Description of Presentations & Workshops

Session A – Confined Spaces

Come learn more about the New Confined Space Requirements and Regulations that came into effect on September 30, 2006.

The confined space provisions have been amended to ensure that workers entering, working in or working near confined spaces are protected. The confined space requirements are found in the following regulations: Construction Projects, Industrial Establishments, Health Care and Residential Facilities, Mines and Mining Plants, and Confined Spaces. The confined space requirements came into effect on September 30, 2006, and are now being enforced. Employers are responsible for ensuring that the confined space requirements, made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations, are complied within the workplace.

Leaders:

· Gerry Paquette, Provincial Specialist, Industrial Health and Safety Program, Ministry of Labour.

· Don Caskie, P. Eng., Engineering Consultant, Western Region, Ministry of Labour.

Session B – Electrical Safety Authority

This presentation will help you understand the jurisdiction and authority of the ESA.

Review the Electricity Act and associated regulations and the legal requirements, including amendments to the 2002 Ontario Electrical Safety Code. Discuss electrical inspections and other core services while applying the Ontario Electrical Safety Code to typical industrial facilities.

Increase awareness of electrical hazards in the workplace, such as:  electrical safety for low and high voltage industrial installations, multimeters and fused leads, disconnecting means for double ended fluorescent luminaries, hazards that are present when electrical equipment is not rated for the available fault current 5 Steps to Safety, interrupting rating, effects of electrical shock, and electrical contact statistics.

Leader:

·       Jeff Thomson, Jeff is the Senior CSS (Continuous Safety Services) inspector from ESA who works in the Sarnia area, specifically in the Petrochemical Industry.

Session C – Making Workplace Changes successful not stressful

Changes and uncertainties at work can, over the years, add up to a workplace climate in which it seems we’re mostly just waiting for the next shoe to drop. So, just as in a troubled marriage at home, we begin to pull back emotionally in our work life. We reduce our commitment. We “disengage”. We become less willing to go the second mile. In fact, it’s human nature to sometimes resent going the first mile.

Work engagement, at all levels in a company, makes the critical difference in “discretionary productivity”, setting apart companies which just survive from those who turn in double-digit growth. The research is equally clear for our physical, mental and family health. Strong engagement in our work life is as essential to staying healthy and enjoying life as how well we eat or sleep.

Take away a practical understanding of the key drivers and the dynamics of building and protecting engagement at work.  A model that makes sense on the shop floor, in the boardroom, for HR and OH&S.

Be able to identify a team’s strengths for dealing with stress and uncertainty, plus its specific risks and vulnerabilities.

Leader:

·        Richard Earle, Ph.D.    Director, Canadian Institute of Stress.

Session D – Life of a W.S.I.B. Claim

Follow a WSIB claim from start to finish. The session will highlight the rights and obligations of workers and employers. Effective return to work programs which capture the interest of both the worker and employer.

Leaders:

·        Mary Lou Bove, WSIB Manager, Industrial Sector

·        Brenda Stuber, Account Manager, WSIB

·        Cathy Mclennan, Nurse, Case Manager, WSIB

·        Debbie Bailey, WSIB Adjudicator

Session E – Violence in the Workplace

Participants will explore all aspects of workplace violence including verbal and physical abuse and harassment. Specific circumstances where workers may be at risk will be reviewed including working alone. Participants will also look at the emotional and physical effects of

violence and review prevention programs necessary to protect vulnerable workers from violent incidents. Assistance and support for victims will also be discussed.

Speaker:

·        John Arnold WHSC

Session F – Thermal Stress

Both heat stress and cold stress will be discussed. How are thermal stresses defined and what is the impact on workers health and safety on the job. Are there Regulations or guidelines and how can the risks of thermal stress be minimized?

Speakers:

·        John Oudyk, Occupational Hygienist, OHCOW Hamilton

·        Nora Maher, Occupational Hygienist, OHCOW Sarnia.

Lunch Speaker– The Honourable Steve Peters, Ontario Minister of Labour