Description
The goal of this public service program is to provide free information on occupational health
and
safety to support Canadians in their efforts to work safely and create healthy and safe
workplaces.
Citizens are provided information through a free and impartial personalized service via
telephone,
e-mail, person-to-person, fax or mail. Alternatively, they can independently access a broad range
of
electronic and print resources developed to support safety and health information needs of
Canadians.
This may include cost recovery products and services and is supported financially by
contributions
from various stakeholders.
Through health and safety information development, CCOHS collects, processes, evaluates, creates
and
publishes authoritative information resources on occupational health and safety for the benefit
of
all working Canadians. This information is used for education and training, research, development
of
policy and best practices, improvement of health and safety programs, achieving compliance, and
for
personal use. When the product or service provided by CCOHS is offered to identifiable external
recipients
with benefits beyond those enjoyed by the general public, the product or service becomes part of
the
cost-recovery program and a fee is charged.
CCOHS promotes and facilitates consultation and cooperation among federal, provincial and
territorial
jurisdictions and participation by labour, management and other stakeholders in the establishment
and
maintenance of high standards and occupational health and safety initiatives for the Canadian
context.
The sharing of resources results in coordinated and mutually beneficial development of unique
programs,
products and services. Collaborative projects are usually supported with a combination of
financial
and non-financial contributions to programs by partners and stakeholders and result in
advancement
of health and safety initiatives.
Results
The 2017-18 Departmental Plan for CCOHS focused on the following goals:
- to provide workers and workplaces in Canada with easy, instant access to reliable and
relevant
health and safety information;
- provide leadership on the issue of mental health by providing credible information and
resources;
and
- increase awareness and understanding of health and safety issues in the workplace; and
improve
workplace practices.
CCOHS delivered on its mandate and goals through leveraging the partnerships and resources at
its
disposal. The CCOHS website (ccohs-cchst.ca) is the core vehicle used to deliver both
subscription
and public informational services. This year the website was enriched with new content and
resources,
including a topic page focused on workplace impairment. Early in the year an algorithm change in
the
web analytics resulted in an overnight reduction in web statistics. As the year progressed,
traffic
steadily increased but not enough to recover to pre-existing levels. Overall, the website views
were
down 7.8% to 10.7 million with more than 16.9 million views of content pages, 22% of which were
from
the French language version of the website.
In fiscal year 2017-2018 CCOHS was selected to co-host with the Institute for Work and Health
the XXII World Congress on Safety and Health
at
Work, to be held in Toronto in the fall of 2020. The selection of Canada as the host for the 2020
World
Congress was officially announced at the close of the XXI World Congress in Singapore on
September
6, 2017. At the Singapore meeting, representatives from CCOHS and the Institute for Work and
Health
introduced the theme for the Canadian Congress: Prevention in the Connected Age. Every three
years,
the World Congress on Safety and Health at Work brings together a global community of government
representatives,
labour organizations, employer groups, and prevention experts to exchange information and share
perspectives
on the world-wide effort to create safe and healthy workplaces. Sponsored by the International
Labour
Organization (ILO) and the International Social Security Association (ISSA), this event is the
world’s
largest venue for the international occupational health and safety community and is expected to
draw
more than 3,500 delegates from more than 150 countries to the XXII World Congress on Safety and
Health
at Work in 2020.
As a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating
Centre,
CCOHS contributes to several major projects to advance workplace health and safety globally. For
example,
CCOHS, as a Collaborating Centre with the International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS),
produces
and delivers the INCHEM database. This database service contains information essential for the
sound
management of chemicals that affect the environment and human health, and provides rapid access
to
internationally peer reviewed information on chemicals commonly used throughout the world, which
may
also occur as contaminants in the environment and food. INCHEM consolidates information from a
number
of intergovernmental organizations whose goal it is to assist in the sound management of
chemicals.
The relationships forged as a Collaborating Centre also provide global perspectives and resources
that
influence the work of CCOHS.
The annual readership surveys for the two CCOHS newsletters (Liaison and the Health and Safety
Report)
that help keep readers informed with current, relevant guidance and updates continue to earn high
overall
satisfaction ratings at greater than 88.6% and 99%, respectively. Many subscribers have indicated
that
the newsletters provide value to their organization, and that they use the information to make
current
or planned changes to improve occupational health and safety in their workplace.
“A valuable tool to keep me aware of current and future legislative changes. Provides helpful
information
to assist in maintaining safety policies and insight into changes coming in the near future.
Your
publication is very informative and has shed light on health and safety issues that we had not
thought
were applicable to our organization. I distribute the email publication to all local staff and
also
share with the construction company that my husband works for. In fact, I believe that they
have
since signed up to receive the e-mails directly. Thank you for a quality and informative
publication.”
Employees and employers across Canada have questions that they need answered. With financial
support
from the federal government, provinces and territories, CCOHS provides a two-pronged service to
meet
this need for credible information and assistance: self-serve online fact sheets and the
person-to-person
Safety InfoLine. The online OSH Answers collection of 630 topics had 12.6 million page views. The
confidential
person-to-person Safety InfoLine provides easy access to answers to health and safety questions
(in
English and French). The service responded to 8,041 live inquiries from users from every province
and
territory in Canada. 85% of Safety InfoLine users surveyed were very satisfied with the
information
they received, and 65% said that their use of information obtained will lead to current or future
changes
to the workplace designed to improve health and safety.
“I found the service very informative and helpful. In the past week I have referred 5
different
employees to the CCOHS website. It was very thorough and I have shared the response with
another
federal department. This central service is extremely useful. The legislation applicable to our
workplace
was quoted which was extremely useful. This is truly a centre of expertise.”
