Accident Prevention e-News
September 2007
|
Volume 2/Issue 9/September 2007
|
In this Issue:
|
|
A
case for investing in HSE
 Special
preview of an article by IAPA’s Maureen Shaw, Jim Armstrong and
Catherine Rae, to appear in the Nov/Dec 2007 issue of Accident Prevention.
Let’s start with two misconceptions about health, safety and environmental
programming:
- it’s a cost of doing business. The reality:
it’s an investment offering a positive return on the company’s
workforce, as well as its bottom line. “The better your safety
performance,” says Mike Fenuta, operations manager for Steelcase
Canada, “the better your quality performance, resulting in better
financial performance.”
- only profitable companies can afford to invest in HSE.
The reality: safety helps to make your company profitable—and
sustainable. As Simon Laddychuk, Alcan’s vice-president, EHS FIRST
and Sustainability, explained at IAPA’s
April 2007 Leadership Forum, “economic and social considerations
are woven into how we create a sustainable business.”
Alcan is not alone. In July 2007, investment banker Goldman Sachs reported
on the stock market performance since August 2005 of companies in four
sectors—energy, mining and steel, food and beverages, and media—that
are leaders in implementing environmental, social and governance policies
to create sustained competitive advantage. In all four sectors, these
companies outperformed the general stock market by 25%. Furthermore, 72%
of these companies outperformed their peers.
Other statistics back this up. Over 60% of chief financial officers
recently surveyed by Liberty Mutual said that each $1 invested in injury
prevention generated returns of $2 or more. The US Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) asserts from its own evidence that companies
implementing effective safety and health programs can reduce injury and
illness rates by 20% or more, and generate a return of $4 to $6 for every
$1 invested.
It gets better. Alcan reports that as of 2005 its environment, health
and safety management system EHS FIRST delivered US$43 million in benefits,
mostly from safety. The estimated value at stake for environmental and
health issues is more than US$1 billion. Consider these health and safety
performance indicators from 2005:
- a recordable injury case rate of 1.5/100 employees, down 70% from
2001
- a lost time injury/illness rate of 0.54/100 employees, down 69% from
2001
- a 43% drop in work days lost since 2001. Alcan calculates that this
alone saves the company US$14 million annually.
Alcan, operating on a global scale, has 68,000 employees in 61 countries
and regions. In 2006 the company reported revenues of US$23.6 billion.
Few businesses may function on the scale of an Alcan, but that doesn’t
mean returns on investing in health, safety and wellness are out of reach.
More than 300 firms in Ontario, Canada, many with 500 employees or less,
have earned sizable rebates on workers compensation premiums under IAPA’s
“Safety Group” program. Participating companies meet in
small groups, choose four elements of a health and safety program that
each will build into its existing programming over the coming year, and
support each other in the pursuit of their goals. In 2005, these firms
reduced their lost-time injury rate by 27% and their overall injury severity
rate by 29%, earning a collective rebate of more than $2 million.
Improving health, safety, and environmental performance can also offer
companies benefits not traditionally associated with corporate social
responsibility:
- greater productivity and reliability. For instance,
Johnson & Johnson reduced ergonomic risks on a production line in
its Janssen-Cilag facility in Mexico by 48%. The changes improved productivity
by 20%, and now save US$50,000 annually.
- new competencies. Preventing health, safety and
environmental incidents may help build managerial competencies because
prevention efforts require employee involvement, organization-wide coordination,
and a forward-thinking managerial style.
- enhanced organizational capacity. Prevention may
lead to better processes, information systems and environmental scanning
skills, which encourage more efficient use of resources, help management
anticipate and respond to external changes and emergencies, and protect
against business interruption.
Combined, these three benefits can offer companies a competitive edge.
Mike Fenuta agrees that health, safety and environmental performance is
a differentiating factor. “As more clients are taking a holistic
approach in evaluating companies,” says Fenuta, “it does give
you a competitive advantage.” Steelcase is a 2007 President’s
Award winner, IAPA’s highest safety honour.
