Accident Prevention e-News August 2010	Volume 5/Issue 8/August 2010
In this Issue: Free tools for implementing Bill 168 Stand up, for your health Bad habits: what else we do when driving Third forklift inspection blitz ahead In the News

Free tools for implementing Bill 168

A free, downloadable how-to guide and accompanying tools are the latest resources available to help workplaces implement the workplace violence and prevention requirements of Bill 168.

As of June 15, 2010, Bill 168, an amendment to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, requires Ontario employers to assess the risks of workplace violence, and to put in place policies and programs regarding violence and workplace harassment. Almost 1 in 5 violent incidents in Canada occurs at work (see “What an Employer Needs to Do”).

Produced by the Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario (OHSCO),¹ the 44-page guide Developing Workplace Violence and Harassment Policies and Programs: What Employers Need to Know contains recommended approaches to developing workplace violence and prevention policies and programs, which includes the following steps:

• recognizing the hazards
• assessing risks
• controlling risks
• monitoring and evaluating

A series of tools in an accompanying toolbox helps workplaces work through the steps. These tools include:

• Workplace Violence Survey
• Policy, Program, and Training Review Tool
• Workplace Violence Assessments
• Action Plan
• Example Workplace Violence Policy
• Example Workplace Harassment Policy
• Recognizing Domestic Violence in the Workplace
• Creating a Safety Plan
• What if the Abuser and Victim Belong to the Same Workplace?

Developing Workplace Violence and Harassment Policies and Programs also provides information on recognizing signs of domestic violence, as well as how to protect workers. The publication and the toolbox have been designed for employers to use in consultation with workers, supervisors, joint health and safety committees, health and safety representatives, and/or unions.

Defining “workplace”

It’s more than just an office, construction site, factory or store. For example, says OHSCO, when workers use vehicles and public transportation systems during work hours to reach work assignments, the vehicle or transportation system they use is a workplace. When a worker is at an off-site meeting, the meeting place is a workplace. In addition, the workplace parking lot used by workers may be a workplace under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, depending on the lot’s location and other factors. Keep these considerations in mind when conducting your assessment.

Know the consequences

Workplace violence and harassment are part of a continuum of behaviours, and can be interconnected.

Creating an atmosphere in which workers feel free to come forward with concerns or complaints can go a long way towards preventing threats of violence and violent acts. Taking action to reduce the risk of violence or harassment helps the targeted worker as well as co-workers. It can also prevent incidents from escalating. Conversely, failing to act can have serious consequences. At minimum, incidents may undermine morale, affect productivity, and result in more lost time from work, higher Workplace Safety and Insurance Board premiums, and increased medical or health care expenses. Employers could also face compliance penalties, lawsuits or other legal action.

How we can help

Appearing below is a sampling of resources available from Workplace Safety & Prevention Services, the organization created by the amalgamation of IAPA with Ontario Service Safety Alliance (OSSA) and Farm Safety Association (FSA).

• resource article containing a handy overview of Bill 168, as well as links to the following resources:
  • half-day workshop, Preventing Violence and Harassment at Work
  • New! 2-hour e-course, Developing Your Workplace Violence and Harassment Program in Ontario
  • additional e-courses, covering workplace violence in a general manner:
  • Violence in the Workplace: Establish a Prevention Program (1.5 hours)
  • Violence in the Workplace: Recognize the Risk and Take Action (1 hour)
  • free downloads:
    • Employee Risk Assessment Questionnaire — Workplace Violence
    • Workplace Violence Hazards Inspection Form
    • OHSCO Workplace Violence Prevention Series, including Domestic Violence Doesn’t Stop When Your Worker Arrives at Work: What Employers Need to Know to Help, and Domestic Violence Doesn’t Stop When You go to Work: How to get Help or Support a Colleague who may Need Help. Also available in the following languages: Simple Chinese • Traditional Chinese • French • Portuguese • Spanish
  • on-demand webinars, courtesy of the Human Resources Professionals Association and Workplace Safety & Promotion Services
  • consulting. Our consultants can help firms conduct a risk assessment and develop a violence and harassment program. We will work with your organization to help integrate violence and harassment program requirements into your existing OHS programs
    
