gdp's Comments

canadiansafetyblog.com : Infographic - Our Safety in their Hands

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:53:29 +0000

Thanks Terry! Appreciate you guiding me to this information. How are things are FIOSA-MIOSA?

canadiansafetyblog.com : Infographic - Our Safety in their Hands

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 18:54:25 +0000

I had a problem accessing the first ILO link..might be my mac. The 2nd link is quite interesting and, as you say, does suggest that we\\\'re not comparing apples to apples, as in Canada we count injuries AND illnesses in the fatality numbers, whereas many of the other countries do not. Thanks for the links Terry!

canadiansafetyblog.com : Infographic - Our Safety in their Hands

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 02:42:10 +0000

I looked a little bit more into the footnotes and I\\\'m wondering if note 5 reflects the sources where the graph data was aggregated from - one link is to an online bulletin from a consulting firm that references a UK HSE file and the other link appears to reference an ILO document.

canadiansafetyblog.com : Infographic - Our Safety in their Hands

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 02:07:26 +0000

Hi Terrence...good comments...the source of that graph doesn\'t show in the footnotes...I checked the OSHA stats notes from the stats immediately above and couldn\'t identify the source. Not sure of the date of the source information either. You might be right about the HRSDC inspectorate - they are the only national based health and safety inspectors in Canada...one of the challenges of our provincial focus when compared to other countries.

I think the fatality rate in Canada is higher than the 2.7 you mentioned. We\'ve been hovering around 1000 fatalities/year (traumatic and illness) for a few years now and we\'ve been ranging at !7+ million workers in the workforce for a few years as well.

When I originally posted the info graphic I emailed the authors and asked for the source of the data, but haven\'t heard back.

I think the moral of the story and your comments capture it so well is ... there are a lot of statistics out there that we need to question ... the truth is out there and sometimes our understanding of the numbers may obscure the facts ...

Do you have a link to the ILO statistics? It would be a good addition to the conversation.

Thanks for your thoughts and time to comment...it\'s good to hear from other practitioners...Andrew

canadiansafetyblog.com : Workplace Deaths in Canada - Projected to 2020

Wed, 2 May 2012 02:22:25 +0000

Thanks for the comment David. Good observations. I think we need to get a lot more folks thinking about safety and the toll its taking on our families, workplaces and communities. Workers have a role to play, but so do employers and supervisors, governments and unions, and safety practitioners.

I believe that we need to understand these numbers a lot better because they represent individual Canadian workers and families that have been left without a loved one. Not only do we need to understand, we need to act. When discussing this with a safety colleague of mine he made a comment about "worst first". We've spent a lot of effort with driving down lost time injury rates. We need to focus on "worst first". Too many of our friends and family members are paying the ultimate price.

canadiansafetyblog.com : Safety Videos on YouTube

Mon, 2 Apr 2012 01:28:52 +0000

Thanks for sharing these links. You are right the first one is graphic. The second one is priceless. I added these to my video page under Quebec Safety. Take care Elise!

canadiansafetyblog.com : Workplace Deaths in Canada - 1999-2008

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:56:08 +0000

Found some updated numbers for 2009 and 2010 from CCOHS (referencing the Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada).

http://www.ccohs.ca/events/mourning/
2009 - 939 fatalities
2010 - 1014 fatalities

canadiansafetyblog.com : About the Author

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:48:00 +0000

Hi Wayne,

I can't really recommend a specific course. You might want to try some of the health and safety associations or google "hazard assessment training". The Alberta Government has a great online course (it's a touch dated, but has some good information). You can find it here:
http://www.employment.alberta.ca/whs/learning/haz...

Good luck!...Andrew

canadiansafetyblog.com : The Corporation...sustainable?

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 02:51:33 +0000

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canadiansafetyblog.com : Hazard Assessment in Alberta - It's the Law