But there are more benefits:
- better employee relations. According to Marc Neeb,
another Leadership Forum speaker and Magna International Inc.’s
executive vice president, Global Human Resources, “What our employees
want to know at the end of the day is that there is a real concerted
effort on behalf of the company to make sure they’re working in
a safe environment. And if you’re doing the best that you can,
employees recognize it right away.” An IAPA member firm, Magna
has 236 production and 63 engineering and R&D centres in 23 countries
on five continents.
David Anderson, president and CEO of WorkSafe BC, offers another perspective.
“One can’t say to the staff of an organization that ‘We
pursue excellence in everything we do, except your health and safety.’
If we say that, we’re either saying ‘It’s not true that
we pursue excellence’ or ‘We pursue excellence in the things
that matter to us and your health and safety doesn’t.’”
Either way, says Anderson, those are damaging messages.
- more public trust. Pity the manufacturer that hasn’t
assigned its Chinese suppliers detailed product safety specifications.
Repeated exposés of substandard business practices among Chinese
manufacturers have dealt a heavy blow to the entire country’s
reputation, and forced international recalls of millions upon millions
of products—everything from toys to toothpaste.
David Hughes, IAPA Leadership Forum speaker and president and CEO of
Habitat for Humanity Canada, says public trust in the safety of its organization
is critical to its success. The Canadian nonprofit housing ministry’s
parent, Habitat for Humanity International, operates in 100 countries
and starts a new home every 24 minutes. Volunteers perform much of the
work. “If we have anything short of an impeccable safety record,”
says Hughes, “it would impact our ability to recruit more volunteers,
and of course that would affect funding. The bottom line in all of this
is that it would hinder our ability to deliver more homes to more families
in need.”
In the next issue of Accident Prevention e-News: common
success factors in companies with leading HSE performance.
Maureen Shaw is president and CEO of IAPA: Jim Armstrong, director,
Consulting Services; Catherine Rae, manager, Synergration.
Job
quality as an economic driver
 The
quality of our jobs isn‘t keeping pace with Canada’s economy,
and that’s a threat to our economic prosperity, says work and productivity
expert Dr. Graham Lowe in a new research report. Lowe reached this conclusion
after examining dozens of job-quality measures.
In a Globe & Mail article written by Lowe to coincide with
the September 3 release of his report, 21st Century Job Quality: Achieving
What Canadians Want, Lowe urges employers to “raise the national
bar for key aspects of job quality, such as flexible work arrangements,
open communication, supportive supervision and health-promoting work environments.”
Lowe wrote his 100-page report for the Canadian Policy Research Network.
“In 21st century Canada,” the report begins, “a strong
economy has generated unprecedented numbers of jobs, the baby boom retirement
wave is growing, and there are fewer young workers to replenish the workforce.
These converging trends give renewed urgency to making quality of work
life a key to sustainable economic prosperity.”
Why the urgency? “At stake is Canada’s capacity to renew
its workforce as baby boomers retire and compete in a knowledge-based
global economy. By improving job quality, employers will be better able
to recruit, develop, retain and energize tomorrow’s workforce.”
Among the report’s findings:
- while the length of the average work week is stable, more people
work shorter weeks and more work longer weeks.
- 23% of the workforce reported overtime in 2005, averaging 8.5 hours
weekly. About half of all overtime is unpaid.
- between 1999 and 2003, the incidence of flexible work hours fell
from about 40% to just over 36%.
- one in four workers does some of his or her work from home, most
of it unpaid. Very few work from home during normal work hours.
- absenteeism, an indicator of employee well-being and productivity,
has increased steadily since the 1990s. Personal illness or disability
accounts for most lost time. In an average week in 2006, 7.2% of male
workers and 9.5% of female workers missed work due to their own illness
or disability, or to personal or family responsibilities.