    
• Partners in Prevention 2010 conference sessions
• Are You Being Difficult or is it Just Me? The Art of Excellence, Sudbury, October 5
• Workplace and Domestic Violence: A Company's Obligation – It's Now Law, Ajax, October 7
• Workplace Violence Investigations: Do It Right to Avoid Litigation, Rama, October 26
• Workplace Violence and Harassment (Bill 168), Ottawa, October 28
• Violence in the Workplace, Burlington, November 10

Stand up, for your health

Sitting for prolonged periods may compromise your health regardless of how much you exercise, suggests recent research. For employers, this could mean redefining acceptable behaviour in the workplace.

“We have known for a while that sitting for long periods can be as bad for your spine as heavy labour,” says IAPA ergonomic specialist Ivan Szlapetis, “but I hadn‘t anticipated a link between sitting and chronic health problems.”

Research findings

In 2009, an article in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (May 2009. Vol. 41, Issue 5, pp 998-1005), reported on a study of sitting time and mortality in a sample of 17,000 Canadians from 18 to 90 years of age. People who daily sat for three quarters or almost all of the time were found to be at a higher risk of death from all causes, even after the researchers eliminated “potential confounders.” The data, concluded the researchers, “demonstrate a dose-response association between sitting time and mortality from all causes and cardiovascular disease, independent of leisure time physical activity.”

An editorial in British Journal of Sports Medicine (February 4, 2010, online version), by Elin Ekblom-Bak of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, brought international attention to the issue. In her editorial, Ekblom-Bak notes that “observational studies have suggested that prolonged bouts of sitting time and lack of whole-body muscular movement are strongly associated with obesity, abnormal glucose metabolism, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease risk and cancer, as well as total mortality independent of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity.”

Ekblom-Bak suggests a new way of thinking. While regular exercise has many benefits, she says, the problem is not just a lack of intense exercise, but also the length of time in which muscles stay inactive, as well as diminished blood flow throughout the day.

This makes sense, says Ivan Szlapetis. “We already know that certain parts of our body get nourishment only through motion. For example, the discs in our back, or the cartilage in our knees. Once we relieve the compression (i.e., by changing position), nutrients flow in. Compress again, and waste products are flushed out.”

Encouraging greater freedom of movement may seem contrary to work practices that aim to minimize unnecessary activity. However, the benefits can be substantial. Encouraging people to work in a healthy way, at a healthy pace, can lead to greater productivity, higher job satisfaction, improved health, lower risk of injury or illness, and less physical and mental fatigue. This translates into less time off work, reduced use of medical benefits, and lower compensation premiums.

Making it work: employers

Ivan Szlapetis offers a number of suggestions:

• manage by results rather than potentially arbitrary behaviours or activities. For example, don’t assume that water cooler conversations are time wasters. They may actually rejuvenate workers physically and mentally
• provide adjustable work stations where possible, allowing workers greater range of motion
• educate workers on the hazards of maintaining one position for extended periods, and the benefits of moving or changing positions regularly
• introduce as much variety into the job as possible, including cross training, so that different body parts can move while others have a chance to rest
• encourage people to interact in person, rather than electronically, e.g., get up and walk over to a co-worker rather than phone or email
• encourage people to get up and leave their workstations during breaks
• encourage telecommuting and other flexible work arrangements that eliminate or reduce seated travel time
• ergonomically assess work stations to minimize the risk of straining muscles, tendons, joints or nerves. Sprains and strains account for more than 40% of lost-time injuries in Ontario

Making it work: employees

Use whatever discretion is available to you. For instance:

