Celebrating the CCOHS Disc Information Service, which ran from 1987 – 2013
CCOHS surpassed a significant milestone in its technological history as it celebrated the last shipment of the MSDS DVD this past week. It represented our transition to a new era of technological development – recognition that Canadians are accessing information differently and we have to respond proactively with innovation.
Our discs were at the forefront of technology when CCOHS first released them in 1987. In fact, we offered CD-ROM readers for lease or purchase with our CD products, in response to clients who did not have the necessary technology to access the information on the discs. Now, we are again incorporating current and emerging technologies and innovation with online versions of our databases and other programs, progressive web portals, downloadable versions of packages for clients with inconsistent internet service, social media tools, and mobile apps.
These apps, along with mobile accessible versions of our services, will provide our stakeholders with additional options when it comes to the retrieval of OSH information. Our products need to be accurate, current and easily accessible to all – and our ability to anticipate and embrace technological trends is critical to ensuring that this continues to happen.
I am pleased to welcome three new members to our CCOHS Council of Governors. Sari Sairanen (CAW), Stephen Mansell (Government of Nunavut) and Helder Botelho (AOC Resins) will be attending their first official Council meeting in March. They are an accomplished group that will bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our Council and I look forward to relying on their valued input as they help us meet the challenges ahead.
The new Council members are replacing three long-time members who have completed their terms. CCOHS extends its appreciation and bids a fond farewell to Nancy Hutchinson (USW), Jean Dalton (Dofasco-Arcelor Mittal) and Stuart MacLean (WCB Nova Scotia). We are grateful for their years of service and contribution toward our success as a global leader in the prevention of occupational injury and illness.
New Council of Governors members:
Sari Sairanen is the Director of Health and Safety at the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union. She has held various positions in the health and safety and labour relations sectors of the CAW, including Bargaining Committee Representative; Vice-President, Western Region; and Co-Chair of the Joint Health and Safety Committee.
Stephen Mansell is currently Director of Policy and Planning at the Department of Justice for the Government of Nunavut a former City Councillor of the city of Iqaluit and a prominent lawyer with extensive experience serving the community in Northern Canada
Helder Botelho is a Plant Manager at AOC Resins and Coatings in Guelph, Ontario. He is a former Chair of the Board of the Industrial Accident and Prevention Association and a current member of the Canadian Education and Training Commission.
This has been a watershed year for the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). We have been cultivating relationships across the country with a large cross-section of industries, OSH organizations and institutions. We have leveraged these relationships into mutually beneficial collaborations that have expanded our product offerings, accessed new markets, and increased our recognition factor across Canada.
I take a look back with great pride in our success from all of our business units. We have had an extremely successful national Forum that highlighted our ability to draw together representatives from a cross-section of groups to dialogue on solutions that affect all Canadians. Collaborations with groups such as CARMHA, the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Carex Canada, NIDMAR, VuBiz, Institute on Gender and Health (IGH), ILO and High Point Wellness have resulted in new programs and products that have introduced CCOHS to new stakeholders and have increased the profile of the prevention of occupational injury and illness across all jurisdictions. We have also taken a leadership role in the communication of federal GHS legislation, mental health standards, and initiatives for vulnerable workers, and making OSH programs accessible to small and medium sized enterprises and remote regions.
But, my greatest sense of pride is reserved for our leadership team and staff for their dedication and ability to adapt to evolving internal changes and a constantly shifting external environment. It is our adaptive capacity and nimble decision-making that have come to define our organization and serve as the platform for all our successes.
My best wishes to everyone for a joyful holiday season and a Happy New Year.
It was our pleasure to host Israel Shreibman, Director of the Israel Institute for Occupational Safety and Hygiene (IIOSH), last week. Mr. Shriebman came to CCOHS to review our operations and to get an understanding of the challenges facing our organization and how we have been addressing them. At the same time, it was an opportunity for me to hear some of the unique solutions IIOSH have adopted for their workers – of particular interest during our discussions was our programs for agricultural and immigrant workers, and accessing small enterprises for training.
As unique as the Middle East may seem to us, the challenges in the occupational health and safety field are strikingly similar. So it is particularly beneficial to CCOHS to hear a different perspective on a common issue and learn of new ways to address them. As well, each organization has their own areas of expertise, and there was agreement to support each other’s initiatives, and to look for opportunities to collaborate on projects to avoid duplication.
Recently I had an opportunity to sit down with professor Obi Ejim, Vice Chancellor of Renaissance University in Nigeria, regarding the establishment of an undergraduate degree program and faculty in Occupational Health at the University. The needs in Nigeria, and Sub-Saharan Africa in general, are daunting, and CCOHS is proud to support such worthy initiatives that will have a positive future impact in the region. During our meeting, we established a collaborative memorandum of agreement with the University to support the establishment of a faculty committed to improving the working environment in their region.
And with the looming end to the summer and the imminent start of the new school year, our thoughts here at home also turn to students in pursuit of a post-secondary education in health and safety. Fortunately, there are many institutions across Canada which offer established, comprehensive occupational health and safety degree, diploma, and certificate programs, some of which are also available online.
