children?” Dr. Kells asks. “So put yourself in the kids’ shoes and in the other parents’ shoes, and then ask yourself if you are 100 per cent satisfied,” he suggests. Z Carmelle Wolfson is editor of outh Zone.

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FORESTRY

In the

WOODS

BY KELLY PUTTER

Summer is the time of the year when Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forestry sector is abuzz with activity. The idea of a workplace surrounded by greenery may sound idyllic, but it is also one that is fraught with dangers. Nature cannot be tamed, and trees must be felled. So what can be done to protect those who work in

IMAGE: LUCIE TALKOVA / HERMERA / THINKSTOCK

the woodlands?

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learing land has never been easy work. Labourers are often called upon to operate dangerous, heavy equipment. They work outdoors year-round in the rain, snow, extreme cold and heat. Forestry and logging, in particular, often take place in remote areas and on unstable, sloping terrain. Mudslides, forest fires, wildlife, insects and poisonous plants are common hazards. Workers also need to be on the lookout for falling trees, branches and rolling logs. Making work in the forestry sector safer is something that the industry has been grappling with for the last 40 years, says Tom Welton, industrial director with Workplace Safety North, the North Bay, Ontario-based health and safety association for the province’s forestry, mining, paper, printing and converting sectors. In the years spanning from 1999 and 2005, British Columbia recorded an average of nearly 22 fatalities a year. That number spiked to 34 in 2005, according to Robert Moonen, director of Safety Accord Forestry Enterprise (SAFE) companies with the British Columbia Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) in Nanaimo. This sparked a public outcry that pushed the provincial government and industry to step up safety efforts. A task force was established and in 2004, 16 recommendations were put forth for the province’s forestry sector, calling for a change to the culture that would make injuries and fatalities unacceptable. “One of those recommendations was to form an organization that would look after health and safety, and that is how [the] council came about,” Moonen says about the creation of the BCFSC in 2005. In the intervening years, the province’s forestry industry has come a long way. According to WorkSafeBC, on-the-job deaths were reduced to just four in 2009, but fatalities crept up to double digits again in 2012 and 2013. Last year, British Columbia’s forestry sector had only one fatality. As for lost-time injuries, there were 5,063 in the province in 2003 — a number that dropped to 1,794 by 2013. Today, the safety message focuses on how integrating safety into business management enhances profitability. “Forestry, in and of itself, has always had the reputation of being a dangerous and high-risk industry,” Moonen says. “Industry has been putting in place good safety-management systems and looking at those particular things that cause serious injury and fatality rates. I would say the overall cross-engagement of industry is another factor in our success.” In the past, each company looked at occupational safety within its own lens, Moonen adds. “But collectively, now the industry is looking across the province and industry and coming together to work on solutions.”

pulp and paper mills that manufacture newsprint and household paper products, to chipping and pellet mills, forests are valued highly — even romanticized by some — for their recreational, cultural and spiritual merits. But the industry, which contributed nearly $20 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product in 2013, continues to struggle, notes information from Natural Resources Canada. The forest-products market is cyclical and experiencing significant ups and downs. In recent years, Canada’s forestry industry has undergone a deep cyclical decline, coupled with structural changes in world markets. The Internet and the ubiquity of electronic devices mean fewer consumers are reading a gamut of print publications, such as newspapers, directories and promotional flyers. The fallout from the 2008 economic downturn, the strength of the Canadian dollar, government regulations and increased competition from other forest-product suppliers further weakened the sector. In these trying economic times, there are concerns that forestry owners, contractors and licensees might scale back on workplace-safety initiatives in one of the most dangerous industries — a worry that is not unfounded, considering that in the past, injuries and fatalities were viewed as the costs of doing business. Reynold Hert, the BCFSC’s chief operating officer, points out that previously, safety regulations and inspections existed, but safety was not integrated into day-to-day business systems. Safety committees and safety meetings were often held separately from operations meetings and involved different people. The lack of consistency aside, the objectives of the meetings were not always clear, and people were engaged in a reactive process. “Today, more people understand that the morning tailgate meeting should be focused on identifying the risk to reliable production,” Hert says. “More companies are realizing that getting into the details during training and operations is important and makes them money.”

“Forestry, in and of itself, has always had the reputation of being a dangerous and high-risk industry.”

BOREAL PARADISE The Canadian forest landscape covers 348 million hectares of land and accounts for nine per cent of the world’s treecovered terrain. It is no wonder that Canadian woodlands, many of which feed the country’s economic, environmental and social needs, are a significant source of wealth. From sawmills that produce finished wood products and 34

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PATH TO SAFETY One of the measures to ensure that forest companies and contractors have a safety-management system in place is the SAFE certification program administered by the BCFSC. The initiative is designed to help forest companies improve their safety performances and to evaluate their safety programs through industry-recognized audit protocols. In British Columbia alone, there are 2,640 SAFE-certified companies. To meet this standard, forestry companies are required to pass a health and safety audit that consists of the following: • looking at how companies coordinate and communicate their onsite work activities; • evaluating prime contractors; • interviewing all employees; • observing whether employees use personal protective

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IMAGE: ALEXEY BASKAKOV / HERMERA / THINKSTOCK

equipment; and • a ssessing how the company manages access to the job site. In addition, companies must provide the BCFSC with proof that they are working on making the recommended improvements identified by the auditor. “Every company must redo their audit every year in varying capacities,” Moonen says, “so that you can show continuous improvement, as well as see yourself where your successes and opportunities are.” Certification programs aside, advances in training help reinforce the safety message. For example, the three-dimensional degraded imagery — an image that is not apparent or obvious — is a visual training tool that helps fallers recognize and respond to hazards. Originally developed for the mining industry in the United States, the BCFSC adapted the tool specifically for fallers in 2004. By using a ViewMaster and reels of degraded three-dimensional images to depict real-life harvesting conditions that have resulted in on-the-job fatalities or injuries, the images offer trainees a virtual-reality experience of standing in a forest and looking at the task before them. They are then asked to identify potential hazards and discuss ways to ensure everyone’s safety. In a sampling of 150 incidents related to the felling of trees from 2005 to 2014 in British Columbia, 84 per cent involved the descriptor “struck by.” Dangerous trees were the most common descriptor in accident reports, followed by “hit by portion of tree” and “hit by limb from above.” Hert says the province’s forestry industry is also taking into account human factors that contribute to injury risk, such as proper nutrition, hydration, fatigue management, employee participation and how to develop good habits like three-point contact — a safe way of getting into and out of machinery, the cabs of trucks and other vehicles to prevent slips, trips and falls. HIGH HAZARD The sheer magnitude of Canada’s forested lands makes for large-scale commercial harvesting that generally falls under three main sub-sectors: solid-wood-product manufacturing, pulp-and-paper-product manufacturing and forestry and logging. Natural Resources Canada reports that the industry employed approximately 216,000 employees directly and another 350,000 indirectly in 2013. Forestry is an exportfocused manufacturing sector made up of traditional products, such as softwood lumber, pulp, newsprint and printing and writing paper. Typical job descriptions include fallers who cut down trees with chainsaws or other heavy machinery, buckers who trim tree branches and cut logs into smaller pieces, while a choke-setter fastens steel cables or chains around logs that are towed for processing. Logging and forestry labourers perform a variety of manual tasks that encompass attaching choker cables to logs, planting trees, clearing brush, spraying chemicals, cleaning up landing areas and assisting other workers in woodlands operations, among other tasks. “Manual tree fallers are number one for serious injury and fatality rates,” Moonen says. According to Welton, the three most dangerous jobs in