• use existing office furniture creatively. “A lateral filing cabinet that is three drawers high offers you a standing workstation for collating, reading or other tasks,” says Szlapetis
• commit to moving around at least once an hour. “Go to the fax machine instead of faxing from your computer. Drink lots of water, and take regular washroom breaks”
• look for opportunities in your job processes. Instead of doing all filing or mail routing at day’s end, do it several times a day
• take phone calls standing up (so long as you’re not disturbing co-workers)
• use your breaks fully and actively
• use stairs instead of elevators
• keep exercising

How we can help

Appearing below is a sampling of resources available from Workplace Safety & Prevention Services, the organization created by the amalgamation of IAPA with Ontario Service Safety Alliance (OSSA) and Farm Safety Association (FSA).

• Watch The Dollars and Sense of Ergonomics, a 1-hour pre-recorded webinar
• Speak to an ergonomics consultant who can help you implement an ergonomics program. Consultants also offer ergonomics training, consulting and assessments
• Sign up for the following e-courses:
  • Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs): Awareness, a free sample
  • Office Ergonomics in Ontario (1 hour)
• Sign up for Creating a Healthy Workplace, an on-site course that helps promote employee wellness and business success
• Download these free resources:
  • Discomfort Survey
  • Ergonomics Hazards Checklist
  • Tool Selection Checklist
  • MSD Risk Assessment
  • Ontario MSD guideline, resource manual and toolkit
  • Safe Lifting and Carrying, and others
• Attend these Partners in Prevention 2010 conference sessions:
  • Ergonomics: There’s a New Tool in Town, at the October 7 Partners in Prevention 2010 Health & Safety Conference & Trade Show, Ajax, October 7
  • Human Factors in Accident Investigation, Kitchener, October 19
  • There’s a New Tool in Town: Physical Demands Analysis, Ottawa, October 28
  • How The Human Body Works: From An Ergonomics Perspective, Oldcastle, November 16

Bad habits: what else we do when driving

Despite a proliferation of technology to help keep both hands on the wheel, people are still using their hands elsewhere while driving, suggest results from a 6-nation survey. The most common activities that alarmed researchers were texting, eating, changing clothes, operating GPS systems, yelling at other drivers, and even performing sexual acts. 

To compound the problem, only a small percentage of respondents (32%) report using hands-free technology, even though many jurisdictions, including Ontario, have banned the use of hands-on electronic devices when driving.

The survey, conducted in the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan, asked respondents how often they performed specific activities while driving, and how dangerous they consider the activities. Sponsored by Jabra, a multinational maker of headsets and in-car speakerphones, the survey was conducted in April 2010.

"We are honestly shocked at what people are doing with their hands, even when not using a headset or speakerphone," said Anne Raaen Rasmussen, vice president of Jabra’s mobile division. “The bad behaviours that were revealed in the survey at first seemed to be a joke, but in reality they are quite frightening and a threat to everyone's safety on the road.”

Among the behaviours reported by participants:

• eating (72%)
• kissing others while driving (29%)
• sending text messages (28%)
• performing sex or other sexual acts (15%)
• applying makeup (13%)
• writing or reading emails (12%)
• reading newspapers or magazines (10%)

Road rage in general appears to be a global issue, with 63% reporting that they yell at other motorists while driving. Young people (ages 18-35) from all countries also appear to be engaging in bad driving behaviours with higher frequency, but at the same time don’t feel that these activities are as dangerous as perceived by those who are older.

Distracted behaviour has not gone unnoticed among Ontario police forces. From February 1 to May 31, more than 9,000 drivers were charged for violating the Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act.

To minimize distractions of your own, see the sample tips below for cell phones and GPS, two of our most common distractors. If you’re an employer, be aware you could be held liable for an employee’s distracted driving that if the distraction is work-related (e.g., calling a client, sending an email). Learn more about setting up a distracted driving policy in the July 2010 issue of Accident Prevention e-News.

