Canadian Occupational Safety

April/May 2019

Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.

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Contents of Canadian Occupational Safety are copyright © 2019 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited and may not be reproduced in whole or part without written consent. Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. HST/GST # 89717 6350 RT0002 QST # 1019064405 TQ0005 Canada Post – Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement 40065782 International Standard Serial Number 0008-4611. The publishers accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, colour transparencies or other materials. Manuscripts or other materials must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Canadian Occupational Safety is published six times yearly by Thomson Reuters Canada Limited, 2075 Kennedy Road, Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 Telephone 416-649-9926 Fax 416-609-5840; www.cos-mag.com Issue dates are February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September, October/November, December/January. Subscription price: Canada: $69 plus tax; US: $69,International: $96 Canadian Occupational Safety makes every effort to ensure accuracy in all items reported, but cannot accept responsibility for the representations or claims made by sources used. Readers' Choice Awards It's time to cast your vote in our fourth annual Readers' Choice Awards. Vote for your favourite personal protective equipment suppliers, health and safety consultants, trainers, educational institutions and more. Enter for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Voting closes April 23. www.cos-mag.com/readerschoice2019 Safety Leader of the Year The nationwide search for the most outstanding safety professional is on. The winner will grace the cover of the December/January issue of COS and star in an exclusive video. Nominations close June 28. www.cos-mag.com/safety-leader Calling all safety superheroes We are looking far and wide for the superheroes of safety. Now in its ninth year, Canada's Safest Employers recognizes companies with excellent health and safety practices from coast to coast. If your organization takes safety seriously and workers aren't afraid to speak up in the name of safety, apply now. Application deadline is May 24. www.safestemployers.com Follow us: @cosmagazine Join our group: Canadian Occupational Safety Subscribe: Canadian Occupational Safety Health&Safety Q&A How do I deal with workplace violence? Norm Keith, partner at Fasken in Toronto, answers this question and offers advice for how to respond to a violent incident. www.cos-mag.com/HSQAviolence Revised MSD guideline Ontario recently updated its MSD guideline to incorporate current information and provide tools for small businesses. Experts from the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders explain the changes. www.cos-mag.com/MSDguideline DIRECTOR, MEDIA SOLUTIONS, CANADA Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9411 PUBLISHER Todd Humber todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com 416-298-5196 EDITOR Amanda Silliker amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9502 ASSOCIATE EDITOR - VIDEOGRAPHER Alexia Kapralos ART DIRECTOR Steve Maver PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Pamela Menezes pamela.menezes@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9298 ADVERTISING: SALES MANAGER Paul Burton paul.burton@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9928 MANAGER, MEDIA PRODUCTION Lisa Drummond lisa.drummond@thomsonreuters.com MARKETING MANAGER Robert Symes rob.symes@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATION CO-ORDINATOR Keith Fulford keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com 416-649-9585 COLUMNISTS Legal Cheryl A. Edwards Cathy Chandler Professional Development Glyn Jones Safety Culture Dave Fennell CUSTOMER SERVICE Tel. 416-609-3800 (Toronto)/ 1-800-387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax 416-298-5082 (Toronto)/ 1-877-750-9041 (outside Toronto) customersupport.legaltaxcanada@tr.com CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY'S EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Guy Chenard, CRSP, C.E.T. Safety Consultant Dave Gouthro, CRSP, CHSC, CHSO Occupational Health & Safety Consulting David Johnston, CRSP Director, EHS, Toronto Hydro-Electric System Ltd. Eldeen Pozniak, CHSC, CHSMSA, CRSP, Director, Pozniak Safety Associates Inc. Laura Rourke, CRSP, Peng, TSRP EHSS manager, Tigercat Industries Dan Strand, CRSP, CIH, ROH Director, Prevention Field Services, WorkSafeBC AMANDA SILLIKER FROM THE EDITOR visit us online cos-mag.com THOMSON REUTERS CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY APRIL/MAY 2019 ON NOW LATEST VIDEOS Printed in 3 2019 APRIL/MAY 2 0 1 9 READERS' CHOICE C A T E G O R Y Technology to the rescue? I was deeply troubled when I saw the 2017 statistics from the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC) that revealed workplace fatalities in Canada are increasing (see page 6). How is this possible? With occupational health and safety gaining more and more traction as a profession every day, with companies finally understanding that safety is good for business, with more studies showing the risks of workplace chemical exposures, with advanced personal protective equipment coming out every day and with governments increasing legislative requirements, I am perplexed. Sure, one could argue there are more workers in the workforce with each passing year, but is this truly the justification? In 2015, there were 852 workplace fatalities out of the 17,946,600 workers across the country. In 2017, there were 951 fatalities and 18,416,400 workers. If you do the math, the proportion of fatalities to workers is still higher in 2017 than 2015, proving that's not an excuse. It's possible the education around and understanding of occupational disease is to blame. As workers age, the effects of the toxic chemicals they were exposed to years ago on the job begin to rear their ugly heads, and many of these diseases are now recognized as being caused by the workplace — and rightfully so. Systemic diseases and disorders along with neoplasms, tumors and cancer accounted for 62 per cent of workplace fatalities in 2017. I know a big part of the problem is reaching those companies who are not reading this magazine. They are far from being COS subscribers — they are barely even aware of their health and safety responsibilities under the law. This is where government can come in, but you can too. Why not strike up conversations about workplace violence with your cab driver? What about chatting with those roofers hard at work on your neighbour's house about the importance of fall protection (and call the labour ministry if none is being used). How about discussing some of the dangerous chemicals workers may encounter with your favourite craft brewery? Some of these conversations might raise a few eyebrows, but as safety professionals, don't you want to help keep all workers healthy and safe, regardless of where they work? Perhaps you might even feel a professional obligation to do so, something Glyn Jones explores in his column on page 12. I am hopeful that some advances in technology will help improve worker health and safety across Canada, such as the trend towards wearables and sensors. When I was at the National Safety Council's conference in Houston in October, the booth that garnered the most attention, hands-down, was Guardhat. This innovative hard hat not only protects a worker's head, it also provides a plethora of useful information that is of great interest to safety managers. The worker and their supervisor receive real-time alerts if there is a fall, if the worker is exposed to toxic gases or if they are too close to moving equipment. Plus, if the worker is in distress, they can get live support from a call centre to help guide them to safety. Read all about other wearables on the market on page 18. Gas detection is yet another area that is benefitting from a technological upgrade. Gone are the days where the only option is a personal gas monitor that does nothing more than beep to indicate a low oxygen level. Now, these tiny devices provide big data (see page 20). They can monitor multiple gases at the same time, serve as a lone worker monitoring system, be used as a communication device and more. If you're not convinced technology is the answer, flip to page 22 and learn how companies are borrowing the concept of visual literacy from the art world to improve safety outcomes.

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