Safe-work events recap
IHSA worked with the Labour-Management Network and other groups to spread the message of health and safety.
Bridging the Gap symposium
JUNE 18 IHSA’s Etobicoke training centre and head office hosted more than 100 participants who cycled through six workshops that addressed specific workplace health and safety concerns. The day-long event, presented by the Labour-Management Network in collaboration with 3M Canada, highlighted the latest advice on work planning, practices, and personal protective equipment (PPE) for:
- Fall protection on mobile elevating work platforms
- Leading edge and fall clearance
- Dropped-object prevention
- Grinding and abrasives safety
- Respiratory and hearing protection
- The science of PPE fit and performance
Though the topics were diverse, a unifying theme was clear. Properly assessing hazards allows you to control them with the most appropriate methods and tools—which improves workers’ ability to get the job done safely and efficiently.
Central Ontario Regional Truck Driving Championship
JUNE 8 Transportation health and safety experts from IHSA helped to plan this event, which took place at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium complex. Thirty professional drivers—including a number of first-time participants—showcased their skills and knowledge by completing a written test, a vehicle inspection, and an obstacle course. The obstacles tested a key skill that competitors use daily: manoeuvring in tight situations. As a proud sponsor of the event, IHSA also provided our mobile classroom to serve as the competition headquarters and venue for the written test.
WSPS Partners in Prevention
MAY 14, JUNE 11 & 20 A number of IHSA’s regional health and safety consultants were present at Workplace Safety and Prevention Services’ Partners in Prevention conferences in Sault Ste. Marie, Ottawa, and Sudbury. In Ottawa, IHSA’s Brad Brown gave a presentation on working at heights that underscored the province’s updated training standard. As of April 2024, working at heights training includes:
- New instruction on ladder use and the hazards associated with skylights
- Increased emphasis on calculating fall-clearance distance
- Opportunities for workers to examine damaged personal protective equipment
- And much more
Brown also discussed the benefits of creating a fall protection work plan and the requirement that workers receive additional training on specific procedures and equipment in use at their jobsites.