The Saskatoon (Canada) Health Region (SHR) recently decided to close permanently its central laundry facility following a safety-related incident and the subsequent identification of infrastructure deficiencies at the facility.

 

 

According to the Canadian OH&S News, four bags of laundry totaling 1,225 kilograms that were attached to a hoist fell about three meters into laundry transfer carts, stated Linda Walker, a media relations consultant with the SHR. There were no injuries and washing and drying operations at the facility were shut down at the time.

 

 

According to Walker, it was determined that a bolt which attaches the mechanical system of cables and pulleys to the hydraulic cylinder came loose and fell off. "We were told the bolt and the shaft threads show no sign of wear or stress point damage from tension of the lifting system," she says. "It is likely that it loosened over time due to vibrations."

 

 

An assessment of the facility by VFA Inc identified a number of infrastructure deficiencies, including those related to fire protection, accessibility, asbestos abatement, and ergonomics of the equipment, ventilation, the electrical system and age of the equipment.

 

 

"The safety of Saskatoon Health Region employees is more important to us than keeping this facility open," says Bonnie Blakely, vice-president of people strategies with the SHR, in a statement.

 

 

Walker noted that the health region is considering a number of long-term solutions. They include building a new facility, remodeling the existing building or expanding nearby facilities to better meet the needs of the 48,000 square foot facility, which serves the three hospitals in Saskatoon and some long-term care homes in the province.

 

 

Walker adds that the affected employees – 56 full-time workers, 17 part-time and 27 casual workers – will be redeployed within the health region.

 

 

Glennis Bihun, executive director of the occupational health and safety division of Saskatchewan's Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, says that an active investigation into the incident continues. A stop-work order with regards to the lifting device was also issued, she adds.

 

 

Posted in Canada Workers Comp, Safety and Loss Control, WC in Other Countries (International) |

Fifty-eight percent of Alberta (Canada) employers will see no change or a reduction on their 2012 WCB premiums, according to a report from Alberta’s WCB.

 

 

Good performance means that top employers and their workers have developed suitable strategies to help those injured on the job recover at work, in a more positive environment than alone at home.

 

 

On the flip side, WCB-Alberta’s poor performance program aims to galvanize 1,600 poor performing employers to take immediate action to improve return-to-work planning and injury prevention practices. The strategy is working.

 

 

In 2012, 592 employers joined the PPS program, while 710 employers have improved their performance significantly enough to leave the program behind.

 

 

“We all share responsibility for getting better at managing workplace injuries,” said Guy Kerr, president and CEO of WCB-Alberta. “Modified work, investments in safety and prevention, safety associations, occupational injury clinics, and many more of our joint initiatives are making a difference.”

 

 

 

The number of workers with lost-time claims is expected to increase to approximately 27,400 (7.5 per cent) for this year and 3.7 per cent next year.

 

 

Average claim duration is expected to increase somewhat to 37.2 days in 2011 and 38 days in 2012.

 

 

Fully-funded claim costs are also on the rise as WCB forecasts year-end costs of $748.1 million, with another increase of 6.5 per cent expected for 2012.

 

 

Worker wage protection will also increase in 2012. WCB has raised the maximum insurable income (MIE) level to $86,700.

 

 

Alberta employers mitigated these inflationary trends through long-term investments in safety and return-to-work programs so that overall injury trends remained stable, leading to positive expectations for 2012. (WCxKit)

 

 

The lost-time claim rate should remain stable at 1.5 lost-time claims per 100 covered workers for the third year in a row.

 

 The disabling injury rate is expected to remain steady at 2.8 per 100 covered workers.

 

Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He is an editor and contributor to Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.

 

 

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©2012 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact us at: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.

Posted in Canada Workers Comp, Insurance Issues, Rates, Premiums, WC in Other Countries (International) |

Occupational Health and Safety did the inspections recently and issued 394 orders, including 83 stop-work orders.(WCxKit)
 

A lack of fall protection, or a fall protection plan, accounted for 131 orders, approximately one-third of all orders issued.

 

Dave Hancock, minister of Human Services, responsible for Occupational Health and Safety, noted the province needs to create a culture of workplace health and safety in all Albertans. He reports he wants to assess the impact of all three focused inspection campaigns the province conducted this year.

For the past several months, OHS has carried out a pilot program of evening and weekend inspections, including the recent residential construction campaign.

 

Hancock states the stepped-up schedule will continue on a regular basis.

 

''There are many sectors of our province's workforce that don't clock in from nine to five,'' said Hancock.(WCxKit)

'Revising the working hours of our OHS officers to include weekends and evenings only makes sense. This, along with our ongoing educational efforts and continuing to work with industry and safety associations, will help improve compliance in the workplace,'' he added.

Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.

 

Posted in Safety and Loss Control, WC in Other Countries (International) |

 

 

 

 

Posted in Management Commitment, WC in Other Countries (International) |

More than 300 local government delegates from across B.C. met in Vancouver recently to share strategies and reaffirm their commitment to protecting workers from occupational injury, disease, and death, according to a report from WorkSafeBC.

 

 

The 2011 BC Municipal Occupational Health and Safety Conference provided a forum for governments, municipalities, school boards, and other public sector agencies to exchange success stories about improving health and safety in the workplace through a series of presentations, workshops, and panel discussions. The BC Municipal Safety Association (BCMSA), CUPE BC, and WorkSafeBC sponsored the conference. (WCxKit)

 

 

These discussions affect a significant portion of Vancouver’s working public. Approximately 513 employers, responsible for the occupational health and safety of more than 39,800 workers, are registered with WorkSafeBC’s local government sector. Between 2006 and 2010, this sector experienced a 20 percent decrease in workplace injuries. Yet, despite the encouraging news, WorkSafeBC accepted more than 9,100 injury claims — 2,200 of which were labeled serious injuries — during the same time period. 

 

 

“Public sector workers are exposed to a wide variety of hazards,” says Cathy Cook, conference chairperson and executive director of the BCMSA. “We have put together these sessions to help employers, supervisors, and workers be aware of the hazards and provide them with some real-life solutions to improve their safety.”

 

 

The BC Municipal Safety Association is a non-profit society that provides a common focal point for occupational health and safety concerns in the municipal environment. Its purpose is to identify and address these concerns, and to create learning opportunities for its members. All employers in the local government and related operations classification unit are members of the BCMSA. (WCxKit)

 

 

“BCMSA’s increased safety training throughout the province, their enhanced Web site, e-newsletter, and overall engagement in the municipal sector on safety matters is making a difference,” says Ed Dowling, general industries manager for WorkSafeBC’s Industry and Labour Services. “The feedback from past conferences is outstanding. Employers, supervisors, and employee representatives are returning to their worksites as safety champions. We see a compounding effect — demonstrated by a 20 percent decrease in injuries since 2006.”

 

 

 

 

Posted in Canada Workers Comp, Safety and Loss Control, WC in Other Countries (International) |

 

 

According to information from Manitoba’s WCB, employer representatives may include employer consultants, accountants, bookkeepers, payroll services, lawyers and/or other service providers not employed by the employer. (WCxKit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Employers should ensure the authorization letter is produced on your company letterhead and contains the following information. (WCxKit)

 

 

Posted in Canada Workers Comp, WC in Other Countries (International) |

A prominent Canadian medical journal is calling for established minimum best practice standards to deal with sleep deprivation for doctors.

 

 

In an editorial published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal recently, the doctors Noni MacDonald, Paul Hebert, Ken Flegel, and Matthew Stanbrook suggest that there needs to be a change in physicians' professional culture, according to the Canadian OH&S News. (WCxKit)

 

 

"Long periods on call should not be accepted as routine or a source of pride. Instead, we must admit that working while impaired from sleep deprivation is neither normal nor acceptable," the doctors stated. The editorial points out that sleep deprivation, defined as less than six hours of uninterrupted sleep, from "overnight call" has been shown to cause a likewise degree of impairment in judgment and motor performance as a blood-alcohol level higher than 0.05 percent.

 

 

"Those of us who remain overconfident that we can continue to perform our duties properly without adequate sleep should imagine the reaction if we were made to seek informed consent from each of our patients to accept treatment under these conditions," the doctors continued

 

 

According to the doctors, some hospitals, departments, and group practices have implemented innovative approaches to work scheduling, such as strict policies for going home after call, refraining from booking procedures or clinics the day following call, reorganizing call schedules to allow for more physician coverage, or moving to shift work.

 

 

"Ultimately, licensing, accreditation, insurance and government institutions need to establish minimum best-practice standards for maximum work and minimum uninterrupted sleep hours," the editorial points out. (WCxKit)

 

 

The editorial goes on to say that prolonged work hours are not limited to doctors involved in high-technology, advanced care settings. A primary care physician who is up all night assisting a birth or dealing with a patient in crisis may be, "because of sleep deprivation, at increased risk for errors in judgment when seeing patients in the office the next day," the doctors write. Unlike trainees, whose practice is supervised, doctors often have no one overlooking them to catch their mistakes, they added.

 

 

Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.

 

 

Posted in Canada Workers Comp, Safety and Loss Control, WC 101, WC in Other Countries (International) |

Workplace safety is set to get a boost as changes to Manitoba's occupational health and safety provisions will soon make it mandatory for employers to implement violence-prevention policies, according to a report from Canada OH&S News.

