2-Minute News: May 2013
With 2-Minute News, you can read the health and safety information on your industry in two minutes or less! It's emailed to subscribers in the middle of each month. This month's articles include:
- IHSA Safety Talk: Safe Setup of Heavy Equipment
- Have your say about revisions to OTM Book 7
- Infrastructure Ontario looks at COR™ guidelines
- Asbestos and vehicle maintenance
- Product spotlight: IHSA's Demolition Health and Safety Manual
IHSA.ca Magazine: Volume 13, Issue 1
The spring edition of our IHSA.ca Magazine features articles on: Safety Talk Falling-object hazards, Protecting Young Workers, Spring Start-up, Wind turbines, Changes to WHMIS, Spring Thaw, Commercial Motor Vehicle Inspections, MOL Blitz Results 2012, Get Certified with COR™, New Tools for Small Business, Gas and Sewer Line Conflicts, Toronto Hydro and IHSA, IHSA and COR™, HRSDC Open House, and MOL Blitz Schedule 2013-14.
Prepare for the MOL excavation blitz in May
In construction, trenching and excavation work is inherently dangerous. Hazards include cave-ins, struck-by injuries, electrical contact, and slips, trips, and falls. To raise awareness of the hazards involved in this type of work and prevent injuries and illnesses that could arise from unsafe work practices, the Ministry of Labour (MOL) will be conducting an excavation safety blitz in May. For more info, including ways that IHSA can help you prepare for the blitz, visit IHSA's Trenching and Excavation topic page.
Kingston Health and Safety Conference
The Kingston Regional Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee is pleased to present its 5th Annual Health & Safety Conference on May 3, 2013. Chief Prevention Officer George Gritziotis will be the keynote speaker and IHSA CEO Al Beattie will present the welcome message. Seminars will include Working with the MOL, Noise, Aging Workforce and MSDs, Return to Work, and Young Workers. There will also be exhibits and demonstrations. The cost is $40 plus HST and lunch will be provided. To register or for more info, download the conference brochure.
Have your say about revisions to OTM Book 7
The Ministry of Transportation would like to hear from you about the revised Ontario Traffic Manual Book 7 — Temporary Conditions. The final draft of the revised manual will be posted for comments until July 31, 2013 and has addressed changes made during the public input last fall. The manual can be downloaded from the Ontario Traffic Council website and comments can be submitted by emailing Book7comments@ontario.ca
MOL Inspection Blitz Schedule
The Ministry of Labour has announced the 2013-2014 inspection blitz schedule. Starting in May, inspectors will focus on new and young workers, as well as excavation projects. There will also be blitzes on falls, construction in public places, waste management, and warehousing in the coming months and early next year. Make sure you and your workers are prepared. Check out the complete schedule for details.
Advisory: Gas Line and Sewer Line Conflicts
Sometimes a natural gas line has inadvertently intersected a sewer service line. If the sewer line becomes blocked and the blockage is cleared using rotating or water jetting equipment, it can damage the gas line and cause a gas leak, fire, or explosion. To avoid this hazard, call Ontario One Call and ask for a free Natural Gas Sewer Safety Inspection. Download the health and safety advisory for more details.
Advisory: Heat Stress and Type 3 Asbestos Operations
In Ontario, asbestos remediation requires full-body protective coveralls, head coverings, and other personal protective equipment such as respirators, gloves, and boots. These types of protective clothing can put workers at increased risk of developing heat-related illnesses. The Insulators Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee, in partnership with IHSA, has developed a Health and Safety Advisory on this issue.
Help develop Ontario's workplace health and safety strategy
The Ministry of Labour has launched consultations on developing a system-wide integrated occupational health and safety strategy for Ontario. This strategy will establish the goals and priorities to guide our health and safety system in the years ahead. Listening to stakeholder concerns and getting feedback from them will be a valuable part of developing this integrated strategy. You can submit your comments by downloading the consultation paper and filling out an online feedback form or by attending a series of consultation sessions throughout the province. For more info, visit the MOL website.
Electrical Utility Safety Rules (EUSR) Review
As part of a regular five-year review process, IHSA is initiating a review of the 2009 Electrical Utility Safety Rules (EUSR). We will be hosting several stakeholder input sessions across Ontario to allow the electrical community to share experiences and provide feedback. These half-day sessions will help IHSA better understand the needs of the industry prior to the formal review process with Hydro One Inc. For dates and locations, download the registration brochure.
Spring Blitz for the Aggregate Sector
Want to refresh your skills after winter layoff? IHSA will be touring Ontario this spring to provide four-hour, instructor-lead presentations on the main occupational health and safety risks facing those working in the surface mining sector. Sessions will take place at a variety of locations and will also employ the IHSA mobile classroom. To register or for more info, download the seminar brochure.
IHSA launches poster campaign
IHSA is launching a new poster campaign to promote safe workplaces in the wake of eight tragic deaths since October 15.