the sector are chainsaw and cable-skidder operators, logtruck and wood-chip truck drivers, and mechanical harvesting-equipment operators. Chainsaw operators face higher hazards as they are exposed to the elements. The same applies to cable-skidder operators who pull trees out of the forest. In addition, they often have to leave their skidders to hook up loads, which is when accidents can happen. As for truck drivers — regardless of whether they are hauling logs or wood chips — the hazard lies in losing control and crashing as a result of a high rate of speed and unrealistic cycle times set by licensees. For mechanical-harvesting equipment operators, the danger occurs when the operator exits the cab and being struck by or getting caught in moving equipment. Workplace Safety North notes that logging workers in Ontario have the highest percentage of injuries from contact with objects and equipment at 39 per cent. In other words, four out of 10 lost-time injuries result from being struck by a tree or branch or running into a piece of equipment. HITTING THE BOOKS The most effective way to mitigate occupational risks associated with forestry work is through education. Since 1989, Ontario’s forestry workers — namely cutter-skidders, mechanized harvesting-equipment operators and forestrypit and road-construction operators — must undergo pre-employment classroom training on forestry hazards. These classes focus on teaching participants how to safely operate a chainsaw, tow a piece of equipment, retrieve a piece of equipment that is stuck, mount and dismount, fuel a vehicle, operate radio telecommunications, respond to equipment lockouts and avoid repetitive-strain injuries, as well as understand how to use basic protective equipment required to do the job. Once the worker completes the mandatory in-class training sessions, which last a few days, he or she has one year to complete training on the job under the tutelage of an experienced operator. When the employer determines that the worker is ready, an external evaluator is called in to assess the worker’s skills and to submit documentation, so that the worker can be certified. “This has made a very significant impact on new workers coming into the industry,” Welton says. “Fifty or 60 years ago, you could have started work with an employer with, ‘Here’s your chainsaw — go to it.’” Still, there is opportunity to skim the surface when it comes to safety, suggests Scott www.ohscanada.com

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Russell, a health and safety coordinator in Thunder Bay, Ontario and chair of the industry-led Provincial Forestry Tripartite Committee, which looks into the forestry sector’s training needs. “I think there are pockets around the province where you have untrained workers,” Russell suggests. “It usually happens on private lands where a farmer or someone with property that has timber on it brings in people who are not properly trained. I hope it is not a large percentage. The only time you find out about it is when something tragic happens.” SMALL BUT SAFE One of the industry’s biggest challenges right now, Russell notes, is finding trained workers, many of whom have been courted by other sectors like mining and oil and gas. Training new, unskilled workers can put a financial strain on smaller companies. Although employers can be reimbursed for some of the costs of safety training, smaller contractors are still trying to change the perception that they are more likely to cut corners when it comes to safety. “At one time, it was really bad with small contractors,” Russell says. “The better, smaller ones have survived.” As the forestry sector attracts a good number of less-educated workers, Russell notes, there is the potential for safety training to take longer, which translates into higher costs. “We hire a lot of contractors, and one of my jobs is to make sure small contractors are doing safety properly,” he says. “A lot of my safest workers only have a grade nine or 10 educa-

Man vs Forest

IMAGE: DOUGLAS ALLEN / ISTOCK / THINKSTOCK

The career website Monster.ca cites forestry work as the third-most dangerous job in Canada after fishing and trapping, followed by mining, quarrying and oil-well work. The following headlines paint a grim picture: • In December 2014, the body of a worker was found in Crofton, British Columbia in a wood-chip container two days after he disappeared. • In late 2014, two workers were killed in northeast Ontario while hooking up chains to pull a logging tractor-trailer out of a ditch. They were pinned between two vehicles. • In December 2011, a dead tree, known as a chicot, struck and killed an experienced cutter in northwestern Ontario while he was operating his cable skidder. Despite these incidents, forestry is safer today than ever before. Injuries and fatalities are the lowest they have been in the history of the industry. One century ago, 40 to 50 workers in Ontario were injured each day, while five were killed each week.

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tion. Theories, big words and numbers may make it harder for the uneducated to grasp.” The result is more time spent on training. “But if trained properly, they can be the safest workers out there.” Tolko Industries, a leading diversified-forest-products company focused on solid woods, panels and paper with 3,400 employees in western Canada, takes workplace safety seriously. The company is aiming for a recordable injury rate of 1.5 or lower in 2018. “This is the corporate goal for all business operations and all 3,400 employees, Tolko-wide,” says James McLeod, Tolko’s corporate manager of occupational health and safety in Vernon, British Columbia. The company plans to achieve this by engaging the workforce in more real-time hazard identification at the plant level, rolling out better incident-learning bulletins to ensure that information is widely shared across the operations and improving near-miss reporting. It also wants to continue enhancing the processes to ensure that employees are recognized for not just doing safety the right way, but for helping to embed it as an everyday core value throughout the organization. “Our next focus is making sure there is improved coaching and mentoring in the field,” McLeod says. “We want to have a culture in which safety is the norm and not an extra, and we want to continue to transform Tolko into a learning organization where people are not afraid to share and discuss the things they have seen. That is really the key in achieving the culture to care.” TOP DOWN For Montreal-based Eacom Timber Corporation, a lumber producer with 750 employees, safety starts at the top. “You need leaders in the organization that make safety a core value,” says Eacom executive vice-president and chief operating officer, Jeff Webber. “You never walk past somebody who is deviating from your stated procedures, because that gives them a pass to violate it every day. It starts with leadership, but if it is really well done, then it can develop in such a way that they hold each other accountable, all the way to the bottom of the organization.” Webber points to a recent incident in one of Eacom’s plants, in which he saw an employee operating a chainsaw without the required protective chaps. Webber gathered the crew and asked the group to indicate, through a raise of hands, if they were aware of the safety rule. All hands went up. When he asked how many do not wear the protective gear, about twothirds raised their hands. “I said, ‘That is a problem’.” The firm is in the process of filling a full-time, senior position to focus exclusively on workplace health and safety issues. This is a first for the company, which boasts a safety-incident record well below the industry’s average of nine injuries per 100 employees each year in Quebec and Ontario. “We are less than half that, but we are striving to be zero or less than one,” Webber stresses. “I know there are mills that have done that; I have worked in them.” But the hierarchical structure of the forestry sector tends to create a barrier to safety initiatives, resulting in a “code of silence” that makes people afraid to speak up, suggests Roger Harris, the BCFSC’s ombudsman in Vancouver. “There are

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still places where people can’t speak out,” Harris says, although he notes that the situation today has improved compared to 15 years ago. “Safety is not achieved by changing rules, but by changing culture.” Harris, the first and only ombudsman in the province, has worked in all aspects of the industry, from scrubbing pots as a dishwasher at a logging camp and operating his own contracting business, to working as a board member for Local 1-71 of the Industrial Wood and Allied Workers of Canada. In 2001, he entered provincial politics and was elected Liberal Member of Legislative Assembly for Skeena, British Columbia. In 2003, he was appointed the Minister of State for Forestry Operations. When it comes to blood spilled in British Columbia’s forests, Harris knows it all too well. In 1986, his right hand was almost severed when his chainsaw kicked back while he was felling a tree. He also lost a brother-in-law in a forestry mishap in the 1970s. He thinks that the BCFSC’s efforts have gone a long way towards improving the industry’s “Wild-West cowboy environment”, in which workers took chances to live up to the machismo that pervaded the sector. Today, the workforce is more diverse, including more female workers in the sector. Harris also observes that unlike their predecessors, this

“There are pockets around the province where you have untrained workers.”

generation of workers views work and occupational safety as one entity. “People my age are moving out of the industry and retiring, and they are being replaced by a new generation who brings different values and priorities. They don’t accept that they are not going to go home at night, and that dynamic is changing the industry.” Even though more improvements are needed, he believes that the sector holds much promise as this new generation takes over the reins. “The future is looking very bright, especially from the perspective of the ability to get up, go to work and know you are going to come home at night,” Harris says. “Here I am: I lost a family member, I still don’t have any feeling in a couple of fingers on my right hand, and I have got a bunch of other bumps and bruises that I live with.” Nevertheless, he says he would not change a day of wanting to work in that sector. “The time I spent working in the forest sector, with those people, living in camps, is still some of the fondest memories I have.” Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

Kelly Putter is a writer in Beamsville, Ontario.

