Smooth MSDS Sailing

How one DND department manages its MSDS collection

Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt, located in Victoria, BC, is home to Canada's Pacific Naval Fleet. Its warships, submarines, and coastal defence vessels serve a number of roles - from major international operations, sovereignty operations and patrols, to single ship support of multinational deployments.

It's up to Fleet Maintenance Facility (FMF) Cape Breton to ensure round-the-clock technical readiness of the Fleet and its related equipment. With more than 1,200 personnel at CFB Esquimalt, FMF Cape Breton is essentially the indispensable "corner garage", providing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level maintenance to the west coast Fleet.

Key Challenge: Staying Up to Date on MSDSs
Under WHMIS regulations, employers must make sure that controlled products are labeled and that a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is present for each product and that they are readily available to workers. FMF Cape Breton must keep up to date on more than 3,000 MSDSs, from cleaning solvents to cyanide. In addition, workers function out of more than 60 buildings, making it logistically difficult to collectively manage all MSDSs in use. Another challenging factor: the diversity of the workforce. A user-friendly system would ensure that everyone could easily access MSDSs for the tasks at hand.

Solution: A One-Stop MSDS Shop
FMF Cape Breton transitioned to the MSDS Management Service last year by providing CCOHS with paper originals of their MSDSs. CCOHS took care of the rest, setting up a customized collection in a secure online database. Workers can access the entire collection in a few clicks, at any time, from computer stations conveniently located in each shop.

Now a painter who has to complete work on a tank can walk to the station, open the database, print off the required MSDS, and head out to the job site, with hazards information in hand. If an emergency should occur, first responders will be aware of the chemical that was involved, along with its recommended first aid measures, emergency phone numbers, and other key information.

In case of a power outage, backup discs provided by CCOHS ensure that chemical hazard information is always readily available. These discs can be loaded onto a laptop for immediate access to the database.

CCOHS also incorporated inventory control requirements with FMF Cape Breton's MSDS. For any controlled product, a worker can easily look up not only its MSDS, but also its physical location, size, and maximum quantity, all at once.

Result: Substantial Savings and Increased Safety
FMF Cape Breton has achieved significant time and cost savings. Before implementing the MSDS Management Service, staff members were responsible for maintaining the currency of all MSDSs. It would take staff upwards of three months to obtain an update to a single MSDS. It was estimated that 16 man-hours was spent each month per shop on updating MSDSs. Now trades people are freed up to perform maintenance, repair and overhaul work on ships and vessels.

CCOHS also sends a Status Report notifying FMF Cape Breton of discontinued products that need removal or alternatives found, helping them to remain in compliance.

"As a result of implementing the MSDS Management Service, we anticipate the virtual elimination of audit findings," said Rick Doyle, Unit Hazardous Materials Coordinator for FMF Cape Breton.

As an added benefit, the MSDS Management Service includes access to CHEMINFO, providing comprehensive, practical health and safety information on more than 1700 workplace chemicals. Staff at FMF Cape Breton review CHEMINFO record content in order to make a more informed decision before purchasing chemical products.

Doyle also credits the customer service. "The client support received from CCOHS has been top-notch. The PowerPoint training presentation that's provided allowed us to quickly teach our workers how to access the MSDSs. And during the transition right through the current maintenance of our collection, CCOHS has been very responsive to all of our requirements."

"The MSDS Management Service allows us to stay productive and to stay safe, while keeping Canada's navy fleet at optimal readiness."

Learn more about the MSDS Management Service

Working from Home?

Your guide to working safely at home

Don't be completely on your own when working at home. Have the Telework and Home Office Health and Safety Guide by your side. CCOHS' newest safety guide offers tips and suggestions for integrating health and safety into a "working at home" environment.

This guide is written for home-based office workers and related professionals, whether as an employee or self-employed, and has two main focuses - managing the work and setting up a good, safe home office.

Managers and supervisors, as well as health and safety and human resources professionals, will find it useful when developing telework policies and arrangements for their employees.

Home based workers can use the guide to set up a good home office as it covers all aspects of ergonomics, safety, work organization and personal security that may be unique to a home environment.

WIN! We're giving away 3 copies of this guide. Simply email news@ccohs.ca with your name and mailing address, by April 15, 2009, to be entered into the draw.

A Safe and Healthy Start

Orientation for New Workers e-course now available

Statistics show that new workers have a higher rate of injury, especially during the first six months of employment. New workers include young workers under 25, anybody starting a new job, people transferred to different positions, and any employee whose process or hazards have changed.

Introduce workplace health and safety to your new workers with CCOHS' latest e-course, Orientation on Health & Safety for New Workers. In the 90-minute session, participants will learn about their rights as workers that are protected by health and safety legislation. They'll also understand the role of workplace health and safety programs, and learn how to identify job-related hazards and work safely.

"The program is very appropriate for new workers, especially young workers. It provides a good overview of the internal responsibility system, workers' rights, hazards, and controls used to protect workers," said Kevin Shea, Health & Safety Advisor for the Regional Municipality of Halton in Ontario.

The course is geared toward the "new worker" but anyone who requires an understanding of health and safety will benefit from the important issues covered in the material.

"I highly recommend that even seasoned H&S people take this course to see what is being offered to the new worker within their organization," said Vera Pasic, Acting Manager of Corporate OHS at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Learn more and register online

Forget Them Not

Remembering lives lost or injured in the workplace

The truth hurts. In 2007, 1,055 workplace deaths were recorded in Canada - up from 976 the previous year. Another 972,407 were injured or become ill.

Every April 28 on the National Day of Mourning, people around the world remember and pay respect to those who have lost their lives or been injured in the workplace.

Promote awareness of this National Day by displaying our free poster at your workplace. You can also order additional copies at a nominal cost.

Order a Day of Mourning poster

Save the Date for NAOSH Week

Strengthen your workplace health and safety commitment

NAOSH Week is fast approaching. From May 3 - 9, you and your organization are invited to participate in events celebrating North American Occupational Safety and Health Week and its theme for 2009, "Make it Home Safe Every Day".

CCOHS will be presenting free lunchtime webinars on various workplace health and safety topics during NAOSH Week. Watch these online seminars from the comfort of your computer, or better yet, round up some colleagues and view them together in a boardroom.

Make sure to check the NAOSH website for a growing list of events that will be taking place all across the country, including the complete CCOHS webinar schedule.