From October 15 through to November 4, eight workers died across the various sectors that IHSA serves.
Although each death was the result of different circumstances, there is one constant—those workers will not be able to keep the promise they made to friends and family to come home safely.
IHSA has designed a new poster underscoring the Keep Your Promise concept. The Keep Your Promise theme illustrates the hardship and tragedy a work-related death leaves for friends and family through the stark imagery of a child who has lost a parent.
Posters will be available as a free download on the ihsa.ca website. Printed copies (17x22 inches) will be made available to those firms that wish to share the message on their worksites.
To download a free pdf copy of the poster click here. To order printed copies, click here.
Safe Communities Incentive Program (SCIP) training in Windsor
SCIP is a health and safety incentive program for small business that can show you how to reduce your WSIB costs, increase productivity, meet health and safety legislative requirements, and keep your workers safe. In 2013, IHSA is partnering with the WSIB to offer a series of complimentary SCIP training sessions in Windsor Ontario. Upon completion of the program requirements and attendance at all four sessions, you can receive a one-time five per cent rebate on your WSIB contributions. For more info, including dates and locations, download the brochure or visit our SCIP web page.
MSD-related injuries
MSDs and slips and falls are some of the leading causes of lost-time injuries among professional drivers. IHSA’s Mark Skinner recently sat down with Truck News to talk about the issue in the second of a two-part video series.
Mandatory health and safety awareness poster
Beginning October 1, 2012, the posting of the MOL's Health & Safety at Work: Prevention Starts Here poster will be enforced by inspectors. This poster informs workers of their rights and sets out the roles for employers, supervisors, and workers so they can work together to make workplaces safer. It is available in several languages and can be printed in black and white or colour, and in sizes 8 ½" by 11" or 11" by 17". For more info or to download the poster, visit the MOL website. Printed versions can be ordered through Service Ontario.
Ontario passes mandatory “one call” legislation
On June 14, the Ontario Legislature passed Bill 8, the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act. The bill makes it mandatory for all owners of underground assets to participate in a province-wide “one call” system. The previous system was voluntary and sometimes required calling 13 different numbers, resulting in numerous accidental strikes to the province's critical infrastructure. The industry-funded non-profit call centre will serve as a single point of contact for all underground utility location services in Ontario.
IHSA training facility coming to Northern Ontario
To better serve our northern clients, IHSA will establish a training facility in Thunder Bay. Located in the Dorion Building of Confederation College, the facility will not only make IHSA’s state-of-the-art training more accessible for workers and employers in the area but also promote a safe-work culture to a new generation of workers in the skilled trades.
Health and Safety Advisory: Roof Openings and Skylights
IHSA, in partnership with the Roofers Trade and the Sheet Metal Trade Labour-Management Health and Safety Committees, has developed an advisory for those working around roof openings and skylights. In recent years, incidents of workers falling through roof openings and skylights have resulted in critical injuries and fatalities. To learn more, download the advisory.
Health and Safety Advisory: Attachments – Quick Couplers
IHSA, in cooperation with the Civil Labour-Management Committee, has developed a health and safety advisory about heavy equipment attachments. If not installed or maintained correctly, tools attached by “quick couplers” instead of traditional “pins” may release unexpectedly and fall, causing near misses, accidents, injuries, and fatalities. To prevent such an incident at your worksite, download the advisory and follow the safe work practices.
IHSA Stakeholders well represented in the North
IHSA continues to make its presence felt in Northern Ontario. We have 16 subject-matter experts in the North who provide training, consulting, and auditing services, and facilitate employer-recognition programs and client outreach initiatives. We provide solutions to address high-risk activities and support the sector-specific needs and requirements of our 11,306 member firms in the North. We have six bipartite Labour-Management Health and Safety Committees in the North and we have developed close relationships with trade associations, distributors, high schools, and colleges in the region.
JHSC Training Standards and Requirements
In accordance with recent changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), the Chief Prevention Officer (CPO) has the authority to establish standards for training programs and training providers and to approve programs and providers that have met these standards.
Utilities celebrate safety achievements
Three Ontario electrical utilities recently received honors for their impressive safety accomplishments in recent years. IHSA's CEO Al Beattie was able to present Oshawa PUC Networks Inc. with its ZeroQuest™ Outcomes Level II award while St. Thomas Energy and Bluewater Power Distribution Corporation received the President's Award for achieving 1,000,000 hours without a lost-time injury.
To read more about these achievements, click here.
Ladder Use in Construction Guideline
Workers on construction sites continue to fall from ladders and become critically injured or killed. The Provincial Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee (PLMHSC) has prepared a guideline on safe ladder use in construction to assist workplace parties in understanding their obligations under the OHSA and its regulations. The Ministry of Labour views the guideline as a recommended set of industry best practices that may be used as part of an employer’s health and safety program.