Canadian Occupational Safety

JUNE/JULY 2018 3 Contents of Canadian Occupational Safety are copyright © 2018 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. Investors interested in safety metrics Guest blogger Peter Sturm, senior executive with Sturm Consulting, shares insights from a Vancouver event hosted by the Canadian Society for Safety Engineering and the Center for Safety and Health Sustainability that explored how to make health and safety reporting and risk management a business norm. www.cos-mag.com/MetricsBlog Webinars The COS webinar library is filled with on-demand topics, such as mental health, safety culture, fall protection and ISO 45001. The one-hour sessions are delivered by health and safety experts from across Canada. Keep watching for new topics added regularly. www.cpdcentre.ca/cos 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 Canadian Occupational Safety and star in a video. Nominations close July 6. www.cos-mag.com/safety-leader Follow us: @cosmagazine Join our group: Canadian Occupational Safety Subscribe: Canadian Occupational Safety Subscribe: Safety Tips for Workers Health&Safety Q&A We have launched a new video series called Health&Safety Q&A where experts answer your most pressing questions. In the third video of the series, an OHS specialist from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety answers the question: How can I support and accommodate employees after a mental health leave? www.cos-mag.com/ HSQAaccommodation MOL priorities Peter Augruso, assistant deputy minister at the Ontario Ministry of Labour, reveals what his health and safety inspectors will be focusing on this year. www.cos-mag.com/MOL2018 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 ASSISTANT 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 Edwards, Norm Keith and Jeremy Warning 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, 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 ON NOW ONLINE EXCLUSIVES LATEST VIDEOS Printed in WEBINAR SERIES Just like the real thing? I am not a gamer. I was one of those kids who was not allowed to have a video game console growing up. I sometimes played at friends' houses, but I was so bad that I really would have preferred to have been doing anything else. This performance anxiety came rushing back to me when I sat down on a mock forklift and slipped on a virtual reality headset at the Partners in Prevention conference in May in Mississauga, Ont. I maneuvered the steering wheel and pushed the pedals while navigating the warehouse and obstacles through my virtual reality visor. I don't think I was half bad. Yes, I moved at a snail's pace, but at least I didn't hit anything. I will admit I was too nervous to do some "advanced" maneuvers, like backing up or actually lifting a crate with the forks. I was also nervous about getting a headache. The day before, a visitor at this very same booth said he had a headache and didn't feel so great when he took the goggles off. Physically, I felt fine, but psychologically, not so much. I had just wrapped up my research for this month's cover story (see page 16) on virtual reality safety training and now that I had tried it for myself, I wasn't sure it's all that it's cracked up to be. To me, it really didn't feel like I was driving a forklift. It seemed like a fun game, but I certainly would not feel comfortable operating the real deal anytime soon. But then I went to another booth and tried on another headset for a different virtual experience. This one had me way up in the air on a swing stage with men who were cleaning the windows of a high-rise office building. Since it was just a visor, I was not physically doing any of the work myself, I was just observing. I have to say it was extremely realistic. I felt like I really was right there next to the workers and was able to look up, down and all around at the city. All this to say, do your homework and give it a test run yourself before you buy any virtual reality safety training for your workforce. It's clear that like many things, some are just better than others. Also, this technology really is in the early stages, especially in terms of being used for safety training, so some of the kinks still need to get ironed out. Another important article is this issue is Linda Johnson's report on temporary agency workers (page 20). This story idea came from a reader who hires temp workers during the ramp-up period at his food manufacturing company. He has to get them into the fold fast, but safety is, of course, his priority. He doesn't have the budget or the time to give the temp workers the full suite of safety training, so he provides them with the most important elements and hopes for the best. Is this concerning? Yes. Is it the widespread reality? Yes. Temp workers not only face a slew of personal difficulties by being in precarious employment, but their health and safety is also in jeopardy. Plus, the vast majority are afraid to speak up for fear of not being called back the next day. While in between jobs, my husband signed up with a temp work agency and got a gig at a call centre. When he got there, he was shocked that none of the workers had headsets — they were cradling the phones in between their ear and shoulder all day. After talking to me about it, I told him he had to say something to the agency and make sure they got proper headsets. When he first told them, they didn't listen. He told them again and the company actually did get headsets in, but my husband was out — after that short six-week contract was over, he never heard from the agency again. Amanda Silliker, Editor amanda.silliker@thomsonreuters.com Me enjoying a virtual reality experience at Partners in Prevention.

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