Alberta Construction Site Fatalities Jump 15% Despite Economic Downturn

Last year, Alberta’s workplace fatalities totaled 144, a 15% increase from the previous year’s total of 125, despite the economic downturn which resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs across Alberta’s worksites. A large portion of these fatalities took place on Alberta’s construction sites. In the last year, construction sites and other high-risk worksites have been targeted by frequent …

Why Health and Safety Is Essential For Sustainability

  From ethical sourcing methods, recycling programs, and renewable energy initiatives, sustainability has become a core value and a large part of many businesses long term strategies, placing emphasis on the future and long term goals of organizations rather than focusing on short term profits. Organizations are becoming increasingly successful in incorporating and balancing social, economic and environmental factors into …

Edmonton Launches Comprehensive Review of City QHSE Practices

The City of Edmonton has launched a comprehensive review of safety in the province’s municipal workplaces. The city wants to re-examine and improve upon the QHSE processes and safety culture of its municipal workplaces, eventually translating the positive results to the public sector. With a focus on the three distinct areas of people, processes and technology, the review will examine …

Health and Safety Trends for 2017

Health and Safety Trends for 2017 OSHA Recommendations: Last year, OSHA released its recommend practices for heath and safety programs, with the goal of improving QHSE processes across workplaces. The recommendations hope to prevent injuries and move safety culture from being reactive to encouraging proactive health and safety practices. These OSHA recommendations suggest that companies implement a robust safety program …

Cemex Launches Innovative QHSE Training Program

Cemex, a global leader in the building materials industry, has launched their innovative QHSE training initiative called the Health and Safety Academy, with the goal of fostering a more robust safety culture emphasising leadership, awareness, education, and a commitment to excellence. The industry-leading 18-month education program consists of three modules, held at different locations across the US. Taught by professionals …

CEOs Have A Major Influence Over Safety Culture

A recent study suggests that CEOs and senior management play the most critical role in creating and developing their organization’s safety culture, which they role model and pass down to middle management and supervisors. This emphasis and focus on safety eventually permeates throughout the entire organization, directly influencing the number of frontline employee injuries. The study, published in the Journal …

OSHA Updates Recommend Workplace Health and Safety Practices

A new set of recommended practices for health and safety programs has been laid out by OSHA, intended to provide employers with a methodical approach to improving the health and safety of workplaces. With a new and easier to use format, the document has updated the 1989 OSHA guidelines, with supporting tools and resources to particularly help small and medium-sized …

Alberta Health & Safety Conference – Improving Safety in the Workplace

The annual Alberta Health and Safety Conference kicked off yesterday, with more than 450 health and safety industry leaders in attendance, sharing their thoughts on health and safety related topics. Held at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, the conference is a great source of health and safety education and an ideal place to share ideas and learn from health …

Improving QHSE On Construction Sites With Virtual RealityTechnology

Researchers at the Institute for Computation in Engineering at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum are using virtual reality technology to create interactive training programs and improve QHSE practices on construction sites. Through this technology, workers can be trained, experience work site accidents and explore simulated work site environments with equipment noise and weather conditions. The researchers are studying the behavior and testing …

Citations, penalties from inspectors reduce workplace injuries and improve QHSE

A recent study by the Institute for Work & Health in Toronto has found that workplace inspections resulting in citations and penalties for infractions have been key and effective in motivating employers to improve QHSE conditions, making workplaces much safer, and reducing the number of workplace injuries overall. Published in June, the study concluded that when an OHS officer or …