Stop Pains and Strains

New MSD prevention manual now available

They're unavoidable. Every workplace includes tasks that involve manual materials handling: lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing, pulling, holding or restraining. When the work exceeds a worker's physical capabilities, however, serious injuries can result. Even in early stages, recovery from MSDs often requires months or even years of treatment. In severe cases, there may be permanent disability.

CCOHS' latest publication, Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) Prevention Manual, serves as a resource to help you identify, eliminate, and control the sources of MSD in your workplace. Understand how manual material handling tasks contribute to MSDs, and get the guidance and tools you need for developing an MSD prevention program for your workplace.

Everyone at the workplace can benefit from this manual:

• Employers will be able to reduce the number of injuries and illnesses by implementing a MSD prevention program.
• Health and safety committee members and health and safety professionals will find this guide a good resource for reducing risk factors and helping to develop an MSD prevention program.
• All employees can use the information and case studies in this manual to understand their risks and get guidance in best practices that will help reduce MSD injuries.

Special Launch Pricing: Get the MSD Prevention Manual and save 10% now. Enter Promo Code HOTDEAL during online checkout or mention it when you call Client Services. Offer expires August 31, 2011.

Learn more about the Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) Prevention Manual

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Moving from MSDS to SDS

See what you need to know in our new reference poster

Hazard communication systems like WHMIS and OSHA Hazcom are changing, and so is the material safety data sheet (MSDS).

Get a handy visual overview of what an MSDS will look like after its transition to a Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) SDS, with this new reference poster from CCOHS. This transition will not be as simple as dropping the "M".

CCOHS has evaluated how the ANSI Z400.1-2004 MSDS data fields can be transitioned into an SDS considering: what's in, what's out, what's new, what's moving, what is being renamed, and what is staying the same. This poster will help you prepare for these changes by graphically presenting the results of this analysis, and highlighting some key tips about how to successfully manage your transition from MSDS to SDS.

Available in either English or French, this poster measures 34" x 27" in size and is printed in full-colour.

Special Offer: Save 15% off the regular price of the MSDS -> SDS Poster. Enter Promo Code SDS15 during online checkout or mention it when you call Client Services. Offer expires August 31, 2011.

Learn more and order online

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Get Started on Safe Footing

Save on an orientation e-course for new workers

The Ontario Ministry of Labour recently announced a New and Young Worker inspection blitz, and rightfully so. New workers - but especially young workers - are much more likely to be injured on the job.

Help prepare your new workers with our Orientation on Health & Safety for New Workers e-course.

Participants will gain knowledge of their workplace rights under health and safety legislation, understand the role of health and safety programs within a workplace, and learn how to identify job-related hazards in order to work safely.

Save on safety: Get 25% off this e-course. Enter Promo Code SAVE25 during online checkout or mention it when you call Client Services. Offer expires August 31, 2011.

Learn more and register online

 

 

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Stressed at Work?

Learn to handle workplace stress with our new e-course

Pressured. Worried. Tense. Anxious. Unenthusiastic. Disinterested. If these words describe how you feel while at work, you are likely experiencing workplace stress. These negative feelings result from a mismatch - or imbalance - between the demands placed on you as a worker and your ability to meet those demands.

There is a wide range of factors which can bring about this gap, including organization, management, job design, and non-work stressors.

The new Stress in the Workplace e-course from CCOHS introduces you to the complex issue of workplace stress and its multitude of factors, with a focus on stress that originates on the job, while also discussing how non-work stress can affect performance.

Workers and managers alike will learn to identify signs of workplace stress, as well as measures to prevent, eliminate or reduce stress in the workplace.

Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of organizational factors - including the ways in which work is organized. Strategies for employers and workers to manage personal stress will also be addressed.

Note that this course does not address "critical stress", as may be experienced in response to a traumatic or catastrophic event.

Learn more and register for this e-course

More resources on stress from CCOHS:

• Workplace Health and Wellness Guide
• Information on workplace stress, OSH Answers
• Resources on stress, Advancing Healthy Workplaces
• Mentally Healthy Workplaces: Strategies for Success, webinar

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Take a Load Off Your Workers

Display this poster filled with helpful lifting tips

Picking up an object may seem relatively straightforward, but in fact, lifting is the most common cause of low back pain at work in Canada.

Lifting tasks put your back, shoulders, arms, and neck at risk for injury. Risk is maximized if the load is heavy, if a poor posture is used, or if the load is lifted frequently or repeatedly over a given period of time.

Encourage workers to practice safe lifting and handling techniques by displaying CCOHS' new Weight Lifting Tips poster where they are likely to be lifting objects.

By planning how lifts are to be performed, and preparing workers through training, you can minimize the number and severity of injuries that could happen at your workplace.

CCOHS now offers 15 awareness posters to help you get the word out about important aspects of workplace health and safety. All awareness posters are printed double-sided, with English on one side and French on the other. They are available as free PDF downloads, or for purchase as glossy 16"X 25" prints.

Learn more about the Weight Lifting Tips poster

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Listen Up: Working in Close Quarters, Water Safety & More

Check out the latest podcasts from CCOHS

Get health and safety to go! Simply download these podcasts to your computer or MP3 player and listen to them at your own convenience. Here are some of our latest episodes:

• Working in Close Quarters

  Do you work in confined spaces? Listen to our latest podcast to learn about the potential hazards and find out how you can stay safe.

• Water Safety for the Summer

  Shelley Dalke from the Canadian Red Cross outlines how you can stay safe while working and vacationing on the water this summer.

• Challenges of an Aging Workforce

  CCOHS examines the issue of aging workers and what employers can do to accommodate the needs of all workers.

• HR and Health and Safety

  Gerry Culina, Manager of General Health and Safety Services at CCOHS, discusses the roles Human Resources and Health & Safety play in improving performance in the workplace.

See all podcasts | Subscribe on iTunes

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