“My question was answered very fast and had lots of information given. That information was
then
forwarded to my health and safety committee to assess what they need to bring forward to the
company
to make sure that the necessary changes and modifications need to be done.”
In the nine years since CCOHS launched the podcast program, Health and Safety to Go!, it has
increased
in popularity, providing Canadians an alternative way to access health and safety information.
The
podcasts, produced monthly in English and French, offer listeners brief segments with health and
safety
advice and interviews with subject experts. The podcast program garnered a total of 84,718
listens,
a 13% increase over the previous year.
CCOHS responded to workplace demands for practical and accessible tools to address
psychological
hazards that can affect worker health and safety with various projects. In partnership with the
Occupational
Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, and the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the
Workplace,
CCOHS released two online toolkits to help workplaces assess and address psychological hazards.
Available
at no cost, Guarding Minds at Work and StressAssess are offered as different options for
workplaces
to survey their employees and take practical steps to promote psychological well-being. CCOHS
also
developed, and partnered with several jurisdictions, on practical workshops for mental health
workplace
champions and leaders to move from awareness to action. CCOHS held workshops of small groups
ranging
from 25-30 change-makers several times in the past year. These workshops consist of a framework
and
resources needed to implement a comprehensive program that includes mental health as part of a
healthy
workplace. On average, 87% of workshop survey respondents indicated that they could apply the
information
learned to make practical changes in the workplaces.
Mental health as well as harassment and violence continue to be two major areas of focus for
workplaces
across Canada. CCOHS and the federal government collaborated on a social media advertising
campaign
to promote positive responses to address workplace mental health and effective responses to
workplace
harassment and violence. As a result, over five million Canadians were reached and exposed to the
social
media messages, nearly 200,000 engaged with CCOHS’ campaign messages and more than 90,000 visited
the
CCOHS harassment and violence topic page.
Exhibiting and presenting at conferences and events in every province and territory is an
important
initiative that establishes credibility, reaches new audiences, and gathers input about specific
concerns
that may inform the work of CCOHS. Reflecting its tripartite governance structure, CCOHS attended
labour,
government, and employer events, with specific focus on high-risk industry-specific conferences
in
the mining, construction, and transportation sectors, as well as conferences specifically for
Indigenous
people. As a result, CCOHS presented at, and participated in, a record 57 conferences and events,
reaching
more than 34,000 people.
Results achieved
Easy access to CCOHS’ occupational health and safety information and services. |
Satisfaction with and ease of access and retrieval of occupational health and safety
information
from the Inquiries Service, web access and other CCOHS resources, such as our website,
web
portals, and presentations. |
Overall 80% or higher on client satisfaction survey, web statistics and evaluation
data. |
March 31, 2018 |
- 85% satisfaction rate for Inquiries service.
- 8% decrease in web page views*
- 99% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Health and Safety
Report
newsletter readers.
- 88.6% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Liaison
newsletter
readers.
- 3% decrease in Canadian web sessions*
|
- 89% satisfaction rate for Inquiries service.
- 41% increase in web page views
- 99.3% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Health and
Safety
Report newsletter readers.
- 91% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Liaison
newsletter
readers.
- 10% increase in Canadian web sessions.
|
- 87% satisfaction rate for Inquiries service.
- 31% increase in web page view.
- 99.4% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Health and
Safety
Report newsletter readers.
- 90% overall satisfaction rate amongst CCOHS’ Liaison
newsletter
readers.
- 42% increase in Canadian web sessions.
|
Application of occupational health and safety information to improve workplace
practices |
Information is being applied in the workplace by employees, government and employers |
Target of 72% using CCOHS information to make changes in the workplace |
March 31, 2018 |
- 76% of Health and Safety Report readers use the information in
the
Report to make current or planned changes in their workplace that might improve
occupational
health and safety.
- 72.7% of Liaison readers use information from the newsletter to affect change in
their
workplace.
|
- 71% of Health and Safety Report readers use the information in
the
Report to make current or planned changes in their workplace that might improve
occupational
health and safety.
- 77% of Liaison readers use information from the newsletter to affect change in
their
workplace.
|
- 70.7% of Health and Safety Report readers use the information
in
the Report to make current or planned changes in their workplace that might improve
occupational
health and safety.
- 72% of Liaison readers use information from the newsletter to affect change in
their
workplace.
|
Increased awareness and understanding of health and safety issues in the workplace |
Increase distribution of OHS information to employees and employers to improve their
understanding
of OHS. |
Increase distributions and usage of awareness information by 10%. |
March 31, 2018 |
- 21% increase in poster and infographic downloads.
- 18.6%** decrease in repurposed content of Health
and
Safety Report newsletter.
|
- 7% increase in poster downloads.
- 91% increase in repurposed content of Health and Safety Report newsletter.
|
- 21% increase in poster and infographic downloads
- 12.5% increase in repurposed content.
|
* An algorithm change in Google analytics
resulted
in a reduction in web statistics in 2017-18.
**The 2016-17 increase of 91% was an anomaly
spike
due to improved reporting. However, even in consideration of the 2016-17 spike, 2017-18 results
still
exceeded their target when compared to the 2015-16 baseline.
Budgetary Financial Resources (dollars)
$6,036,633
|
$6,036,633 |
$9,498,021
|
$6,849,062 |
$812,428 |
CCOHS’ actual spending for program exceeded planned spending by $812,428, primarily as a result
of
increased spending on unplanned payroll benefit costs and professional fees required to support
additional
cost recovery revenue projects completed in the year. CCOHS also incurred unplanned expenditures
in
the fiscal year in CCOHS’ role as host partner for the 2020 World Congress on Safety and Health
at
Work.
Human resources (full-time equivalents)
68 |
65 |
(3) |
Information on the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s lower-level programs is
available
in the GC InfoBase.