To help students tap into CCOHS’ extensive network of information and resources throughout their studies and beyond graduation, we created a Student Membership program for full- and part-time students. CCOHS also offers a national scholarship, open to Canadian students pursuing a certificate, diploma, or degree in occupational health and safety. The Dick Martin Scholarship was established in 2002, and the annual deadline to apply is January 31. Listen to a podcast with two past winners.
CCOHS is committed to supporting the next generation of leaders in workplace health and safety.
We had a very productive and informative meeting of the CCOHS Council of Governors last week. Held at our offices here in Hamilton, it was our first meeting under our new Chair, Kin Choi. We also welcomed three new Council members, Shelly Dauphinee from New Brunswick, Bill Reid from PEI and Shelley Rowan from Nova Scotia. Regrettably, we also said goodbye to three of our long-standing, devoted members: Jean Dalton from Arcelor Mittal; Stuart MacLean from Nova Scotia; and, Nancy Hutchinson from the OFL, who each served two terms on our Council. Their contributions to the success of our organization are greatly appreciated, and they will be sorely missed.
The meeting is as much an occasion for CCOHS to “put its best foot forward” and showcase our organization’s accomplishments, as it is to discuss our challenges moving forward. It is an opportunity to look outwards and talk about our future and share our visions within a forum of differing perspectives, but common goals.
It is also our opportunity to listen: to understand the changes that the provinces, industry and labour are undertaking and how they will shape our environment. I believe CCOHS’s role is to turn their challenges to our opportunities.
There were also a number of positive initiatives in the provinces and sharing of best practices during roundtable discussions that will benefit all.
CCOHS is fortunate to have such a reservoir of knowledge to draw from and I am confident our organization’s future is bright.
Recovering from a lunchtime walk outside, it occurred to me that many of us are not adjusting our daily routines in consideration of some of the extremely hot, humid weather this summer. Heat stress can have a severe impact on people’s health, particularly when we consider factors of underlying medical issues, obesity, age and level of physical fitness.
We are determined to maintain our work routines and daily schedules without stopping to consider the impact extremes in the physical environment are having on our bodies. In the hot summer climate we should all consciously be thinking about staying hydrated and taking periodic breaks from the heat throughout the day – waiting until you are thirsty or until your next scheduled break is usually too late. This heat requires the body to increase its physiological activity to maintain your normal body temperature. Consequently, we should be maintaining a constant hydration level so the body does not have to compensate for large swings in fluid levels (consider two marathon runners; one who takes in water at regular intervals throughout the race, and another who drinks an equivalent total only at the end of the race).
Periodic rest and intake of fluids are a necessity to avoid heat stress, particularly for those working outdoors. It is imperative that we all familiarize ourselves with the early signs of heat stress so we can support our fellow employees and avoid potentially hazardous situations.
I encourage you to review the CCOHS resources below about the health effects of excessive heat.
Dr. Abeytunga, 8th from the right, at the APEX Awards Ceremony at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, on May 28.
On Monday night, I was pleased to represent CCOHS at the awards gala hosted by the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (APEX). The APEX award is the highest honour bestowed upon an executive of the federal public service in recognition of outstanding contribution to Canada. It was with great pride that I watched APEX recognize our own Dr. Abeytunga with an APEX award for career contribution. It was particularly heartening because it was not about a single success, but instead acknowledged his 32 years of contribution both nationally and internationally to the advancement of health and safety and to the growth of CCOHS as a global centre of excellence for the prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses. Congratulations, Abey! I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award.
I am very pleased to be helping launch NAOSH Week 2012 at Centennial College on Monday, May 7th with our health and safety partners. This marks 16 years that employers, workers and governments across North America have taken the time to promote the importance of preventing injury and illness in the workplace.
The theme of NAOSH week this year is “Making it Work”. It reminds us that we all need to not only plan, but act. We need to constantly create awareness of these issues throughout our daily routines at work, at home and in our communities, and it is forums such as this that make this possible.
Our successes in achieving the goals of NAOSH week will result in eliminating fatalities, injuries and diseases from the workplace.
I attended the “Day of Mourning” ceremony this past Sunday, April 29th. It was a solemn ceremony, with emotional speeches of loss and remembrance. What made this ceremony particularly poignant for me was that this is the 20th anniversary of the Westray Mine disaster that occurred on May 9, 1992 in Nova Scotia. 26 lives were lost in one of Canada’s great tragedies. It reminded me that, as well as those lost to these tragedies, this is also a day to remember the surviving family members who are still living with the pain of these tragic events, and to rededicate ourselves to the elimination of workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses.
The 26 miners that were killed at the Westray Mines were members of the Steelworkers’ Union, and Nancy Hutchinson, who is also a member of CCOHS’s Council of Governors, spoke on behalf of the USW in an emotional “call to action” to ensure these types of disasters do not occur again.