- work time lost for personal reasons grew from 7.4 days per worker
in 1997 to 9.7 days in 2006. This breaks down to 7.6 days for personal
illness or disability plus 2.1 days for personal or family responsibilities,
or an estimated 102 million work days for all full-time employees.
- increased absenteeism has been attributed to an aging workforce,
more women in the workforce who have young children, high worker stress,
and more generous sick and family related leave benefits.
- although lost-time work injuries have declined in the last 20 years,
fatalities are rising. Some experts, says the report, view the increased
fatalities as a sign of reduced job quality and well-being in the labour
market. Canada’s fatality rate runs counter to the fall in rates
in most other OECD countries.
Work-life balance
“Balance or rather the lack of it,” notes the report, “has
been a prominent concern among practitioners, researchers and policy-makers
for the past two decades.”
Workers, too. Dissatisfaction with work-life balance rose between 1990
and 2001 from just under 17% to 20%. Manufacturing workers came in just
under 20%.
Increases among all workers were greatest for women, workers over age
40, and workers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Dissatisfaction
decreased in Quebec, perhaps because of greater access to daycare.
More recent research, specifically a national survey conducted in 2004,
reveals polarization similar to the length of the work week: just over
one third of respondents reported that balancing work and personal life
had become harder; just under one third, easier.
What workers want
Analysis of the 2004 survey results identified what workers most highly
value in a job:
- a workplace free of harassment and discrimination
- a healthy and safe workplace
- trustworthy senior management
- work-life balance
- job security
- good pay
- a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Some conclusions
In his report, Lowe put the research findings to work by creating a job
quality model using four key job quality concepts: work environment, intrinsic
job characteristics, work satisfaction, and work performance. The intent:
to provide a useful guide for decision-making about which human resource
investments or employment policies would be most effective. Among the
conclusions:
- employees who have positive perceptions of their work environments
and experience intrinsic job rewards are more satisfied in their work
and more productive
- work environments and intrinsic job characteristics are inter-related;
if one is positive, so is the other
- work environment has the biggest impact on employees’ work
satisfaction, but no direct effect on their work performance
- intrinsic job characteristics influence both work satisfaction and
performance
- work satisfaction positively influences work performance. Work performance
has no direct correlation with satisfaction, although it has an indirect
effect by contributing to pride and accomplishment.
Implications
While cautioning that no model is definitive, Lowe offers a number of
implications for policy and practice, including
- decision-makers need to think about job quality as both a determinant
and an outcome, and so need to be clear about cause and effect when
trying to improve job quality.
- high-quality work environments and the presence of strong intrinsic
job characteristics define the core of job quality experiences. These
are the drivers of job quality. Improvements in these areas have a reasonable
chance of leading to improvements in employee satisfaction and performance.
- employees who receive recognition, have supportive and trusting relationships
with management, and perceive their work environments to be healthy,
safe and physically comfortable are going to experience higher work
satisfaction than employees for whom these conditions are minimal or
absent.
- work satisfaction is an important quality of work life outcome that
also has a modest influence on work performance.
How IAPA can help
IAPA offers a number of resources to help you improve the quality of
working life.
A
SALES approach to safety
 Earlier
this month Accident Prevention e-News spoke with Kevin Auty, a featured
speaker at IAPA’s upcoming Spirit 2007 conference and trade show,
taking place October 4 in Ajax. The topic: making a business case for
safety that will garner corporate support and ultimately impact your bottom
line. The title: SALES, an acronym for “safety: a lesson in economics.”
A brief overview
In 2006, Fortune magazine ranked Home Depot as America’s most admired
specialty retailer and the 13th most admired corporation.
As of second quarter 2007, Home Depot has 2,200 retail outlets in North
America and China; 157 in Canada. The retailer also has 195 warehouses
and distribution centres, 18 import distribution centres, 30 lumber distribution
centres, 10 transit facilities, and five global sourcing offices. Staffed
by 364,000 employees (“associates”) worldwide, Home Depot
generated revenue of US$22.2 billion in the second quarter alone.