 

 

Employers in specific sectors will be required to monitor, track, and report annually on violent incidents in the workplace. They will have to put in place procedures enabling employees to get immediate help when a violent or threatening situation occurs. Employers can also release personal information when deemed necessary to protect employees from the risk of violence, according to Joe Czech, a spokesman for Manitoba Labour and Immigration in Winnipeg.(WCxKit)

 

 

The changes cover the following sectors: health care, security, policing, corrections, crisis counseling and intervention, financial, pharmaceutical, education, and public transit and taxicab services. Workplaces that are not included in the elevated risk category will still be required to assess the risk of violence. "If a risk is identified, the employer must put in place measures to protect their workers," Czech said.

 

 

The new rules are based on recommendations from the Minister's Advisory Council on Workplace Safety and Health, and consultations with a number of stakeholders, including representatives from the health care sector.

 

 

Sandi Mowat, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) in Winnipeg – which partnered with the provincial labor department to address the issue of workplace violence in health care facilities – said she is "very pleased with the changes." Findings from MNU focus groups investigating the extent of workplace violence incidents in the sector indicates many of these incidents are underreported, Mowat said.

 

 

In her blog entry for Working Families Manitoba, a community campaign launched by the Manitoba Federation of Labor to raise awareness of issues of concern to workers and their families, Mowat cites research that health care providers are victims of violence at an increasing rate. National studies also show that 48 percent of all non-fatal injuries from occupational assaults and violent acts occur in health care and social service settings.

 

 

"This fact is extremely alarming to us, since nurses were identified as the most likely of all health care workers to be assaulted," she writes.

 

 

With the regulatory amendments, it becomes clear that health care providers can flag a patient’s file who has exhibited violent behavior in the past. This measure, which also applies to mental health patients, will make information more readily available to the caregivers concerned, Mowat said.

 

 

"Health care workers, and in particular nurses, have a right to know if this individual has put a health care provider at risk in the past," she said. While existing regulations have provisions enabling health care providers to flag patients with violent tendencies, "most employers didn't do it because they believe that it was a breach of confidentiality," Mowat said.

 

 

A system to annually review and report violent incidents, which will include results of investigations and the measures taken, will help ensure that such occurrences cannot be ignored. "Literature does say that in places where the incidents were tracked, there was a decrease in those incidents," Mowat said.(WCxKit)

 

 

In addition, changes to the provincial employment standards regulation will require police services to provide adequate transportation home, within the boundaries of a city or town, to members who have to work after midnight and before 6 a.m. The move, notes Czech, is aimed at reducing the risk to law enforcement members from potentially violent situations while commuting to or from work during late-night shifts.

 

Posted in Assessment & Diagnostics, Canada Workers Comp, Safety and Loss Control |

There's been an adjournment in the case against three companies charged in the 2009 fatal stage collapse at a popular annual country music festival near Camrose, Alta.

 

 

According to a report from The Canadian Press, Panhandle Productions, Global Production Company and a numbered Alberta company have been named in the case. (WCxKit)

 

 

A total of 33 charges were laid against the companies after a powerful windstorm swept through the area during the Big Valley Jamboree in the summer of 2009, causing the main stage to collapse.

 

 

More than a dozen people were injured and Donna Moore, a woman from Lloydminster, Alta., was killed.

 

 

In August, the Crown prosecutor and a lawyer said an adjournment would allow them time to work through the massive amount of information related to the case.

 

 

A pre-trial conference has also been requested, to find out if the matter needs to go to trial.

 

 

Alberta Occupational Health and Safety is sharing information from this case with other jurisdictions that have seen similar stage collapses recently.

 

 

Six people died in August when the stage collapsed at a Sugarland concert in Indianapolis; five died in Belgium when a storm swept in and toppled the stage at the Pukkelpop Festival; and several people were injured when the stage went down at Bluesfest in Ottawa in July.

 

 

Each of the charges carries a maximum fine of $500,000 and possible jail time. (WCxKit)

 

 

Posted in Canada Workers Comp, Legal Doctrines, Medical Issues, Safety and Loss Control, WC 101, WC in Other Countries (International) |

 

 

There will be a 60-day public review process held in the fall. The completed standard is scheduled for release in 2012. (WCxKit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For employers, the business case in favor of the new standard rests on four main parameters — enhanced cost effectiveness, improved risk management, increased organizational recruitment and retention as well as corporate social responsibility. (WCxKit)

 

 

 

Posted in Canada Workers Comp, Medical Issues, Safety and Loss Control, WC 101 |