Congratulations to the following OHS professionals who have recently been granted the Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP)® Professionnel en sécurité agréé du Canada (PSAC)® designation. Anthony Allenbrand CRSP Robert Aloisio CRSP Peggy Bakken CRSP Christopher Banbury CRSP Ali Bayati CRSP Gregory Beck CRSP David Berry CRSP Tyler Blanchet CRSP Shauna Bochon CRSP Kenneth Brodie CRSP Larissa Brown CRSP Jason Burnett CRSP Mylene Busilan CRSP Shawn Bymoen CRSP David Phillip Campbell CRSP Sergio Carvana CRSP Eric Cheng CRSP Cory Cherniwchan CRSP Juliana Chu CRSP David Clark CRSP Heather Clarke CRSP Carolyn Cuthbertson CRSP

Michael Desotti CRSP Sylvie Dionne CRSP Ryan Elgert CRSP Stephanie L. Fitchett CRSP Peter Frigon CRSP Henry Grbac CRSP Tim Greenacre CRSP Hayden Greenshields CRSP Martin Grund CRSP Ralph Gubler CRSP Stephen Henchel CRSP Howard Hickman CRSP Zaya Janou CRSP Ewa Kaczmarczyk CRSP Jeremy Kelly CRSP Adrian Khan CRSP Sila Kosegi CRSP Yoon (Kelly) Kwon CRSP Carrie Lalonde CRSP Shirley Lalonde CRSP Holly Lam CRSP Mathieu Langelier CRSP

Cheryl L’Arrivee CRSP Mike Lemay CRSP Randolph LeRoy CRSP Pierre Marentette CRSP Barry Martin CRSP Endurance Maya CRSP Todd McCabe CRSP Craig McGrath CRSP Shawn McWilliam CRSP Scott Melville CRSP Andrew Mendoza CRSP Melissa Morden CRSP Tanya Morose CRSP Waleed Mostafa CRSP Steven Mueller CRSP David Murphy CRSP Patrick Ndjom CRSP David Nguyen CRSP Paul O’Connor CRSP Tim O’Quinn CRSP Wade Osmond CRSP Tianyou Pan CRSP

Ilinca Papaz CRSP Daryl Pont CRSP Laura Prevett CRSP Brant Prunkl CRSP Stephanie Raill CRSP Ana Reyes CRSP Mallory Roberts CRSP Chad Sales CRSP Diane Samoleski CRSP Sylvia Senoran CRSP Shanroy Shirley CRSP Patrick Sontrop CRSP Daniela Stamu CRSP Anthony David Toews CRSP Ruth Uy CRSP Caitlin White CRSP Aaron Wildgrove CRSP James Williams CRSP Charyl Anne Wilson CRSP Gordon Yee CRSP Viorica Zugravu CRSP Scott Zwack CRSP

The BCRSP is a self-regulating, self-governing organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada to ISO 17024 (Personnel Certification Body) and by BSI Management Systems to ISO 9001 (Quality Management System). Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals/Conseil canadien des professionnels en sécurité agréés 6700 Century Avenue, Suite 100, Mississauga, ON L5N 6A4 905-567-7198, 1-888-279-2777, www.bcrsp.ca

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Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals

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DISPATCHES

Province highlights tractor safety on farms By Jeff Cottrill

orkSafeBC has launched a tractor and equipment safety initiative to provide free safety information to farm workers in British Columbia. The launch of the new initiative on March 16 coincided with Canadian Agricultural Safety Week. The project involves distributing public safety resources from equipment dealers and repairers directly to employers at agricultural conferences and through agricultural-commodity associations. Apart from a new web page on tractor and equipment safety, the agency has also produced a short video, Tractor Rollovers, which demonstrates the lifesaving values of wearing seatbelts and using rollover protective structures when operating tractors. “Tractor and farm-related-equipment incidents are the leading cause of fatalities on British Columbia farms and ranches,” says Joy Piehl, WorkSafeBC’s manager of industry and labour services in Richmond. Since 2009, there have been 145 equipment- and machinery-related serious injuries on the province’s farms and ranches, of which 11 were fatal. Piehl adds that farm injuries and deaths can happen to anyone at any time, regardless of the victim’s age or level of experience. “The key to safety is to take preventive steps to identify and control the hazards associated with the operation of the farm-related machinery.” The safety agency puts a face on the dangers of tractors and farm equipment by highlighting the story of Devon Smith, a 20-year-old woman who was seriously injured in an accident involving a drilling device on her family’s farm in Enderby. Smith was repairing a fence when her jacket became entangled in the tractor’s power takeoff. She was thrown around and crushed against the augur and the power takeoff. “I had about 13 broken or fractured bones in my body, a separated right lung and a laceration in my neck that caused my carotid artery to collapse, causing a stroke on the left side of my body,” recounts Smith, who spent three weeks in the intensive-care unit. Today, she attends regular follow-up appointments with doctors and undergoes physiotherapy. She advises farm workers to use farm machinery as if it

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is their first time, tie back hair and wear fitted clothing. “All those little things can really save your life,” Smith says. Jeff Cottrill is the editor of safety news.

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Employee dismissed for harassing female journalist By Carmelle Wolfson

worker has been fired from his job after a female reporter was harassed on air at a Toronto FC soccer game. The Hydro One employee will also be banned from Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) facilities, along with the other men who took part in the incident on May 10 involving CityNews reporter Shauna Hunt. Hydro One said in a statement issued on May 12 that it would terminate the employee for violating the company’s code of conduct. The utility company would not confirm the identity of the worker, but according to a video of the event, the employee appears to be Shawn Simoes, an assistant network-management engineer listed on the Sunshine List as making more than $100,000 per year and a player on the company soccer team. Hunt was recording a news segment at the game when some men hurled vulgarities at her. She confronted the men, and a video of the exchange posted on YouTube had garnered more than 3.5 million views as of May 15. “I am sick of this. I get this every day, 10 times a day,” Hunt says in the recording. A man, who appears to be Simoes, defends the lewd comments. When Hunt questions if his mother would condone such behaviour, he responds that his mother would die laughing eventually. “We are appalled that this trend of disrespectful behaviour would make its way to our city, let alone anywhere near our stadium,” a statement from MLSE says. “Our organization is committed to an environment where everyone can feel safe and included, and discrimination or intolerance of any kind will be met with swift and serious response.” Dave Haggith, senior director of communications with MLSE, reports that a fan code of conduct protects fans’ experiences. “We have asked TV assignment desks to alert us to female reporters doing live hits outside our venues during games, so we can ask security personnel to pay specific attention and assist where needed.”

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Haggith says this type of occurrence is not common at games. “This is a further example of an issue that has been happening to reporters around the city for the past 18 months.” Hugo Rodriguez, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists in Ottawa, says women are more likely to be harassed and threatened. “Being a journalist does change the dynamic of how we interact with other people,” he says. “But it doesn’t change the way that we as people interact with other people in our society.” He suggests that employers encourage their employees to report incidents of harassment. Journalists are often expected to be “disinterested observers”, but they still must respond to abuse and, if appropriate, pursue criminal charges. Municipal, provincial and federal politicians, including Kathleen Wynne, have come out in support of Hunt. In a tweet, Wynne thanked CityNews for how it handled the incident. “Whether or not it is caught on film, sexual harassment at work is no joke,” she says in the message. Carmelle Wolfson is assistant editor of ohs canada.

Safety research centre gets new home By Jeff Cottrill

he Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH) in Sudbury, Ontario has opened its own laboratory and research facility at Laurentian University on April 27, marking the first time that the sevenyear-old organization has had its own home. “There are quite a few of us who do occupational health and safety-related research, but we have never had a home of our own,” says Dr. Michel Larivière, an associate professor of human kinetics with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the associate director of CROSH. Up until the venue opening, CROSH members had been working in individual laboratories. “We were working in relative isolation. So now that we have an actual space that allows us to meet and interact and collaborate, it is a lot easier,” he adds. The size of the new facility also allows room for more equipment and students. Among the areas in which CROSH plans to conduct research at its new facility are physiology, ergonomics, epidemiology, sleep studies, human-vibration studies and mental health. While research will focus on oh&s issues concerning Northern Ontario-based industries, Dr. Larivière, who is also a clinical psychologist, hopes that their contributions will have international influence. “The whole thing is driven by this idea,” he says, “that the well-being of workers from any line of work might benefit from our research in terms of their own health and well-being.”

