We’ve spent nearly a year dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, and the emotional wellbeing of employees is as important as ever. The stress of contracting the illness and passing it on to others has caused fear and anxiety for many. Isolation from family and friends has also been a trigger for depression and other [...]
By Barbara Semeniuk, 2020 Business structure and protocols are continuing to change in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic. As some businesses are reopening, they must make decisions about bringing employees back onsite, letting them operate remotely, or creating a hybrid model. State guidelines, business size, and work functionality are factors involved in determining the [...]
By Barbara Semeniuk, 2020 E-cigarettes, the electronic alternative to traditional cigarettes, have continued to rise in popularity among smokers since first introduced to consumers around 2007. The e-cigarette is now the most widely used form of non-tobacco nicotine (NTN). Marketing tactics first labeled e-cigarettes as a healthier option of tobacco use for the smoker and [...]
By Barbara Semeniuk, 2020 Safety in the workplace takes proper training, planning, and implementation. With OSHA’s Lockout/Tagout program (LOTO), employers can stay up-to-date regarding safety measures for their employees who use industrial machinery and equipment. Consistency in a Lockout/Tagout program is vital, for both employers and employees to avoid serious injuries and citations. For instance, [...]
A safe company demands continuous improvement to management programs, and measuring safety performance adds accuracy to your efforts. Use tools and resources to determine the success of the current environment as well as preventative measures. To track accidents and incidents, use both lagging and leading statistics to gauge safety performance. Lagging indicators for past safety [...]
Protecting the Health of All Personnel on Individual Project Sites from COVID-19 While many industries experienced complete shutdowns recently, a significant number of construction projects were deemed essential. All workers, supervisors, and safety professionals on these projects need to stay updated on COVID-19 best practices and develop specific health and safety procedures for each job [...]
Methods to Mitigate Exposure to the COVID-19 Virus In a Pandemic environment, learning and quickly implementing new safety efforts is a challenge as we try to thoroughly understand the nature of the COVID-19 virus and inherent risks. Over the last few weeks, a process has emerged that can take business owners through a step by [...]
(Transcribed from Video at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfJpRJg2P6hIvx7JAQsRAxQ) People have asked me how you can prepare for the 2-19 Partnerships' audit. It's changed massively from this year. There's going to be two new sections. There's going to be a section on health and safety committees because health and safety committees, as of June 1st, 2-18 are mandatory in Alberta. [...]
(Transcribed from Video at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfJpRJg2P6hIvx7JAQsRAxQ) Some people have asked me under the 219, January first partnerships audit, is there gonna be more emphasis on competency based training? - You bet! There will be, so you want to make sure you have a good system in place. You should identify new workers, either with green hardhats or [...]
(Transcribed from Video at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfJpRJg2P6hIvx7JAQsRAxQ) There is some confusion about the role of certifying partners and the Workers Compensation Board in Alberta. There used to be about 14 certifying partners. The certifying partners were responsible for the Certificate of Recognition Program which is a partnership between Occupational health and safety, Workers Compensation Board, which supplies the [...]
