One of the most challenging injuries for those on the job is eye damage.
As a result, Nova Scotian employers and employees are reducing workplace eye injuries by participating in interactive training.
More than 4,400 Nova Scotian employers and employees have been trained on how to protect their eyes through workshops offered by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) in the last two years.
“Everyone deserves to come home safely from work,” said Labor and Advanced Education Minister Kelly Regan. “These eye-safety workshops have been making a significant difference and the province’s participation is just one more way to encourage everyone to start thinking and caring more about workplace safety.”
The 90-minute motivational workshop features real-life stories, emotional visuals, and interactive exercises. As a result of this training, 92 percent of participants said they would support wearing eye protection in the workplace.
More Education and Training Emphasized
“The workplace safety strategy calls for more education and training,” said Workers’ Compensation Board CEO Stuart MacLean. “These workshops will have a real impact on the number of eye injuries around the province. Employers and workers understand the risk and are making changes.”
Heritage Gas has had zero eye-injury incidents since it began participating in this training two years ago and started requiring employees to wear protective eyewear at all times.
“These workshops have helped our employees realize just how traumatic an eye injury can be and understand how to prevent them,” stated Steve Clouthier, director of health, safety, environment and operations with Heritage Gas. “As a result, we have adopted a holistic approach to eye safety in the workplace and we also encourage our people to apply that knowledge in their personal lives.”
The CNIB offers workshops throughout Atlantic Canada.
“A few devastating seconds is all it takes to go from 20/20 vision to no vision when a worker isn’t wearing protective eyewear,” added Clarissa Harris LeBreton, vision health promotion and marketing coordinator with CNIB. “Through our ongoing training and education efforts, CNIB is helping to reduce workplace eye injuries one workshop at a time.”
Lastly, the province is stepping up its safety efforts by hiring more safety inspectors, working with industry to ensure officers are getting to more high-risk workplaces, and improving documentation and follow-up of compliance orders.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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