Tit for tat good for morale and mental health: study By Jean Lian

f you want to dish it out, be prepared to take it. Researchers from Ohio State University conclude that employees who retaliate against hostile bosses — described as those who yell at, ridicule and intimidate their workers — experience less psychological distress than those who suffer in silence. They also report greater job satisfaction and higher commitment to their employers. “The best situation is certainly when there is no hostility,” Bennett Tepper, Ph.D., the study’s lead author and professor of management and human resources at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, says in a statement. “But if your boss is hostile, there appears to be benefits to reciprocating. Employees felt better about themselves, because they didn’t just sit back and take the abuse.” The study, On The Exchange of Hostility with Supervisors: An Examination of Self-Enhancing and Self-Defeating Perspectives, was published online in January in Personnel Psychology. It involves data from two related studies that the researchers conducted. The first study included 169 people who completed two surveys, the first of which required participants to indicate how often their supervisors ridiculed them and how often they retaliated. Seven months later, the same respondents completed a second survey that measured job satisfaction, commitment to their employers, psychological distress and negative feelings. Results show that workers on the receiving end of hostile bosses have higher levels of psychological distress, are less satisfied with their jobs and are less committed to their employers. But employees who give it back to their bosses do not report these negative consequences. Dr. Tepper suggests that the positive outcome reported by respondents who fought back could be a result of gaining admiration and respect from co-workers. “There is a norm of reciprocity in our society. We have respect for someone who fights back, who doesn’t just sit back and take abuse. Having the respect of co-workers may help employees feel more committed to their organization and happy about their job.” But he qualifies that the message of these findings is not one of retaliation. “There may be other responses to hostile bosses that may be more beneficial. We need to test other coping strategies.” Jean Lian is editor of

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SPECIAL REPORT

OIL AND GAS UPDATES

On the Western Front By Jean Lian

rane hazards, occupational diseases and recent measures taken to improve safety outcomes in the oil and gas sector were among the topics addressed by three representatives from Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan at a panel discussion on workplace-safety developments in the industry. The session took place on May 6 at the Petroleum Safety Conference 2015 in Banff, Alberta. One of the key changes taking place this year in Alberta is the implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety Code in September. Updates to the Code were presented to the public from November 2014 to January 2015, and the feedback received has been reviewed by the province’s oh&s policy staff. “There is a six-month grace period before we have that change,” says Derek Kearney, director with the oh&s division of Alberta’s Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour. Since January 2014, the province has added new compliance tools, namely ticketing and administrative penalties. Workers and employers who contravene ticketable provisions of the oh&s legislation can now be issued tickets by safety officers. Administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per violation per day can be imposed against workers, contractors, suppliers, prime contractors and employers. Tickets administered under the Provincial Offences Procedure Act require peace-officer appointments. To date, Alberta has 39 safety officers who have peace-officer status. “The really good news is, no ticket has been given to the oil and gas industry as yet,” Kearney says. Another positive trend is the improvement in injury numbers in Saskatchewan’s and British Columbia’s oil and gas industries. From 2011 to 2013, Saskatchewan’s time-loss-injury rates dipped across the industry’s four sectors, namely petroleum, oil-well operation and servicing, service rigs and seismic and drilling. Total injury rates for these sectors from 2011 to 2014 also saw a similar decline. Both statistics are below the provincial average, reports Kim Meyer, Regina-based manager of Safety Operations South with the oh&s division of the Government of Saskatchewan. “That is good, and we want to keep that trending downward as far as we possibly can.” In British Columbia, oil-and-gas drilling and field servicing saw about a 20 per cent decrease in their base rates over a five-year period. The injury rate of the upstream oil and gas industry remains lower than that of all the province’s classification units combined, reports Budd Phillips, regional prevention manager of the Fort St. John’s office with WorkSafeBC. “The injury rate of British Columbia is hovering [at] about 2.5; your overall injury rate is below one. It is pretty significant in the way that you have been performing,” he says to the audience. But the industry’s average short-term disability duration for work days lost is significantly higher than that of British Columbia, Phillips notes. Between 2010 and 2014, 40

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there were 177 serious-injury claims, which represent 29 per cent of the claims and 61 per cent of claims costs paid to date. There were nine work-related deaths between 2010 and 2015. HIGH STAKES The challenge in the oil and gas sector, Kearney says, is that when something goes wrong, it goes really wrong. “It is a high-risk industry. It is tough, tough work — hard work.” To mitigate the risks, Alberta has put in place an 18-month Strategic Inspection Program, which focuses on approximately 100 oil-and-gas employers identified through an employer index. “This strategic program is based on our selection criteria for lost-time claims, disabling injury, days lost, fatalities, and you must be double the industry average before you are selected to be in the program. The focus, again, is on what is your history.” For Saskatchewan, “Mission Zero” is the province’s goal. “We are working hard on that mission as a partnership between Labour Relations and Workplace Safety and the workers’ compensation board,” Meyer says. In relation to the four oil and gas sectors cited earlier, there were $33 million in costs, 65,000 compensation days (or 300 man-years in four years) and 13 fatalities, which she describes as “too many.” Meyer suggests that the biggest change for Saskatchewan is the increase in penalties since the Saskatchewan Employment Act was passed in April 2014. “They have pretty much doubled,” she notes. Corporations that commit a workplace-safety offence can be fined up to $1.5 million, while the penalties for individuals who contravene the Saskatchewan Employment Act or safety regulations “It is a run up to a maximum of $500,000. Like Alberta’s Strategic Inspection Prohigh-risk gram, Saskatchewan follows a Focused Compliance Model, which targets about 100 industry.” employers selected primarily for their injury rates. Apart from meeting these companies and requesting that they develop plans to reduce injury rates, they will be monitored for about a year. After that, the workers’ compensation board may step in to assist these firms. Meyer acknowledges that most of those hundred firms are large employers. “So we are missing some of the small guys.” The other significant change is the Prime Contractor Regulations, which took effect in Saskatchewan on January 1. The affected industries are oil and gas, construction and forestry. “Those three industries have to comply with our Prime Contractor Regulations,” which, Meyer says, apply to worksites with 10 or more workers and two employers. “The legislation talks about the requirement to coordinate safety and make sure the activities one employer is performing will not affect the activities and safety of another employer. If there is no prime contractor designated by the owner, the owner is then the default prime contractor.”

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NAGGING ISSUES While the safety initiatives and improvements taking place across the three provinces are encouraging, several concerns remain. One such issue is managed camps, some of which can house as many as 5,000 oil and gas workers. “That is like sticking a small town in proximity to your rural communities, and they could have a significant impact on the services in a community like that,” Phillips says. Oil and gas employers in British Columbia should be cognizant of the province’s “bunk-house policy”, which states that camps are extensions of workplaces. “The consequence of that is that an injury or disease that occurs in a camp is part of the employment of a worker [and] can be compensable,” he notes. While Phillips acknowledges that the industry has put a lot of effort into setting standards and rules to ensure that managed camps provide wholesome accommodations, have good security systems and that the activities are managed properly, the same cannot be said of “Texas camps”, which are often one or two portable structures where workers provide a lot of their own services, including cooking and cleaning. According to Phillips, British Columbia’s Ministry of Health Services sees more than 5,000 cases of food poisoning in camps each year, of which about 400 are potentially fatal. Road accidents involving workers travelling to and from unsupervised camps are another concern. Phillips cites the death of former Saskatchewan Roughrider Ken Reed, who was travelling on the Alaskan highway with his wife last summer, when his vehicle was hit by a southbound vehicle with two workers in it. All four were killed in the accident. “When we looked into the accident in a little bit more detail, we found that the two workers had just left camp. And that camp had released 60 workers to go on time off, travelling in 30 different vehicles heading down the highway,” Phillips says, adding that excess speed and alcohol were contributing factors. He adds that the incident significantly raised the profile of, and the negativity associated with, oil workers going to and from camp. Exposures and occupational diseases are also challenges. In 2014, WorkSafeBC received 173 claims for deaths, of which 98 were the result of occupational disease. “What is a little bit disturbing about that statistic is that predictive model said it was actually going to drop. And it increased,” Phillips reveals. “This will continue to be a strong focus for WorkSafeBC, because we see that rising trend, and we are concerned about the future impact on workers.” WorkSafeBC will continue to visit drilling sites, completion sites and other operations to review whether appropriate assessments have been conducted, including the implementation of exposure-control plans for naturally occurring radioactive materials, silica, oil-based drilling fluids, mercury and benzene, Phillips adds. In southern Saskatchewan, specifically Weyburn and Estevan, hydrogen-sulphide levels continue to rise with one fatal exposure this year. “We have worked with the Ministry of the Economy to identify some of the key areas and sent officers out to do some research on those areas,” Meyer says. “One of the things that have come up in inspections that we have been doing is that the self-containing breathing apparatus, the emergency-preparedness equipment, is not being maintained or inspected as it should be.” As jobs in the oil and gas industry involve working with