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 02:04:23 +0000

Hi Ryan, Interesting comment. Thanks for taking the time to share. I think that some individuals read a lot into the hazard assessment process in Alberta. You can make it as hard or easy as you want...as long as you comply with the law. Hazard assessment or identification is one of those foundational activities in all health and safety programs/systems. I see a lot of people taking the requirement in the Alberta OHS Code and using it to justify field level risk assessment or something akin to critical task analysis. Its extremely important for all of us to do things for the right reasons...if we're trying to generate paper, but getting no value from the activity then you're right; it is a waste of time. If your hazard assessment process provides you with useful information about potential harm in your workplace and then you develop new control measures to prevent injury or illness...that is good. The hard thing for a lot of us safety folks is matching the cure to the illness. We need to do the best possible job giving the workplace the right medication at the right dosage. Doing the wrong thing or too much of the right thing is not helpful. It sounds like you've had this experience. I sometimes get frustrated with the safety culture of one size fits all in a lot of Alberta workplaces. All workplaces are different. There are many ways to get to safety. I like your comment about the effectiveness of safety meetings. This is a great way of engaging workers...again, as long as its done for the right reasons and not because the company has to. As to the cop thing, I think I wanted to be one when I was ten, but I'm glad I grew up to be a safety guy. Have a good one....Andrew...a Canadian Safety Guy

canadiansafetyblog.com : How Safe Are You?

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:40:52 +0000

Hi Dennis, I'm sorry to hear about your experiences in your workplace in Alberta. Your description of the circumstance suggest that there are some instances of non-compliance at your workplace related to poor preventive maintenance of the powered mobile equipment. The OHS Code is pretty clear regarding the need to keep this equipment in good working condition. Here's the section of the OHS Code Explanation Guide dealing with powered mobile equipment --> http://employment.alberta.ca/documents/WHS/WHS-LE... . Also, here's a link to a guide for temporary foreign workers in Alberta--> http://employment.alberta.ca/documents/WIA/WIA-IM... If you feel that you're not being listened to or if you have a concern regarding your safety and your rights you may want to chat with your safety committee (if there's one in your workplace) or with Alberta Workplace Health and Safety. Here's a link to the government's contact information --> http://employment.alberta.ca/SFW/2874.html I'm hesitant to provide any further assistance as I'm not party to all of the details related to your situation. Again, sorry to hear about your workplace experiences. I'm glad to hear that you weren't seriously injured. Regards...Andrew

canadiansafetyblog.com : Safety Videos on YouTube

Sun, 30 May 2010 19:05:57 +0000

Hats off to Alberta Employment and Immigration for taking some of the safety videos from Nova Scotia (like the Story of the Nail above) and recycling them to promote occupational health and safety in Alberta. I thought that Nova Scotia did a fantastic job with this series of videos and I'm glad they're getting a wider circulation. Its also a good use of money. Finally, one the health and safety authorities in Canada is harmonizing its messaging in a cost effective manner! Way to go Alberta and Nova Scotia!

canadiansafetyblog.com : New Criminal Code (C-45) Safety Charge in Canada

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:41:52 +0000

Here's an update on the story from the Sault Star. Additional detail regarding the charges under the Ontario OHS Act have been added: http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=24...

canadiansafetyblog.com : Safety: Boring is Good...or is it?

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:48:03 +0000

Hi Robert, Great comment. So you\\\'re telling me that you can play it safe and have fun at the same time? Sounds good. Interesting service you provide... workplace fun. I would think that safety pro\\\'s would find your workplace celebration and team building services useful. Great video on your website. Will have to recommend you to some colleagues. Wonder what you could do with WHMIS... lol Regards...Andrew

canadiansafetyblog.com : Proud to be Canadian - 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:05:12 +0000

Here's a Shane Koyczan's actual performance at the Opening Ceremonies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AHJN558jTg Bravo!

canadiansafetyblog.com : Proud to be Canadian - 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:59:22 +0000

Here's Nikki Yanofsky singing I Believe, the 2010 Winter Olympics Anthem, on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrCA0HK-yO0

canadiansafetyblog.com : Proud to be Canadian - 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:51:14 +0000

Here's the full written version of Shane Koyczan's poem on Canada called "We Are More". Check it out at VancouverIsAwesome: http://vancouverisawesome.com/2010/02/12/shane-ko...

canadiansafetyblog.com : Proud to be Canadian - 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:12:12 +0000

Here's a link to a news story about the luge track investigation. Investigators are indicating that some minor changes to the track will be made and additional practice runs allowed. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2698273/...

canadiansafetyblog.com : WHO is it? H1N1 or H5N1?

Mon, 8 Feb 2010 14:08:14 +0000

WHO has posted an update to their table on the Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1). You can link to it here: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/co... Regards...Andrew

canadiansafetyblog.com : RISK Decisions and Communications

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 17:35:12 +0000

Here's another interesting resource on Risk - the great George Castanza: http://worldonlinereview.com/2010/02/05/risk-mana...