Canadian Occupational Safety

Ontario fi rst to introduce mandatory entry-level training for truck drivers I ndividuals seeking a Class A licence in Ontario on or after July 1, 2017, will need to success- fully complete mandatory entry-level training before attempting the road test and starting a commercial driver career, the Ministry of Trans- portation (MTO) has announced. A Class A licence is needed to drive a tractor-trailer exceeding 4,600 kilograms. Ontario is the fi rst jurisdiction in Canada to introduce such training. "Mandatory entry-level training will ensure that all new commercial Class A truck drivers are trained to the same minimum standard and have a consistent skill set to operate a Class A vehicle safely," said the Ontario Minster of Transportation Steven Del Duca. David Bradley, CEO, Ontario Trucking Associa- tion, worked closely with the ministry, along with many other industry partners, to craft the training standard and welcomes the changes. "Ontario is leading the way in terms of further improving highway safety and helping the industry to ensure it has an adequate supply of consistently trained, quality new drivers in the future. This is a game-changer," he said. "The days of basically being able to walk in off the street and take the tractor- trailer test with no training whatsoever are over." The mandatory entry-level course will take four to six weeks to complete. The training will be delivered by private career colleges, Ontario colleges of applied arts and technology and recognized authorities under the Ministry of Transportation's driver certifi - cation program. Schools approved by the province have one year to develop a curriculum using the new Commercial Truck Driver Training Standard (Class A). These changes will eliminate inadequate training through unregistered truck schools. "For a long time, carriers have been concerned over the lack of consistency in the basic level of driv- ing competency exhibited by recently licensed Class A drivers," said Bradley. "There are good schools producing good candidates, but at the other end of the spectrum there are the 'license mills,' which are providing just enough instruction to pass the test." Private Motor Truck Council of Canada president Mike Millian said this standard has the opportunity to be a trendsetter and something that can be repeated in other jurisdictions — but it's not perfect yet. "While we still have some areas that need to be worked through, like vehicle confi gurations, instructor qualifi cations, standard transmission training and advanced standing for operators with higher skill levels, we are confi dent that these issues can be addressed with the MTO and industry prior to the standard coming into full effect," he said. This new mandatory training makes good on a commitment made by Del Duca in 2014. Although the number of fatalities due to large truck collisions has declined by 40 per cent in the past 10 years — which is a tremendous success — the province can't rest on its laurels, Del Duca said. "Road safety is of such crucial importance to me and my mandate as minister of transportation," he said. "We always need to move the yardsticks forward and advance the cause of road safety." 6 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com WORKPLACE NEWS Mental health champions needed: Task force O rganizations within the federal public ser- vice need mental health champions and the government should provide guidance around this, according to a joint task force. These individuals would advocate for developing and ensuring the sustainability of a psychologi- cally healthy and safe workplace; establishing key objectives toward continual improvement of psy- chological health and safety in the workplace; and ensuring psychological health and safety are part of all organizational decision-making processes. "The process for selecting a champion is essential for aligning with the national standard," said the task force's report, referring to the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. "They must be the face of the vision, engage unions and employees at all levels and raise awareness of the importance of psychological health and safety." In March 2015, the government and Public Ser- vice Alliance of Canada (PSAC) established the task force to address mental health in the workplace. In its recently released second report, the joint task force provides specifi c direction to federal public service organizations in key areas. The report said senior leaders who have the authority and power to make decisions at the high- est level need to support the champions to make sure proper resources are allocated. Organizations also need help with engagement and participation, which are the building blocks for improving psychological health and well-being in the workplace, said the report. Openness and inclu- sion during all stages of planning, implementation, review and reme- diation of the standard will foster employee engagement. The report offers a number of examples for an engagement strategy that fall under fi ve pil- lars: generating awareness; initiating connections; encouraging participation; creating dialogue; and ongoing commitment. "Engagement is not a goal in and of itself but rather the means to create a culture of humanity, compassion and fairness through alignment with the national standard," said the report. "Trust will be established only through supportive dialogue and consistent action." The report also calls for the establishment of Forceful motion key risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome: Keynote W orkers who often use their hands in a forceful gripping and pinching motion face a higher risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome, a pain- ful condition that causes tingling, numbness and weakness in the hand and sometimes requires surgery, according to recent research. Low-force repetitive hand motion and wrist posture, widely thought of as key risk factors, appear in recent fi ndings to be of lower importance than forceful pinch and grip among workers doing hand-intensive tasks, such as food process- ing and manufacturing work. "Recent results from our study and others suggest that the frequency and dura- tion of forceful grip and pinch are the major work-related predictors of carpal tunnel syndrome," said Washington University's Bradley Evanoff, speaking as the opening keynote at the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (PREMUS) conference in Toronto. "Low- force repetitive movements such as computer use do not seem to be a major risk factor." While the results of Evanoff's study do not directly address the risk factors for carpal tunnel syn- drome in offi ce and computer work, workers in these jobs have much lower rates of this condition than those in more physically demanding occupations. Evanoff shared the fi ndings of a large-scale research project involving more than 4,300 workers at more than 50 workplaces, a project conducted by six major research centres in the United States and led by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The data pooled from the six centres has made it possible to explore the role of work-related and personal risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as to measure the level of exposure that would result in the condition. Findings from this pooled data also reveal the psychosocial factors at play. For example, high job demand and low job control increase the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome among those already using forceful motion at work. Having greater say on how to do one's work decreases the risk, but only for those working with low levels of hand force. The data also shows the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, which is 30 per cent higher among women, also increases with age and body mass index. "There has been the long-standing question of the relative importance of work factors as compared to the personal factors in the development of carpal tunnel syndrome," said Evanoff. "It has been demonstrated in this study that work factors are strong independent risk factors, even after controlling for obesity, diabetes, age and gender." The study also found workers in their fi rst three years of work face a signifi cantly higher risk for carpel tunnel syndrome for the same exposures than their colleagues with longer job tenures. DRIVER TRAINING

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