heavy machinery, contact with objects is among the causes of injury. Meyer reports that there were 1,761 accidents stemming from contact with objects and equipment from 2011 to 2014. The types of workers who get injured most are drilling and service labourers, operators and truck drivers. “About 600 truck drivers were injured in the last three years,” she says. British Columbia also saw six significant misadventures involving cranes last year. “The cranes were either totally destroyed or had significant problems with it,” Phillips says. He advises companies to ensure that crane operators are certified and experienced in the work being done. They should also ascertain that the cranes are inspected, certified and set up properly and that the area is capable of supporting the load. Pipe lining and pipe stringing were also cited as areas of concern that led to two serious incidents last year. A 12-by60-foot joint struck a worker when it rolled off the top tier, while another worker was struck in the chest by a six-by-60foot joint pinned against the pipe truck’s bulkhead. The former resulted in a compound fracture to the worker’s lower leg, which eventually had to be amputated. In the latter incident, the worker sustained serious internal injuries that required numerous surgeries, Phillips reports. Lack of safe-work procedures for stringing pipes and not using proper pipe hooks for pipe handling were among the contributing factors. ON THE HORIZON In response to these two incidents, British Columbia is making changes to Part 23.69 of the Occupational Health & Safety Regulations, which relates to flow piping. “The new regulation has been drafted and is ready for promulgation,” Phillips says. “The new regulation will require all high-pressure systems to have either purpose-built or engineered restraint systems in place and to be operated remotely.” For Saskatchewan, a regulatory review scheduled for next year is in the works. Consultations will be held with various groups on regulations specific to the oil and gas industry, such as occupational exposure limits (in particular those relating to hydrogen sulphide), first aid and the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. “That information will be posted on our website once we get into it,” Meyer says. “The other thing we have done in the last couple of years is change the look of our officers. Previously, our officers wore jeans and shirts out in the field, and we have got some feedback around that.” Meyer says the industry has indicated that it wants to ascertain that individuals who show up on their worksites are authorized to do so. “All our trucks now have the striping on it,” she says, and all officers will be in uniforms. Alberta is also working on identification issues — not of their own officers — but of workers on job sites. The biggest challenge encountered by safety officers on the ground is requesting workers for identification, Phillips notes, adding that much work has been done on communicating with people to eliminate confrontation and build collaboration. “It is very important for us, as a regulatory body, to make sure we identify who’s who,” he says. “We need to make sure we are issuing tickets, penalties, offences, prosecution to the right person.” Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

Jean Lian is editor of

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ACCIDENT PREVENTION

INDUSTRIAL VENTILATION

Air It Out OUT, IN: Out with the stale and in with the new — that is the raison d’être of industrial ventilation, an engineering control that provides a safe and healthy work environment by exhausting contaminated indoor air and injecting fresh outdoor air. Many industrial processes generate fumes, smoke, dust, vapours and gases that, if not purged, can create hazards, particularly in confined spaces. These hazards include excessive heat, toxic fumes and gases, dust, fire, explosions and oxygen deficiency.

LOCAL AND GENERAL: Two basic types of ventilation systems are used in industrial settings: general and local exhaust. A general or dilution ventilation system reduces the concentration of the contaminant by supplying clean air that mixes with the air in a workplace, while a local ventilation system captures and removes the contaminant at or near the source and exhausts it outside, says information from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) in Hamilton, Ontario. As general ventilation spreads the air throughout the area before exhausting it, this system is not suitable for controlling exposure to toxic substances. Apart from requiring large amounts of air, which may be costly to operate during winter, it is not effective for dust, metal fumes, large amounts of gases or vapours and handling irregular emissions. As such, general ventilation is primarily used to control temperature and humidity, as well as remove odours and, sometimes, traces of volatile organic compounds and micro-organisms emitted from carpetting, panelling, furniture and people. On the other hand, local exhaust systems are useful for controlling toxic airborne materials and many types of contaminants, as well as capturing contaminants at the source. But unlike general ventilation systems, local exhausts have higher design and installation costs and require regular maintenance, the CCOHS notes.

THIS OR THAT: When it comes to choosing a ventilation system for a job site, a section on ventilation systems in the Occupational Health and Safety Code 2009 from Alberta’s Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour lists the following considerations: • the type and concentration of the contaminant; • the nature of tasks performed; • the location of equipment and workers; • existing building ventilation systems; • the layout of the building; • the location of ventilation exhausts and intakes; • physical parameters, such as the temperature, pressure, humidity and volume of make-up air required; and • the types and configurations of equipment, ducting and other components of the ventilation equipment, including fans. 42

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MOVING AIR: Industrial ventilation systems are designed to move a specific amount of air at a specific velocity to remove contaminants. While all ventilation systems follow the same basic principles, each system is designed to match the type of work and the rate of contaminant released, according to the CCOHS. The ventilation system draws air into its collection device through a pressure gradient created by a fan, which must have sufficient power to overcome the resistance to air flow created by the system. By continuously supplying fresh air from outside and maintaining temperature and humidity at comfortable levels, ventilation reduces fire or explosion hazards and purges or dilutes airborne contaminants.

KEEPING WATCH: Just because the fan is running does not mean that a ventilation system is working. Conducting regular checks on air-flow rates is a good way to monitor if a ventilation system is functioning properly. Health and Safety Ontario recommends the following measures when conducting an inspection: • Perform a visual check of the system by looking at the physical condition of ducts, dampers, hoods, the stack, motor, fan, blades and belts; • Check the electrical system regularly; and • Keep an ear out for noise levels from fans. An increase in noise levels is an indication of problems and could also raise noise exposure to levels above the legal limits.

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SHIPS AHOY: While air contaminants are present in many work settings, shipyards, in particular, present various confined spaces where poor air quality can accumulate. When working aboard a vessel, many areas require ventilation, as contaminants and poor air quality can occur due to stagnant air from insufficient air flow and the accumulation of air contaminants from a source pollutant, like residual sewage or residual hazardous materials, says Ventilation in Shipyard Employment by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in Washington, D.C. The types of hazards present determine which ventilation systems should be used in the confined spaces of a shipyard. The atmosphere in a work area can be oxygen-enriched (typically caused by leaking oxygen hoses and torches), oxygen-deficient (which can occur in an enclosed space as a result of rusting and displacement by heavierthan-air gases), flammable (generated by spray painting) and toxic (arising from using solvents and certain types of welding). Other considerations when installing ventilation include making sure that the supplied air is from a clean source, venting exhausted air to a safe area and providing hearing protection if exhaust ventilation equipment or air movers create significant noise, the OSHA advises.

TO THE LIMITS: While ventilation systems shield workers from exposure to contaminants, there are limitations to their protective functions. Like any equipment, they deteriorate over time and require ongoing maintenance and routine testing to identify problems and implement corrective measures. In workplaces that use local ventilation, the CCOHS cautions, the need to replace air that has been exhausted is sometimes overlooked. If make-up air is not sufficiently provided when large volumes of air have been exhausted, workplaces can become starved for air, creating negative pressure and increasing resistance on the ventilation, which causes it to move less air. Air can also enter a building through cracks around doors and other openings to balance out the rate of air removed. One sign of excessive negative pressure is difficulty opening a door that pushes into a building.

AN EDUCATED EYE: The Regulation for Health Care and Residential Facilities (O. Reg. 67/93, s.19) under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act says mechanical ventilation systems in workplaces to which the regulation applies must be inspected by a qualified person at least every six months. A report on each inspection must be filed with the employer and the joint health and safety committee or with a health and safety representative. Ontario’s Ministry of Labour advises that information about each ventilation system be recorded and kept readily available at the workplace. The record should include the following information: • t he system’s purpose type and the area it serves; • r elevant plans, drawings and specifications; • w ritten standard operating procedures; • testing and maintenance records, including reports of regular inspections by a qualified person; • a written testing and/or a preventive-maintenance program; and • emergency procedures in the event of a toxic-substance release that could enter the ventilation intake or return.

