News briefs: OHS news from across Canada and around the world

WorkSafeBC releases mushroom farm investigation report

Richmond B.C. — WorkSafeBC has released a report on its investigation into the workplace incident in which three workers died and two others were seriously injured at a mushroom composting facility in Langley, B.C., on Sept. 5, 2008. The investigation into this incident has probably been the most complex in WorkSafeBC’s history and required significant resources and highly technical expertise, according to WorkSafeBC. It took months to access key areas of the worksite, many more months to fully understand the industrial process involved and the chronology of events and decisions over a five year period that played a role in the incident that ultimately resulted in multiple deaths and injuries. In May 2010, WorkSafeBC referred this investigation to the attorney general who proceeded with a prosecution under the Workers Compensation Act.

New Brunswick organizations recognized for OHS improvements

Fredericton — WorkSafeNB recognized Belle Île Fisheries Ltd. and the City of Edmundston for their efforts in improving workplace health and safety as part of WorkSafeNB’s 31st Annual Health and Safety Conference. Belle Île Fisheries, located in Sainte-Marie-Saint-Raphaël, harvests and processes seafood from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The plant workers log long hours to get snow crab and other delicacies from the processing plant to consumers in the United States and Japan. Producing these products is a repetitious and labour-intensive affair. Workers contend with a large number of safety risks, particularly soft tissue injuries resulting from repetitive movements and standing in one spot for long periods of time. Despite this, the company hasn’t filed a lost-time claim in more than six years, according to WorkSafeNB. The City of Edmundston was selected after a marked improvement in its health and safety record. City employees work in offices, on construction sites and in industrial settings, to name a few. They can be involved in high-risk activities like trenching, working with heavy equipment and machinery, working from heights and working with electricity.  Before a renewed focus towards OHS city employees were suffering workplace injuries at a troubling rate. Since introducing a WorkSafeNB program in 2008, the city has cut its lost-time claims by almost 50 per cent.

Ontario organizations looking for firms for OHS study

Toronto — Organizations can help develop health and safety leading indicators in Ontario by participating in the Institute for Work and Health (IWH) and Health and Safety Ontario 5,000 Firms Study.  The study, an online questionnaire which takes about 20 minutes to complete, asks about an organization’s safety culture, OHS management systems, joint health and safety committees, and organizational policies and practices.  The goal of the study is to develop metrics and identify best practices that help organizations improve their health and safety performance before injuries and illnesses occur, according to Health and Safety Ontario. Each participating organization will receive a report showing how it compares with other organizations in its sector. The study is open until May 2012. To learn more contact Colette Severin at [email protected] or (416) 927-2027 ext. 2126.

WorkSafeBC encourages drivers to shift to winter

Burnaby B.C. — WorkSafeBC’s winter road safety website, Shift Into Winter, is online for the 2011 to 2012 winter driving season. The website features a weekly driving tip, a countdown to spring driving and updated fact sheets on driving in winter conditions.  There are also workplace resources including a safe driving checklist and four PDF posters employers can print from the website. The website has videos on safe driving from December to April and links to relevant websites, including a link to British Columbia weather warnings.  The website is at: http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/RoadSafety/WinterDriving.asp