What are your responsibilities at Home Depot?
I am the Director of Asset Protection for Home Depot Canada, with responsibility
for our operations in Canada, and some responsibility for our business
in China… I have the responsibility for environment, health, safety,
and loss prevention as it applies to internal/external theft, fraud, and
inventory management. Within all of that is risk management and disability
management, so it’s a catch-all title.
How does health and safety fit into this structure?
I’m the chief health and safety officer for Home Depot Canada.
I have over 200 employees that report directly into my function; seven
are environment, health and safety professionals who operate throughout
the country.
Who do you report to?
The senior vice president of operations… the #2 position in Home
Depot… Asset protection is one of Home Depot’s core operating
philosophies.
What are Home Depot’s EHS priorities?
We have one element that most other safety professionals don’t
have to contend with: the customer. We have a billion transactions annually
with customers, and therefore from a safety professional’s perspective,
a billion more exposures than you would normally have in manufacturing,
for example… So, we have two priorities: associate safety, and customer
safety.
Intertwining that into operations is probably my biggest focal point…
providing the business case so that the operators of the business see
safety not as an add-on or an extra but as an integral part of the way
we do business.
How receptive are they, and your audiences at sessions like IAPA’s,
to that message?
Very receptive… I talk about business case. I talk about money
and safety in the same sentence.
Given that employees have their own duties in the health and safety
system, dealing with customers must place additional responsibilities
on them as well. How do you help them take on that responsibility?
Home Depot is very, very focused on involving them and building a relative
independence in how they manage and operate each one of the stores. A
Home Depot store has anywhere from upward of 200 employees. Every one
of them has to have an inherent responsibility, not only for their own
health and safety and the health and safety of their fellow workers, but
for the health and safety of customers.
So, we have a multi-layered approach. One is relative independence, which
is basically giving the operators the tools and the knowledge with which
to understand their role and responsibility, and then providing them with
the collaboration and resources to help them meet that responsibility:
the training, the awareness, those types of things…
We have a back injury prevention program that I can tell you in all my
years in health and safety is second to none. Tony Stewart, whom we sponsor
in NASCAR, is front and centre in all our training videos and awareness
material for our back injury program, and it utilizes concepts as opposed
to your typical ‘bend with your knees and not with your back’
type of training program. Coupled with that we have regular awareness
learning sessions. One called ‘Stretch and Flex’ complements
the back injury program. It’s a blanket awareness program that every
single associate is measured on for attendance and involvement. We also
have recognition-type processes for proactive activity, as opposed to
downstream milestones for injury reduction. We really focus on the upstream
and behavioural development.
What are the other approaches?
The others are communication, awareness, self-development, and leveraging
partners, which is probably the one I talk about most, whether its WorkSafe
BC or the Retail Safety Council of Manitoba, internal partners vendors,
service providers—all of those people across Canada who really help
us to bring and keep EHS awareness to the forefront.
When you make a presentation to people outside of Home Depot, what
grabs their attention?
Making a business case for safety. it really changes the way you think
about safety. For those in OHS who are more ideological driven…
it really peaks their interest that I deliver my program as business first.
I fully believe that it’s the best way to fully integrate it. One
of the problems is that most organizations are really hesitant to invest
fully in OHS programs, and the main reason for that is because they don’t
see the immediate benefits.
So, I talk about the cost, the return on investment, the controllable
operating expenses. That’s not my full approach, but it’s
one that I employ at Home Depot and we’ve been successful in integrating
the business of safety into everything that we do.
How do you respond to someone who says that’s okay for a big
firm with a HS department, but I’m just a small firm?
I would say you can do it whether you have three employees or 360,000.
It’s a mindset, an approach to a business that incorporates everything.
Are there resources out there that people aren’t taking advantage
of?
That’s absolutely the case. There are many resources that we haven’t
availed ourselves of, or even thought to seek out. It’s important
to utilize groups like IAPA and safety organizations of any ilk throughout
the country.