WHAT IF: Like anything else, there will come a time when a ventilation system fails. When that happens, a method of immediately warning and protecting workers must be in place. This can be as simple as attaching streams of tissue paper to a malfunctioning fume hood or as sophisticated as audible alarms and warning lights, Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Code 2009 states. If there is a possibility that a worker may be exposed to a harmful substance, the employer must establish procedures to minimize exposure and ensure that each affected worker is trained in the procedures, follows the training and is informed about exposure hazards. www.ohscanada.com

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PARTNERS IN PREVENTION 2015

HEALTH & SAFETY CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW

Risky Business By Carmelle Wolfson

ow did a farm boy from southern Ontario end up setting off in a rocketship to explore the great unknown and becoming a best selling author and a household name? He took a risk. Retired astronaut Chris Hadfield knew from a young age that he wanted to walk in space. Inspired by watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on television, Hadfield did everything he could to develop the skills necessary to accomplish that goal. His planning and perseverance clearly paid off. Hadfield went on to fly in space three times and became the commander of the International Space Station (ISS). “I am not a risk-taker by nature,” says Chris Hadfield, who delivered the keynote address at Workplace Safety and Prevention Service’s Partners in Prevention conference, which ran from April 28 to 29 at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. Hadfield came from an engineering background as a test pilot. “Test pilots are not, you know, cowboys and having a good time up there. We are extremely measured and careful and deliberate with every single risk we take.” Hadfield’s speech addressed the reasons for taking risks and achieving goals that involve risk-taking. The riskiest nine minutes of his life were taking off in a spaceship for the first time. Looking back at previous mishaps, such as the Challenger and Columbia tragedies, provides insight into just how dangerous space flight can be, he notes. In 1986, the American Challenger shuttle broke up just after liftoff, claiming the lives of the seven astronauts aboard. Seventeen years later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) suspended space travel for more than two years after space shuttle Columbia broke up as it returned to Earth, killing the seven astronauts onboard. “The odds of dying during that ascent were about 1 in 38,” Hadfield says of his first space flight. He points out that 50 per cent of the risk comes in the first nine minutes of a six-month flight. “It is still right at the edge of what we can do safely.” But everything in life is a risk-reward trade-off, the astronaut notes. It is only in choosing to take those risks that we open ourselves up to having incredible experiences, such as looking down at the beauty of the earth’s expansive network of oceans and great lakes from outer space, he says. Analyzing past failures is essential to achieving goals. In space, this is particularly true, as failure can be fatal. One lesson Hadfield gleaned from his childhood days on the farm was that all machinery eventually breaks. “So how do you visualize failure? How do you get ready for that?” Hadfield points out that NASA did not properly visualize failure prior to the Challenger incident. Crew members were still alive when their vehicle crashed into the ocean in 1986, but the astronauts were wearing only their street clothes and helmets. When the ship depressurized, they instantaneously 44

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became unconscious. Today, anyone engaging in space travel must wear pressure suits to protect their bodies in the event of a similar malfunction. Hadfield notes that during his last “I am not a riskspace trip, all the survival gear that three people might need to land anywhere on Earth had to fit into taker by nature.” —Chris Hadfield a little centre section of the Soyuz spacecraft in the event of an emergency that would necessitate evacuating the space shuttle. Preparing for a space mission by anticipating and mitigating all possible risks is certainly no walk in the park. Hadfield uses the analogy of a heart attack to describe this process. “That is what we do for four years to prepare before the launch, is visualize every type of heart attack we could imagine and practise it and practise it, so that no matter what happens, we have a reasonable chance of winning.” For Hadfield, this involved undergoing emergency medical training, working in a hospital’s burn ward and cadaver laboratory, learning surgery and operating-room procedures and finally, working in the emergency department. All of this was done just in case a crew member got sick while Hadfield was up in space. On his last mission into space as commander of the ISS, he faced a major breakdown four days before they were scheduled to return home. Looking out the window, one of the cosmonauts onboard noticed little white bits spewing out of the station. It turned out that the ship was leaking liquid ammonia, used as a coolant for the station’s solar-powered batteries and to cool the living quarters. “We started dealing with this particular heart attack. What are the symptoms? What are we seeing? What do we know?” Hadfield recounts. Instead of the normal seven to eight days needed to prepare for a dangerous space walk, the two crew members whom Hadfield had chosen to embark on the task of fixing the leak had 12 hours to get ready. “That would have been a terrible time for us not to visualize failure. But we had trained for years. We simulated space walks underwater, in virtual reality labs. I had worked with the crew, making sure that every single crew member was completely skilled and competent to do space walks.” Hadfield’s modus operandi on missions involves four goals: stay alive; keep the vehicle alive and healthy; love what you do; and try to do a little bit of science for NASA. “If we did not keep our health up, if we did not keep the health of the vehicle up, and if we were not psychologically healthy and loving what we were doing, then we were going to do crap job for NASA anyway.”

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Views from the Ground: the Psychological Safety Standard

hen Nancy Casselman moved from the private sector into public healthcare as the director of human resources, organizational quality, safety and wellness at Toronto East General Hospital, she realized that the healthcare industry had a deeply ingrained cultural issue — healthcare providers did not want to acknowledge that they were hurting. “It was a real awakening for me,” she says. With the guidance of the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) and the National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace introduced in 2013, Casselman has been working with the hospital to reverse this mentality within its workforce. She was one of three representatives from organizations implementing the voluntary standard to share their experiences during a panel session at the Partners in Prevention Conference on April 28. Casselman learned about this problem while working on the hospital’s workplace-violence-prevention program, which encourages employees to report incidents of physical or verbal abuse. “In speaking with staff and conducting focus groups, staff were saying, ‘Well, we don’t feel comfortable. That is the way we are, we are here to help others, and you know, we have always just bucked up and pushed on,’” she says. It has taken time for the internal workplace culture to shift and for employees to understand that the hospital’s management wants to hear about experiences of violence. Casselman reports that the institution has set targets for incident reporting so that they can prevent reoccurrences. To promote communication with staff who are struggling with psychological issues following attacks, the hospital seeks permission through its occupational health and safety nurses to have members of the executive team call staff members at home to discuss these incidents. Casselman stresses that the conversation is not about when the employee plans to return to work; rather, it is an opportunity to reassure them that management cares about their well-being. She notes that if and when the employee can engage in a debriefing process, the organization is happy to have them participate. “That has gone a long way,” Casselman says. “Inevitably, when we spoke with people about physical violence in the workplace, oftentimes, we ended up talking about their emotions and their psychological well-being in the aftermath. And so for us, that was just a natural transition,” she says about implementing the standard. The organization has also instituted a second-victim peer support program for witnesses of assault to receive support from volunteers, Casselman adds. At AGS Rehab Solutions Inc., a small disability-management company with offices across southern Ontario that helps injured and disabled workers get back to work, president Addie Greco-Sanchez noticed three years ago that short- and long-term disability claims with related mentalhealth diagnoses were piling up.

