Near Miss: The Undervalued Key to Workplace Safety
It happens all the time, whether we are aware of it or not. It affects our behaviour, whether we are aware of it or not. It changes the way we do things, whether we are aware of it or not. It happens when we least expect it and even when we think we are prepared – it is a ‘near miss’. What is a ‘Near Miss’? Loosely defined, a ‘near miss’ is a close call, an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage, but had the potential to do so – an incident, that under other circumstances, could have resulted in a less than favourable outcome but did not. Why Near Miss reporting is important to the workplace safety? If everything turned out okay why bother talking about it, reporting it, or investigating it? The reality is that a ‘near miss’ holds valuable information that can […]
Seasonal Worker Safety: An Employer Priority
Summer is here! The season of sunshine, warm weather, vacations, festivals, exhibitions, concerts, Stampede, landscaping, outdoor activities and, of course, construction. It’s also one of the busiest times of the year for seasonal hires – whether it is extra staff to handle the peak traffic at resorts, camp counsellors, summer students to cover vacations, special event workers or extra manpower to complete construction and other projects while the weather permits. With the hire of new employees, whether permanent, temporary or seasonal, workplace safety should be an integral part of the on-boarding process and ongoing operations. Let’s explore more about Seasonal Worker Safety: Greater Risks for New Hires A recent study by the Institution for Work & Health (IWH), based on research over a 10 year period, indicates that there is a higher risk of work injury among workers new to a job and virtually every seasonal worker is ‘new’. The […]
April 28th – The National Day of Mourning in Canada.
Today There Will Be Three April 28th marks The National Day of Mourning in Canada, a day of remembrance, officially recognized by the Canadian government in 1991. The purpose of the day is twofold, a time to honour and remember workers who lost their lives or were injured on the job and to renew a commitment to improving health and safety in the workplace. Since it’s inception, The Day of Mourning has spread to nearly 100 countries and has been adopted by the AFL-CIO(American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organizations) and the International Confederation of Free Trade. According to the latest statistics from 2019, in Alberta alone, 165 men and women lost their lives while at work and countless more that were seriously injured. Across Canada, a total of 925 work related fatalities were recorded in 2019 – almost 3 lives every day of the year. Workplace fatalities […]
Drug and Alcohol Policies in the Workplace
If the government holds true to it’s word, despite the controversy, marijuana could be legal in Canada by National Marijuana Day, April 20th. Whether you agree or not, the reality of the legalization of cannabis can not be ignored nor can the impact this may have on the workplace. Does the legalization of marijuana change the concept of a ‘smoke break’ or a ‘two martini lunch’? What about company social functions? Workplace alcohol and drug testing? An employer’s obligation for tolerance and what recourse do they have? It is well documented that the risk of accident and injury increases dramatically when associated with the use of, and/or intoxication from alcohol or drugs, either prescribed, legal or otherwise. The health and safety of everyone in the workplace can be affected by a single person’s behaviour while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Beyond the obvious medical impact that an accident […]
5 Easy Steps to Improve Health and Safety Culture
It is widely accepted that a Health & Safety(H&S) program, in any organization, plays an instrumental role in reducing workplace accidents. The workers’ compensation (WCB) claims and time loss from work that result from at-work incidents can have a significant impact on a business’s financial picture, specifically during these times of economic uncertainty. As companies face cutbacks in productivity and staff, try to do more with less and continually work to remain solvent, having a sound up-to-date H&S program in place becomes even more important. Whether you need to establish a H&S program or you just want to update your current system to meet today’s needs, here are 5 tips to improve the H&S culture in your workplace: It Starts at the Top: The first, and most essential step to a successful H&S plan is commitment from Management. Without the approval, support and reinforcement from the management level, respect, adherence […]