Cell phone tips

• If you are still using hand-held electronic devices while driving, stop. It’s against the law in Ontario.
• Think ahead. Prepare for every journey by ensuring that your speakerphone or headset is switched on and connected before you start driving. Alternatively, shut your phone off until you reach your destination.
• Before answering or making a call, consider your circumstances. Avoid talking on the phone if the call is not urgent.
• Avoid having any difficult or emotional conversations while driving, and keep calls short.
• Don’t get engrossed in the conversation. Think actively about checking mirrors, looking over your shoulder and signalling.
• Program commonly used numbers into your handset, and set up voice activated dialling on your hands-free device so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road.

GPS tips

• Learn how to operate it before you head out onto the road.
• Program your settings before you head off, or while parked in a safe spot. Never program them while driving.
• Review the directions before heading off, so that you have some familiarity with them as you proceed.
• Train yourself to listen to the voice directions instead of looking at the visual display.
• Resist uploading a GPS application to your cell phone, unless someone else in the vehicle can operate it and give you directions.

How we can help

Attend these sessions at upcoming Partners in Prevention 2010 health and safety conferences and trade shows:

• Deadly: Driving for Work, Sudbury, October 5
• Motor Vehicle Incidents: Do we Need Military Tactics to Cross the Road, Ajax, October 7
• Managing Due Diligence for Employees on the Road: Are You Hiring Your Next injury, Rama, ON, October 26

Third forklift inspection blitz ahead

Results from two previous forklift blitzes have spurred Ontario’s Ministry of Labour to launch a third blitz, involving forklifts and other lifting devices, in early 2011. In a February 2010 blitz, inspectors issued 4,942 orders, including 143 stop work orders, after visiting 1,844 workplaces (see “Forklift and Lifting Devices Blitz Results: 2010 & 2009”).

Incidents involving forklifts and other lifting devices continue to occur with alarming frequency:

• 13 deaths from incidents involving lift trucks, reach trucks, forklifts and tow motors in industrial sector workplaces from January 2003 to December 2007
• 10,308 forklift-related incidents for 1996 to 2008 that resulted in lost–time injury (LTI) claims
• 4,536 allowed claims involving 303,825 lost workdays. The average forklift–related LTI claim involved 67 days lost from work

What to expect

As with past blitzes, expect inspectors to home in on

• lifting device inspection and maintenance. Are you maintaining equipment in good condition to prevent mechanical or operational failures, undertaking repairs as necessary, and examining lifting devices, according to legislated requirements, to determine their load capacity?
• operation of the lifting device by a qualified person. Do workers have the training, knowledge and experience to operate lifting devices?  Where workers are being instructed, are they accompanied by a trained individual? Inspectors will review training records and question workers on their familiarity with the equipment being used and possible hazards. It is your responsibility to ensure workers operating lifting devices are up-to-date on required training
• safe work environment. Are you taking every reasonable precaution to protect workers who are working in the area of forklifts and lifting devices? This may require the use of protective barriers, qualified signal people, warning signs, or other safeguards. The Ministry of Labour recommends that employers conduct a comprehensive workplace assessment of vehicular and pedestrian traffic to determine the most appropriate safeguards to utilize in their workplace

Why incidents occur

In an earlier interview with Accident Prevention e-News, Wayne De L’Orme, provincial coordinator of the ministry’s Industrial Health and Safety Program, attributed forklift incidents to a number of factors. For example:

• lack of preventative maintenance and load capacity examinations
• lifting devices striking objects during operation such as racking systems
• workers being struck by forklift trucks, other lifting equipment and improperly-secured loads

Other factors include:

• lack of operator and pedestrian training
• using the wrong lifting device for the job
• taking shortcuts
• dark, cluttered, or poorly organized work areas

De L’Orme warns that inspectors will likely take a zero tolerance approach to any contraventions found under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its regulations.