“People, let’s say, with cancer, that were all working for more than six months would develop anxiety or depression, likely related to whether it was a certain disability or being off work for a relatively long period of time,” she explains. Investigating this issue and promoting mental health led the company to take part in the MHCC’s three-year case study, which follows organizations across the country that are implementing the standard. “We hope that our contribution will make a big difference to small businesses to help them in implementing the standard themselves,” Greco-Sanchez says. Without any budget for the project, AGS has been working with 11 staff members and its 55 sub-contractors, surveying employees, holding “lunch-and-learns” to open up dialogue about mental health and incorporating fun and games when possible. She says that the staff supports the initiative. Meanwhile, at the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) in Hamilton, Ontario, each worker seemed to have a different vision of what implementing this standard would mean. Some wanted to see everyone sign up for the fitness program and the yoga class at lunch, while others thought that their workloads would decrease. “We had to step back and sort of say, ‘Look, we are going to redefine this and try to look at having discussions about values,” says CCOHS president Steve Horvath. “What kind of organization do we want to have? What is your workplace going to look like when you come in tomorrow? How are you Healthcare going to interact with each other and not sort of look into our own providers did specific issues?” After conducting an engagenot want to ment survey of the workforce, acknowledge that Horvath discovered that many workers were concerned about they were hurting. their workloads. When looking into the reasons behind these complaints, he found that while the workload had not increased, the demands placed on workers had. Many staff members were dealing with the added pressures of caring for elderly parents or, in some cases, children who were coming back home. “We started to come to the conclusion that we had to address these issues,” Horvath says. “We had to recognize that our greatest capital asset is the people.” The standard recommends surveying workers to find out what issues need to be addressed within an organization. “You can’t really separate out the health of an individual from the health of the organization. And I think we really started to get behind that,” Horvath says. Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

Carmelle Wolfson is assistant editor of

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SAFETY GEAR

TRAINING

Back to the Future By Carmelle Wolfson

echnology moves so fast that it can sometimes be hard to keep up with it. In the world of safety training, digital shifts mean that courses are being offered in new ways. One such development that has the potential to change the face of safety training is the concept of mediated reality. In mediated reality, the view of the real world is modified via a computer. Fredericton-based oh&s-training provider Don Sayers and Associates, which has partnered with educational institu- “You will never tions to offer online courses, uses melearn how diated reality to make course content come alive. “We have gone from mereto properly ly putting the stuff online, the text online, to adding an animation element package to enhance the learning,” says the company’s oh&s team leader, Don Sayers. dangerous At a more advanced level, this concept can be applied to create what is goods unless referred to as augmented reality — an enhanced version of reality created you do it.” by computer-generated sensory input, such as sound, video and graphics on an image viewed through a digital device. According to Sayers, when the technology was in its infancy, users would stand in front of a 20foot screen. Now, augmented reality comes in the form of a handy pair of glasses or as a function on an iPhone. An example of this is the driving glasses recently developed by auto-manufacturing company BMW. As with Google Glass, when drivers put on the glasses, their view of the road ahead is enhanced by information overlaid on top of what is in front of them, such as speed limits and directions. “The technology is just exploding,” says Sayers, who has

seen augmented reality being used in the oil patch to train workers. For now, it is too costly in many cases to incorporate proprietary software, such as augmented-reality technology into safety training, he notes. Most online safety training on the market these days is one dimensional, comprising only text. “The bells, whistles and the movement, the animation, is not cheap. We are doing it because we think that is the next generation of learning,” he says. But the introduction of Oculus Rift could change the scene. Currently, Oculus Rift is being marketed to gamers as an affordable virtual-reality headset that enables a user to immerse in a completely different reality. NOT JUST A GAME “We are always looking at new technology,” says Alina Martin, president of Calgary-based Danatec Educational Services Ltd., which provides online training on working with hazardous materials and dangerous goods safely. “The technology for that [virtual reality] isn’t on the worksite yet.” It may take another decade before that happens, she notes. “You will never learn how to properly package dangerous goods unless you do it,” Martin says. “A lot of these things, like dealing with confined spaces, you need to crawl into the space and use the respirator equipment in order to understand. You can’t do that in a two-dimensional digital environment.” Despite its origins in the gaming world, virtual reality is already being used in the manufacturing of spacecraft, airplanes and cars to test designs. It is also being used to train soldiers, airline pilots, astronauts and police officers. Sayers has seen a flight simulator in action at a Toronto training facility. “You lose sight of the fact that it is a simulator, and it becomes very real, especially when you are lifting off, you are starting to rotate for takeoff, and your engine fails. That gets really, really real.” Virtual reality has “revolu-

STAYING GROUNDED For oil and gas workers, a gamut of training programs that include topics such as using a gas detector, performing lockout/tagout, gaining awareness of confined spaces and using a sound-pressure monitor are now available online. One firm that offers training relevant to the oil and gas sector is Danatec Educational Services Ltd. in Calgary. Its course on ground disturbance is highly sought after in Alberta and British Columbia, especially among workplaces that involve oil drilling, reports Danatec president Alina Martin. The training is applicable to circumstances in which the ground is disturbed in some way, whether that be by a pipeline or a fibre optic cable, she explains. For those working with hazardous materials, Canada now uses the same standard as those of other countries. As of Feb-

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ruary 2015, jobs requiring Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) certification must follow new regulations under the Globally Harmonized System (GHS). While companies have until June 2017 to comply, many companies are starting to incorporate GHS into their training, says Paul Williams, director of sales and marketing at Internet Based Learning Ltd. in London, Ontario. The company offers online WHMIS training for people who work with hazardous materials. The WHMIS legislation has not been updated since 1988, Williams notes. “It is going to be a strong mandate for all employers to make sure that their employees have been given a refresher course on the new WHMIS guidelines. So there will certainly be a big rush now at the beginning.”

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SUBSTANCE OR HYPE? While cost savings is the key benefit of providing safety training through MOOCs, some industry professionals think training through MOOCs is irresponsible. “After 15 years of experience working in health and safety, I am troubled by the concept of MOOCs entering into the health and safety training environment,” says Ottawa-based Don Hoddinott, director of business development at YOW Canada Inc., which offers online safety training. “I really can’t see any way that MOOCs will ever effectively meet the needs of Canadians in terms of health and safety training.” While Hoddinott sees the value of MOOCs in corporate training, like those that teach employees how to use computer software like Microsoft or Adobe applications, he says he would be “extremely concerned” if the concept became widespread in the oh&s industry. No responsible health and safety company should OPEN-CONCEPT LEARNING deliver open content, he says, adding that most According to Sayers, one promising dejurisdictions across Canada require safety velopment is the advent of Massively training to be delivered by a competent person Open Online Courses (MOOCs) availor training program. “How can a Massive[ly] able to anyone, anywhere — free of Open Online Course ever guarantee that the charge. Unlike conventional safety traincontent added by other members, who may or ing, students of MOOCs are not tested may not be safety professionals, meet the criteon their learning and do not get certifiria? The answer is that it can’t happen.” cation at the end of the program. Other industry pro“MOOCs are becoming so pervasive. fessionals echo similar The content breadth is so broad and there is concerns. “I don’t know such an incredible depth that there is almost that many companies no discipline you can think of that you can’t would just accept a learn what you need to online, on your own, at course that their staff your own pace,” Sayers says. “All we have to do went out and found on is find a way to verify that you have mastered the Internet and said those skills.” that it would be a valid In this open-learning model, learning course to meet their is mostly self-directed. Anyone, regardneeds,” says Paul Williams, director of less of educational background or finansales and marketing at Internet Based cial resources, is able to access the course. Learning Ltd. in London, Ontario. As a result, courses may have thousands Williams says the completion rate of participants from around the world. for MOOCs is quite low and that coursSome Canadian universities already es are typically one-dimensional. “They offer MOOCs. Sayers believes that acaare written at a very simple level,” he demic institutions, followed by corporate says. For instance, training might intraining programs and professional cervolve only video or a PowerPoint pretification organizations, will embark on sentation. “There is certainly a lack of this path in the near future. Companies interaction with the author or the inare also using this model in corporate While Internet Based Learning (top) structor.” But he suggests that compatraining by picking the courses that suit provides WHMIS certification, Danatec nies might be able to offer internallytheir needs, considerably lowering costs, (middle) offers an online Safe Work created and individualized MOOCs Sayers says. A company may also create Series program. YOW Canada (bottom) to employees. Corporations may also its own in-house test to ensure that em- gives safety-awareness training. choose to offer free online courses as a ployees understand the material covered. marketing tool. San Francisco-based online-learning provider Udemy of“There may be companies out there that are providing onfers a corporate training platform called Udemy for Business, line training for free, but the consumer might have to buy the which allows companies to create their own content or sub- certificate when they are done. Or if it is a complicated course, scribe to courses on private portals tailored for high-grossing there may be an opportunity to up-sell them on some addifirms. The website also has free MOOCs alongside other cor- tional aids,” he notes. porate training courses, with prices ranging anywhere from While Martin thinks that MOOCs could play a role in safeinexpensive up to thousands of dollars. ty training, she has reservations. “We are in a highly, highly “We would love to work with more companies who are technical industry,” she says, adding that regulations and indoing safety training,” says Shannon Hughes, senior director formation are constantly changing. “Can you deliver that in a of marketing with Udemy. free format? I think it is much more difficult,” she says, noting

PHOTOS FROM TOP: INTERNET BASED LEARNING LTD.; DANATEC EDUCATIONAL SERVICES LTD.; YOW CANADA INC.

tionized” safety training, he asserts. Simulations are becoming a key component to education across many sectors, from corporate and safety training to medical institutions and online-classroom environments, notes Victoria-based e-learning consultant Randy LaBonte. At the British Columbia Institute of Technology, students can practise their skills on a dummy that blinks and has a pulse and a chest that moves up and down. He can even bleed out or go into cardiac arrest if not treated in time. “Simulations can now be created much more simply and effectively using some of the technology that is available to us,” LaBonte says. Screen-casting is one way in which simulation is used in online safety training, Labonte adds. A video recording of an instructor showing how a task is performed can be uploaded and shared via the Internet and in online courses.