What health and safety challenges does Home Depot face?
Well, 33% of all injuries in retail are back related, and Home Depot
is no different. Repetitive strain injuries are our #1. Contact injuries
would be #2—hand or foot injuries.
How does Home Depot’s record compare to the industry’s
as a whole?
Home Depot has seen a 63% reduction in occupational injuries in the last
three years. So we are doing very well, but far from where I want us to
be.
What do you attribute the decrease to?
A focused, strategic approach that’s integrated into the business.
There are many fabulous leaders out there. The challenge is getting [the
health and safety message] to business leaders. I hope that presenting
safety as a business case will help do the job.
Why is Home Depot happy to have you out in the community instead
of in your office?
Because we believe that it’s integral to our success. Home Depot
has a number of core values, one of which is giving back to the community…
the community includes your local community, but there’s also the
business community. Home Depot is a great believer in sharing our successes—non-proprietary
of course—and safety is one of those areas where we share our leadership
and expertise in the hopes that others might also benefit from it.
Meet Kevin Auty on October 4
Learn more about how to add value to your firm through the “business
of safety” by attending Kevin Auty’s keynote presentation
at Spirit 2007, October 4, in Ajax.
The
wheels on the bus go round and round…
By Holly-Ann Campbell, IAPA
It’s that time again—back to school.
Whether your children are new to school or are returning for another
year, September is an ideal time to discuss safety with them and in particular,
school bus safety.
As much as it is a driver’s responsibility to watch for children
and school buses, parents and children also have a responsibility to be
mindful of and practice school bus safety rules.
According to Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation, “Ontario’s
school population includes over two million students. Of those, over 800,000
use school buses every day.” Furthermore, “the majority of
school vehicle-related fatalities (62%) occur outside the school vehicle.”
Other statistics indicate that:
- 18% of injuries occur when the passenger is entering or exiting the
bus, according to the Canadian Hospital Injury Reporting and Prevention
Program (CHIRPP)
- student activity on the bus remains a significant factor in injuries.
CHIRPP reports that 24% of injuries result from "horseplay or inappropriate
activity" or "fighting."
- 15% of injuries reported by CHIRPP result from the school bus being
involved in a motor vehicle collision.
The following provides safety tips for children, parents, and drivers.
IAPA invites you to share this information with employees, so that their
families can play it safe when it comes to school buses and the safety
of children.
Getting to the bus stop safely
Children should
- Get to the bus stop at least five minutes before the bus arrives.
- Never run after the bus to try to catch it if they miss their ride.
- Stay on the sidewalk. If there is no sidewalk, they should walk on
the left side of the street facing traffic.
- Only cross the street at a corner. If there are no street corners
because your family lives in a rural community, show your children the
safest way to get to the bus stop. When crossing the road, children
must remember to look to the left, then to the right, and to the left
once more before crossing.
- Take five steps back from the road, when the bus is approaching the
bus stop.
Getting on the bus safely
Children should
- wait at the designated stop in a safe place well back from the side
of the road.
- remember the danger zone around the bus. The danger zone is anywhere
close enough to the bus to touch it. Stay away from the bus at least
three metres/10 feet. The bus driver cannot see a child when he/she
is in the danger zone.
- wait for the bus to come to a complete stop, if they need to cross
the street to get on the bus. A school bus driver will make sure all
the traffic stops. The stop arm will be out and the red lights will
be flashing. Children should watch the driver for their cue to cross.
- also watch for traffic themselves; and should walk and not run.
- hold the hand rail when boarding the bus; and should not push or
shove.
Riding the bus safely
Children should
- follow the bus driver's instructions.
- take their seat promptly and sit properly, facing forward at all
times.
- hold bags and parcels in their laps. They are not to stick their
feet or other items into the aisle as someone might trip.
- keep their heads and arms—everything—inside the bus.
