World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2012
April 28th is soon approaching and in Canada it is the day of mourning for workers killed or injured in the workplace.
The International Labour Organization also honours the day and calls it World Day for Safety and Health at Work. This year’s theme is “Green Jobs: promoting safety and health in a green economy”. Check out the link for more information.
More information about the day of mourning can be found in one of my previous posts.
Cause safety to happen on April 28th and throughout the year…Andrew…a Canadian Safety Guy
First Aid for Mental Health
I’m in the midst of taking a two day course on Mental Health First Aid and I wanted to share some resources with my readers.
Mental Health First Aid training was originally developed in Australia and has been adapted by the Mental Health Commission of Canada for delivery here in our country.
According to the Mental Health First Aid Website, Mental Health First Aid is “help provided to a person developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.”
In recent years, workplace violence, harassment and a number of other psychosocial hazards have been added to the list of regulatory requirements in provincial jurisdictions throughout Canada. The Mental Health Commission of Canada has been working with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) to draft a new standard on Workplace Mental Health. While this standard is still in consultation, I think it makes sense for health and safety practitioners to consider it’s content and the use of Mental Health First Aid to support their work related to the human element of workplace safety.
They say that 1 in 3 Canadians will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime. Are you prepared to support your fellow workers and your workplace to address mental health issues?
Check out the video to find out more about the impact of mental health to a Canadian family.
Cause mental health to happen in your workplace today…Andrew…a Canadian Safety Guy
Antimicrobial Resistance – Do Bugs Need Drugs?
My friend Eric Stein recently shared with me a terrific Canadian website containing Occupational Health resources on antimicrobial resistance, proper hand washing and the prevention of respiratory infections.
Select the title of this post to be taken to the website.
I met Eric a few months ago at the CSSE Conference in Whistler BC. Eric gave a terrific presentation on heart health at the conference and is a very knowledgeable occupational health and safety professional based in Alberta.
Please take a moment to learn more about this important subject.
Cause occupational health (and safety) to happen in your workplace today….Andrew…a Canadian Safety Guy
World Health Organization (WHO) Fact Sheet – Asbestos: elimination of asbestos-related diseases
Saw this fact sheet on a tweet from my friend Linda at ADAO. It’s a good read and should bring you up to date on some asbestos information from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Asbestos: elimination of asbestos-related diseases
Check out this link for some more detailed information on asbestos from WHO.
The important lessons of due diligence…
I recently attended the OHS Summit 2011 conference in Toronto. The conference was organized by the folks at Bongarde and the OHS Insider. The summit was masterfully chaired by my good friend Yvonne O’Reilly.
The focus of the conference was on OHS case law, due diligence and compliance. There were over 160 delegates from across Canada and it was a terrific two days of focus on safety legal trends.
I had the great pleasure of participating in a panel discussion with a couple of Canada’s finest OHS lawyers, David Myrol and Norm Keith. My colleague Fred Leafloor was also on the panel and together we represented the safety practitioner’s perspective. Led by Robin Barton, the editor of the OHS Insider, we discussed a number of recent safety related court decisions and their impact on Canadian workplaces.
If you’re in the safety field you know that in Canada safety is predominantly regulated provincially (though there are a number of federally regulated organizations). Safety law is a little bit different than criminal law and when a person or organization is charged the crown has to prove (“on the balance of probabilities”) that an offence occurred. Once this is proven in court, the onus then turns to the defendant to prove that there was a mistake in fact (very rare) or that they took all reasonable precautions in the circumstances to prevent the event that is the basis of the prosecution. This sounds a little bit unintuitive to most, as we normally believe that we’re innocent until proven guilty, but this is the way things work in the safety world.
Have you attended a really good conference lately? I’ve been to two recently, the CSSE’s PDC and the OHS Summit. Make sure you stretch your knowledge and your network. You owe it to yourself and your people.
Cause safety professional development to happen in your career…Andrew…a Canadian Safety Guy