Learning from the February 2010 blitz

During this blitz, inspectors issued orders at 1.7 times the typical rate for the industrial sector health and safety enforcement program. Stop work orders were issued at 1.5 times the regular rate. About 63% of all orders issued related to the three key priorities of this year’s forklift blitz:

• forklift and lifting device inspection and maintenance (1,795)
• operation of the forklift and lifting device by a qualified person (221)
• safe work environment (1,088)

The highest number of orders was issued to employers for violations related to examination of a lifting device to determine its capability of handling the maximum load under the Occupational Health & Safety Act, section 51(1)(b). This represented more than 23% (1,160) of all of the orders issued during the blitz (4,942).

Another 9% (448) of the orders related to maintenance of lifting devices and another 5% (243) involved the general duty clause under section 25(2)(h).

Other orders issued during this year’s blitz included:

• lack of worker participation, worker inspections, joint health and safety committee meetings, committee minutes, and member certification requirements under section 8 (Health and Safety Representative) and section 9 (Joint Health and Safety Committees) of the act — 8% (412)
• development or maintenance of policies and programs and posting requirements in the workplace under section 25 of the act — 8% (404)
• requirements under the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) Regulation — 4% (183)

How we can help you

Appearing below is a sampling of resources available from Workplace Safety & Prevention Services, the organization created by the amalgamation of IAPA with Ontario Service Safety Alliance (OSSA) and Farm Safety Association (FSA).

• SAFE-Lift on DVD Incorporates all these videos onto one disc:
  • Counterbalance (in English and French)
  • Narrow Aisle
  • Pallet Truck
  • Pedestrian Safety (in English and French)
  • What’s Wrong with This
• Lift Truck Operators’ Safety Training (1 day; also available on site)
• Lift Truck Operators' Evaluation (customized, on site)
• Inspecting and Maintaining Steel Storage Racks (1 day; also available on site)
• Inspecting Physical Conditions, Guidelines for Setting Standards
• Information Alert: Battery Bull Fork Lift Battery Lifting Devices, issued August 7, 2008
• Hazard Tip Sheets: 
• Are Your Lifting Devices in Good Condition?
• Pedestrians and Mobile Equipment Don’t Mix
• Partners in Prevention 2010 conference sessions:
  • Ministry of Labour Update. Getting Ready for the Fall 2010-2011 Focus, Ajax, October 7
  • Loading Dock Safety, Kitchener, October 19
  • Loading Docks: Mechanical Material Handling (Ministry of Labour Blitz Feb 2011), Rama, October 26
  • Loading Dock Safety, Burlington, November 10
  • Take the Lift Truck Challenge: An Interactive Game to Test Your Knowledge and Build Additional Skills, Oldcastle, November 16

In the News

WSPS partners to deliver OHS in northern Ontario
By Lena Wan

Over the past few months, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS)* and Workplace Safety North (WSN) have been working together to make health and safety more accessible to firms in northern Ontario. The region itself is a large area and the sectors within it diverse. To ensure that all clients’ health and safety needs are met, the 2 organizations are tapping into each other’s knowledge, experience and resources to help firms reduce and eliminate workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities.

“We’re finding efficiencies in delivering services to clients in such a vast, geographic area,” says Jim Armstrong, WSPS chief of client services. “WSN and WSPS collectively have a strong and diverse resource base to assist clients. This collaboration will draw on these resources so that all firms in the north can have access to health and safety services regardless of their location.”

WSPS is no stranger to the north as it has offices in Thunder Bay and Sudbury. In fact, the WSPS Sudbury staff moved into the WSN building in July. Contrary to the name, WSN staff can also be found in southern Ontario servicing clients in the pulp and paper and forestry industries, as well as mining, smelters, and refineries and printing.