They are not to throw anything out the windows or around in the bus.
- talk quietly. The driver must concentrate to drive the bus safely.
- save their snacks for snack time at school or until they arrive home.
The snacks may spill or a child may choke if the bus goes over a big
bump.
- not fight, shout, or play in or around the bus.
Leaving the bus safely
Children should
- wait until the school bus comes to a complete stop before standing
up to get off the bus.
- let those closest to the doors leave first, and should not push each
other.
- hold the handrail and after descending take two big steps away from
the bus.
- remember to stay away from the bus by at least three metres/ten feet.
- move away from the side of the road, and not play on snow banks at
the side of the road.
- cross in front of the bus if they must cross the street. For school
buses, children should cross only when the school bus driver gives a
signal and in single file.
- not pick up an item if they drop it near the bus. The child should
tell the driver or another adult.
- be familiar with the rules for emergencies.
Safety information for parents
- Ensure your children are familiar with school bus safety rules, even
if your children do not use a school bus every day. They may, at some
point, be riding on a bus for a school trip or other outing.
- Ensure that your children are at the bus stop on time.
- Try to meet your children at the bus stop when they are returning
home at the end of the day, or form a pool of parent volunteers to meet
the children.
- Always meet the child on the same side of the street where the child
leaves the school bus.
- Be aware that you are responsible for your children until they step
on the bus and immediately after they exit the bus.
Other information for parents
- If your children miss the bus, make sure they know to either come
home (if it is on the way to school) or to report to a teacher (if it
is on the way home). They should also be reminded to never accept a
ride from a stranger.
- If their stop is a long way from home, be sure that your children
know where they can go in an emergency.
- If it is dark on the way to or from the bus, make your children visible.
Avoid dark colours and use retro-reflective tape on their clothing.
- Remind your children to come straight home from the bus—no
detours. This will also help to ensure their safe return home.
Ontario’s school bus stopping law for motorists
Motorists are required to obey all traffic laws regarding school buses.
The School Bus Stopping Law, in particular, addresses just that—motorists
stopping for a school bus.
- Motorists in both directions meeting a school bus with its overhead
red signal lights flashing and stop arm extended must stop.
- Motorists approaching from behind must also stop—at
least 20 metres before reaching the bus.
- Motorists are not to proceed until the bus moves
or the overhead red signal lights have stopped flashing.
This law applies everywhere, whether on a highway, a country road, in
the city, or on a village street. Only on highways separated by a median
strip is oncoming traffic not required to stop.
The penalties for illegally passing a stopped school bus are as follows:
- $400 to $2,000 and 6 demerit points, for a first offence
- $1,000 to $4,000, 6 demerit points, and the option of a jail sentence,
for a second conviction
Holly-Ann Campbell, is Manager, Corporate Communications, IAPA. This
article was developed from a variety of sources, including the Ontario
Ministry of Transportation, Transport Canada, Elmer the Safety Elephant,
and Canada Safety Council.
In
the News
IAPA
firm on innovation awards short list
IAPA member firm Canadian Blue Bird Coach Ltd. (Brantford, ON) is one
of three finalists for Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ 2007
Canadian Innovation Award for Promotion of a Healthy & Safer Workplace.
The other two firms are
- North Atlantic Refining Ltd., Come by Chance, NL
- Nova Scotia Power Inc., Port Hawkesbury, NS
One of six CME innovation awards, the Canadian Innovation Award for Promotion
of a Healthy & Safer Workplace is sponsored by IAPA. The winner will
be announced October 22.
Earlier this year, Canadian Blue Bird Coach received an IAPA President’s
Award, IAPA’s highest honour.
Watch for a profile of the firm in the September/October issue of
Accident Prevention magazine.
CME
issues 10/20 disability challenge
On October 12, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) will issue
a challenge to all businesses that, by the year 2020, 10 percent of new
hires be persons with disabilities.