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that the content would have to be updated frequently. “You write a Microsoft Word program, and it is good for five years. You write a dangerous-goods program, and it is good for 12 weeks, like what happened this year, and then you have to change it,” she says, referring to changes to the TDG Regulations and the overhaul of WHMIS this year. The content itself, due to the fact that it is so technical, can also be complicated to write, Martin adds. When it comes to safety training, regardless of whether or not it is a MOOC, the same considerations apply as when one is choosing an online-learning product. Some of these considerations include the needs of the particular company, the quality of training and the course selection available. Assessing the desired outcomes of training is a good start, Sayers advises. This can be accomplished by focusing on the risks inherent in a workplace. “Once you have identified the risks, you can start looking at the skills and knowledge necessary to mitigate the risks and do a simple gap analysis,” Sayers suggests. A training gap can be identified by looking at the skills and knowledge needed and those that are already present within an organization. “Any difference is a training need.” Hoddinott advises employers to ask questions about potential hazards for each job function. Risks could include workplace violence, harassment, exposure to hazardous products and working at heights. Employers should then determine which provincial, territorial or federal regulations apply. Ensuring that a course meets a company’s specific legisla-

tive requirements and checking out the course provider’s reputation are also relevant. “Unfortunately, there are a number of training providers who offer training with irresponsibility, with respect to the actual effectiveness and legal conformity,” Hoddinott cautions. He points out that employers should carefully evaluate the quality of an online training course. The health and safety department within an organization is often in the best position to establish these requirements. Sometimes, as in the case of fall-protection training in Ontario and Newfoundland, which requires training to meet a certain number of hours, the duration of the course may have to be taken into account. While cost is not the sole consideration, it is an important one. Depending on the length of the program, the certification offered and the content covered, the costs may vary. At YOW, prices range from $10 to $50, while those offered by Danatec go for between $35 and $150. “I don’t think there is a typical cost,” Sayers says. The complexity of the learning environment and the sophistication of the learner also determine the price of training, he adds. “I can teach somebody how to safely handle a paperclip in 15 minutes, and I would probably do that for free,” Sayers illustrates. But “if the question is, ‘How do I use a respirator in a toxic environment?’ that is going to take a little more time and a little more equipment.” Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

Carmelle Wolfson is assistant editor of

ohs canada.

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TIME OUT

POURQUOI PAS?: Would you go through hell and, lit- but returned to order potatoes at the same restaurant, The Aserally, high water to rescue a 200-pound Vietnamese pot-bellied pig? A group of firefighters in Nova Scotia answered with a resounding “Pourquoi pas?” Firefighters from the Tatamagouche Fire Department responded to a call for help from a woman in Brule, a small community in Colchester County, to rescue her pet pig called Pourquoi, living in the property’s garage, which was flooded with melted snow. The firefighters pulled the pig out with a rope, but instead of saying “Merci”, Pourqoui was squealing and resisting the firefighters, who had to push the pig through the water surrounding the garage and climb a six-foot snowbank to get it onto dry land, CBC News reported on April 12. Apparently, the pig had to live in the garage, because it did not get along with the owner’s dog. Pourqoui likely disagrees that dogs are man’s best friends.

FLIGHT AND FIGHT: We have all heard about incidents of road rage, but air rage? A Toronto-bound Air Canada flight from Frankfurt made an emergency landing in Ireland, after an unruly elderly passenger allegedly lashed out and bit one of the members of the flight crew. The feisty 87-year-old woman was taken off the plane at the Shannon City Airport and arrested, CBC News reported on April 11. A passenger on the flight who witnessed the incident later reported that it had taken several attendants to subdue the woman and put her in some kind of tether. The flight landed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport after a delay of about four hours. SAY CHEESE, OR ELSE: A star-struck photographer who chanced upon actor Ryan Reynolds reacted to the encounter by striking the star. The Vancouver Police Department reports that the 52-year-old paparazzo approached a “local actor” in the underground parking garage of a hotel on April 10, resulting in a confrontation. The Richmond, British Columbia-based photographer hit the actor with his car and sped away. The actor did not sustain any significant injuries. Police located the driver two days later and arrested him. Reynolds, who was working at the Vancouver location of the upcoming movie Deadpool, confirmed on his Twitter account that he was the actor involved in the incident. OVER THE TOP: It was far from an ordinary day for those

who work on Parliament Hill when a man threatened to blow up government buildings in Ottawa. Police in Chatham-Kent, Ontario said they were contacted by the RCMP to follow up on an alleged threat by a man, who made a phone call to the Library of Parliament and said he wanted to blow up Parliament as part of a “revolution”, The Canadian Press reported on April 12. Fortunately, the man was simply blowing hot air, and police arrested the 49-year-old, who faced one count of hoax and one count of uttering threats.

FOOD FIGHT: A hungry man is an angry man. That cannot be more true for a 47-year-old New Yorker who flew into a rage after learning that a restaurant in Hopewell Township, Cumberland County was out of macaroni and cheese. The customer reportedly left to buy coffee from another vendor, 50

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sociated Press reported on May 14. When he learned that the restaurant had also run out of potatoes, he started throwing condiments over the counter. The man was cited for disorderly conduct. Give the man his food.

COPPING A FEEL: For a 30-year-old cop in Baltimore,

Maryland, biting testicles was his way of saying “mind your own business.” The off-duty police officer was painting the town red and getting touchy-feely with a woman in a pub when her male friend intervened, NBC News reported on May 6. The intervenor then left on foot, but was pursued by the disgruntled cop. In the fist fight that ensued, the cop bit the man’s testicles before going to another bar down the block. Officers who responded to the scene located the cop, who has been put on administrative duty. Here’s one cop who took the phrase “on the ball” a bit too literally.

BITES OR TREATS: For many postal workers, one of the

real challenges of the job is getting past the gatekeepers watching over residences: dogs. Postal workers in Austria have come up with a novel way to overcome this challenge: doling out dog treats to bribe their way to mailboxes. A spokesperson for Austrian Post AG said that there were 47 dog attacks last year and that one bite is one too many, according to an NBC News report on May 11. In fact, many employees had to buy dog treats with their own money to avoid getting bitten. The Austrian postal service is now offering 9,000 dog treats to workers and giving them a brochure containing tips of what to do in the event of a canine encounter. It is a dog-eat-dog world out there.

PLOT-DRIVEN: Texting and driving is a common traffic misdemeanor in our digital world. A lorry driver in the United Kingdom was found guilty of a similar offence, except that he was not texting and driving, but reading a text behind the wheel. Greater Manchester police officers caught the studious trucker reading a book while driving along the M60 motorway, Sky News reported on May 11. The driver, who was caught with a book up while on the road, was given a graduated fixed penalty notice. LATE-NIGHT WALKABOUT: There is a first for every-

thing. For an emergency department in an Australian hospital, that first was a late-night visit by an unusual visitor: a koala bear. Footage captured by security cameras showed the marsupial strolling through the automatic doors of Hamilton Base Hospital in Victoria state in the wee hours of the morning on April 20, The Associated Press reports. When it realized that the emergency department was not quite his type of hangout, he casually showed himself out the door after wandering around for about three minutes. Surprised staff, who did not want to put any pressure on the animal, simply watched politely from a distance. Maybe the sterile smell of antiseptic in a hospital environment was simply too much for the koala to bear. Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada

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