Canadian Occupational Safety

8 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com PEOPLE&PLACES Winners announced for SAFE Work Awards Manitoba's annual SAFE Work Awards recognize employers and workers who have demonstrated success or innovation in making their workplaces safer. Now co-ordinated by SAFE Work Manitoba, the SAFE Work Awards program was developed by Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) and the Workers Compensation Board (WCB). "Every worker has a right to a safe and healthy workplace," said Minister of Labour and Immigration Erna Braun. "Our goal is to make Manitoba a national safety leader and I am pleased to recognize individuals and workplaces that prioritize genuine and innovative efforts to improve workplace safety and health in our province." Awards were presented to three organizations and one individual: • Employer Safety Award: Tolko Manitoba Kraft Papers • Worker Safety Award: Cindy Strath, supervisor, Granny's Poultry • Safety and Health Professional Award: Andre Murphy, manager, Tolko Manitoba Kraft Papers • Safety Group Award: SAFE Workers of Tomorrow. Remember Charlie While many workers in oil and gas have heard Charlie Morecraft's story, it didn't stop a room full of 950 occupational health and safety professionals from being deeply touched by his presentation at Enform's Petroleum Safety Conference earlier this year. Delegates sniffl ed, wiped away tears and sat in stunned silence as Morecraft shared his horrifi c story. In 1980 Morecraft was working the night shift at an Exxon oil refi nery in New Jersey. When he went to one of the manifolds in the refi nery to change out a blank on a pipeline, a surge of chemicals came gushing out. "It was a job I had done 1,000 time before… A job I had complained about many times before. Management had devised a procedure on how to safely do these jobs but I knew what shortcuts to take," said Morecraft at the conference in Banff, Alta. Morecraft ran out of the manifold but when he went past his truck, which he had left on, it ignited. "The truck blew up and I blew with it; one big ball of fl ames from head to toe." When the ambulance came, his arms were charcoal black and they were swelling up and oozing, and he could feel his face doing the same. Fifty per cent of his body was burned. "The pain is excruciating. There is no way in hell I could possibly explain to you what that pain felt like. I kept screaming 'Please let me die,'" he said. For two months, Morecraft had to undergo debriding where he was lowered by crane into a huge stainless steel tank to peel off all the dead skin. "Unfortunately, all the live skin comes with it and nerve endings come with it and the screams in the tanking room are horrendous — my own screams and the screams of the other people that were in there." Following the incident, Morecraft had to wear a special mask and suit for one full year. He subsequently underwent between 20 and 30 opera- tions, including extensive plastic surgery. By his own admittance, he did not deal with the accident well and it took a toll on his two daughters and his marriage, which resulted in divorce. "Everything I had, I lost in one split second. You can't afford an accident and your families can't afford an accident." Morecraft made it clear that some- thing like this could happen in any workplace at any time. "That refi nery, that blank, that chem- ical, that job had absolutely nothing to do with this accident. What caused this accident was my attitude towards safety. If you have the same attitude I had, these things will happen to you. The circumstances may be different but the feelings are exactly the same." Morecraft's fi nal message was that front-line workers need to be held accountable for their own health and safety. They need to follow proper procedures and wear their personal protective equipment. "So many people think it's the responsibly of management, the safety department or government to keep them safe. It's our responsibility." erna Braun, minister of labour; cindy strath and marlene martin of granny's poultry charlie morecraft Celebrating s afety skills The 20th Skills Canada national competition took place the beginning of June in Toronto. The com- petition attracts hundreds of students from all provinces and territories and features 42 catego- ries, including a workplace safety category where participants demonstrate their innovative ideas for the future of occupational health and safety. The 2014 Skills Canada winners in the workplace safety category are: • gold: Brittany Arsenault, Saskatchewan • silver: Jordan MacLean, Prince Edward Island • bronze: Doug DeBow, Nova Scotia. The workplace safety competition has three com- ponents the competitors are evaluated on. • Hazard assessment of a mock workplace: Com- petitors must identify the unsafe condition and how it could be corrected. • Prepared presentation: Competitors must speak for 10 minutes on a health and safety topic. The topic options are worker rights under occupational health and safety legislation, a worker's legal obli- gations to report hazards, the importance of safety training for a new worker or competitors can dis- cuss one industry specifi c hazard of their choice. • On-site research project: Competitors are given a topic they must defi ne, relate to OHS and give examples of resources and affected occupations. Doug DeBow, Brittany Arsenault, Jordan maclean Formerly Centur yVallen, Vallen is Canada's most experienced provider of innovative safety, industrial, janitorial and technical ser vices and products. With 22 branches across Canada, we help companies all over the countr y work smart. Introducing Vallen: If you're looking to create a safe, healthy and productive workplace, we'll help you work smart. Safety | Industrial | Janitorial | Technical Services vallen.ca

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