“Enhancing productivity and attracting and retaining skilled workers
requires new action,” says CME president and CEO Jayson Myers. “Putting
key policies in place that lets you access a large untapped market of
eager, trained, technologically innovative individuals will add value
and enhance your bottom line.”
Under the banner of the Business Takes Action: Employment of Persons
with Disabilities Project, CME has committed to helping businesses meet
the challenge by
- helping them put policies in place to achieve this goal
- linking them with stakeholders in the community who market skilled
workers with a disability
- linking them with stakeholders who have the knowledge, expertise
and support to educate human resource personnel, supervisors and staff
- linking them with stakeholders who can provide your workers, managers
and supervisors with resources on accommodating new personnel, and
- accessing qualified skilled persons with disabilities to place in
your firm.
The challenge arose out of CME’s Manufacturing 20/20 consultation,
begun in 2004. CME initiated the national consultation to define future
competitive strengths for manufacturers, and identify what businesses
and policy-makers can do to ensure Canada retains and grows high-paying,
highly skilled jobs. Meetings across the country generated input from
manufacturers, industry associations, labour organizations, economic development
agencies, schools, research organizations, and other community groups.
Among the messages that came out of the consultation: the manufacturing
industry needs to
- take the initiative to change its image of and attract a wide pool
of candidates for the careers available to young people
- develop proactive and innovative workforce strategies, and resolve
the issue of skill shortages
- strengthen collaborative relations between a wide variety of groups,
and
- implement innovative solutions in the workplace and continually upgrade
skills and competencies.
The CME’s 10/20 challenge is just one of a number of initiatives
undertaken to help the industry better position itself for the future.
Attend the launch
Learn how your firm can benefit by attending CME’s official program
launch on Friday, October 12. The launch will take place from 8:00 a.m.
to 11:00 a.m. at the Centre for Health & Safety Innovation, 5110 Creekbank
Road, Mississauga, ON L4W 1A0.
Key speakers, confirmed to date, include
- Jayson Myers, president of the CME
- Ian Howcroft, CME Ontario Division’s Vice President
- Bill Wilkerson, co-founder and CEO of the Global Business and Economic
Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health
- Salvador Segura, IBM, who will speak about best practices
Still to be confirmed: Ontario Lieutenant Governor David Onley. Also
on hand will be support agencies. Learn who they are and their role in
working with persons with disabilities.
For more information on the launch and program, to get involved, or to
place a job order, contact:
- Jo Walks, Program Manager, CME, 905.672.3466, ext. 3255, jo.walks@cme-mec.ca,
or
- Kirsten Barnes, Communication & Events Coordinator, CME, 905.672.3466,
ext. 3280, kirsten.barnes@cme-mec.ca.
IAPA,
member firms support Safe Kids Canada
On August 21, IAPA’s 5th annual golf tournament raised $11,000
for Safe Kids Canada. The tournament took place at Glen Eagle Golf Club
in Bolton, Ontario.
Safe Kids Canada is The Hospital for Sick Children’s national injury
prevention program. Established in 1992, Safe Kids Canada is a national
leader in educating parents and promoting effective strategies to prevent
injuries and deaths among children.
IAPA is pleased to support the efforts of Safe Kids Canada and especially
Splash into Safe Kids Week 2007, which advocates safe
pool fencing across Canada. Drowning is the second leading cause of death
to Canadian children. Since swimming pools are the site of nearly half
of all drowning and near-drowning incidents for children age 14 and under,
measures can be taken to reduce the risk of drowning in these environments.
Canada has a patchwork of municipal pool fencing by-laws that range from
non-existent to adequate with respect to preventing unintentional child
drowning. In Ontario there are no provincial laws that require four-sided
pool fencing.
Safe pool fencing consists of a minimum 1.2 m (4 ft) high, four-sided
pool fence with a self-closing and self-latching gate that regulates all
access points. Researchers estimate that safe pool fencing could prevent
seven out of 10 drowning incidents in home swimming pools for children
under the age of five.
|