A committee consisting of WSPS and WSN staff is now developing a plan to address client needs in northern Ontario. The community-based approach focuses on five communities: North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins and Thunder Bay. The committee identified three areas for staff to work on in the short-term:

1. co-sponsoring and promoting Networking and Knowledge Exchange (NKE) sessions
2. collaborating on the Partners in Prevention conference series in northern Ontario
3. implementing a service agreement for working with firms

So far, the work has resulted in jointly sponsored NKEs in North Bay, Sault Ste Marie and Belleville. WSPS and WSN, along with other health and safety system partners, will also participate on planning committees for the 4 Partners in Prevention conferences taking place in Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, and Thunder Bay. The 2 are also implementing service agreements that will create more efficiencies in product and service delivery to clients. For example, if a client requests health and safety services in an area not staffed by WSPS, such as Kenora, a local WSN representative can be sent to assist. In addition, WSPS is preparing to share its service delivery model with WSN, which outlines processes for engagement.

“The foundation for the relationship is there, and we’ll continue to build on it so that we can service our clients in the most efficient manner,” says Armstrong. “This partnership is a great example of what health and safety achievements can be made when we work together.”

Workplace Safety & Prevention Services
Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS), formed in 2010 through the amalgamation of Farm Safety Association (FSA), Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) and Ontario Service Safety Alliance (OSSA), is one of four Health & Safety Ontario partners. WSPS provides health and safety products, training and consulting to Ontario’s agricultural, manufacturing and service sectors, and is a trusted advisor to businesses seeking to boost productivity and profitability by reaching zero work-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities.

Lena Wan is Communications & Public Relations Specialist, WSPS; Tel: 905.614.4272, ext. 2247; lwan@iapa.ca.

Literacy: workers may understand less than you think

Employers are more confident than workers or labour representatives in the ability of employees to understand health and safety policies, according to survey results published by The Conference Board of Canada in What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: Literacy’s Impact on Workplace Health and Safety.

A total of 319 respondents answered the survey: 136 employers (including 4 workers compensation boards), 126 workers, 26 union representatives, 19 immigrant-service providers, and 12 Aboriginal service providers. Among employer respondents, 64% felt that health and safety practices were understood fully or to a large extent; only 40% of workers and 50% of labour respondents agreed. Immigrant service providers and Aboriginal service agencies also expressed concerns about worker understanding of health and safety policies.

“This gap in perception creates the potential for accidents in the workplace to occur,” says Alison Campbell, principal research associate. “Because employers are confident in their workers’ literacy levels, they are less likely to see the need for training to upgrade employees’ knowledge and understanding of health and safety practices.”

Although respondents viewed skills such as listening to instruction, reading printed information, and applying information as very important, little more than half the respondents said that training to build these skills was available through their workplaces.

Many employers create manuals and other documents to set out health and safety practices, but relying on written materials leaves organizations open to the risk that workers may not be able to read and understand them. When incidents occur, a typical response is to review policies and practices rather than verifying whether individuals have the literacy and basic skills to fully understand or follow set procedures.

“Without even realizing it, some individuals with low literacy skills put themselves, their co-workers and the public at risk,” says Campbell.

The report summarizes the results of a 2-year project for Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, including a literature review, national survey, interviews with stakeholders, and case studies.

The report, publicly available at www.e-library.ca, highlights 10 firms that have taken action to improve literacy skills in the interests of health and safety:

• Abbot Point of Care, Ottawa, ON
• Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation, Saint John, NB
• Bristol Aerospace, Winnipeg, MB
• City of Vancouver, BC
• De Beers Canada, Yellowknife, AB
• Keyera Energy, Calgary, AB
• Lilydale Inc., Edmonton, AB
• Loewen Windows, Steinbach, MB
• Omega 2000 Cribbing Inc., Calgary, AB
• Robinson Paperboard Packaging, Mississauga, ON

The report outlines seven steps to take as an organizational action plan:

1. Review past incidents through “a literacy lens”
2. Review organizational health and safety policies and practices
3. Examine policies and practices from the perspective of an individual with lower literacy levels
4. Brainstorm solutions to help users understand health and safety documents
5. Measure and track health and safety incidents and improvements
6. Recognize outcomes
7. Reward efforts to improve literacy skills.