Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.
Issue link: https://digital.thesafetymag.com/i/1188026
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CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY is a trademark of HAB Press Limited. 20 Duncan St. 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON. M5H 3G8 www.thesafetymag.com Issue dates are January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/December. Subscription price: Canada: $69 plus tax; US: $69,International: $96 Canadian Occupational Safety makes every effort to ensure accuracy in all items reported, but cannot accept responsibility for the representations or claims made by sources used. It is also not responsible for claims made by its advertisers. OHS legal update Keep an eye out for the March/April issue of COS for a complete roundup of hot topics in occupational health and safety law. We speak with top industry lawyers to find out everything you need to know, from important cases to new legislation. Recreational cannabis According to a survey by ADP, most Canadians believe recreational cannabis has had no impact at work in terms of health and safety incidents (75 per cent). Check out the article online for more survey findings, including the expected impact of the legalization of edibles. Safety Leader of the Year Mike Doyle is the very deserving winner of the 2019 Safety Leader of the Year award! Along with complete coverage in this issue, make sure to watch the video showcasing his accomplishments at Suncor Energy and as the mayor of his historic Newfoundland town. Follow us: @cosmagazine Join our group: Canadian Occupational Safety Subscribe: Canadian Occupational Safety Gala highlights Check out the exclusive coverage of the Canada's Safest Employers awards gala. Find out why award winners, sponsors and industry insiders look forward to this gala year after year. Safest employers winners Want to learn more about the 2019 Canada's Safest Employers? Check out the "winners" tab on safestemployers. com for videos showcasing the gold winners in all award categories as well as the three silver winners for Canada's Best Health + Safety Culture award. EDITOR Amanda Silliker amanda.silliker@keymedia.com COPY EDITOR Patricia Cancilla ART DIRECTOR Steve Maver PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Jacqueline D'Souza jacqueline.d'souza@keymedia.com ADVERTISING: HEAD OF SALES Paul Burton paul.burton@keymedia.com 647-537-4705 CIRCULATION CO-ORDINATOR Keith Fulford keith.fulford@keymedia.com COLUMNISTS Legal Cheryl A. Edwards Cathy Chandler Professional Development Glyn Jones Safety Culture Dave Fennell CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY'S EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Guy Chenard, CRSP, C.E.T. Safety Consultant Dave Gouthro, CRSP, CHSC, CHSO Occupational Health & Safety Consulting David Johnston, CRSP Director, EHS, Toronto Hydro-Electric System Ltd. Eldeen Pozniak, CHSC, CHSMSA, CRSP, Director, Pozniak Safety Associates Inc. Laura Rourke, CRSP, Peng, TSRP EHSS manager, Tigercat Industries Dan Strand, CRSP, CIH, ROH Director, Prevention Field Services, WorkSafeBC AMANDA SILLIKER FROM THE EDITOR visit us online thesafetymag.com CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 ON NOW LATEST VIDEOS Printed in 3 2020 JANUARY/FEBRUARY COMING UP Put yourself first I know. The practice of putting yourself first is not something safety professionals are accustomed to. I get it. You spend your entire career focusing on keeping workers safe and healthy on your job sites, and you often don't take the time to think about doing the same for yourself. The oft-cited warning from flight attendants to put on your own mask before helping others comes to mind here. It is impossible for you to do your job well if you are not taking care of yourself. Unfortunately, the majority of safety professionals surveyed by COS are not focusing on what they need to do to keep themselves mentally fit for this difficult job. One-quarter of the 400 safety professionals surveyed have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder and an additional 28 per cent feel they are at risk of developing such a disorder. One-half (47 per cent) said their job negatively impacts their mental health. Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of survey respondents have experienced or are currently experiencing fatigue in their careers and 56 per cent said the same for burnout. (Read more on page 15.) We need to turn these statistics around. It is in the best interest of employers to ensure they are supporting and protecting the mental health of their safety team because, without that strong foun- dation, the success of safety and health initiatives will ultimately crumble. While I would love to see that support take shape in the form of more benefits coverage for psychological services, separate de-briefings for the safety team when an incident occurs and training for the entire workforce (from the front-line staff to the CEO) on mental health first aid, 23 per cent of survey respondents said all they need is for their employer to simply ask them if they are doing OK. It would also go a long way if professional associations explicitly spoke about the importance of their members preserving their mental health and offered resources for doing so. Same goes for the educational institutions that train our safety professionals. Students need a better understanding of the potentially traumatic incidents they may encounter throughout their safety career and, most importantly, how to properly navigate that emotional quagmire. Someone who clearly knows how to balance the many stressors in his life is the winner of the 2019 Safety Leader of the Year award, Mike Doyle. Not only does he work as the team lead for safety at Suncor Energy in St. John's, N.L., he is also the mayor of his small town. When I met him at the Canada's Safest Employers gala on Oct. 22 (read all about the event on page 10), it was clear he was not only very passionate about the work he does but that he also takes time for a life outside of work. His wife and father came to Toronto to celebrate his win and Doyle was clearly very happy to share this special moment with them. You can read all about Doyle's many accomplish- ments in this issue's cover story on page 22. We all know it's not just safety professionals who are sometimes burn- ing the candle at both ends; workers are suffering from a similar affliction — now more than ever. To help you keep your workers focused and alert, several new technologies for identifying fatigue have emerged. The options range from wearables to fun phone games. Check them out on page 18 and consider if they might be useful in your organizations. In his column on page 12, Glyn Jones addresses the gig economy and how this is further contributing to workers showing up fatigued on the job. And if all these side jobs are negatively affecting a worker's ability to do their job safely, Cathy Chandler provides valuable insight in her legal column on page 13 about how and when you can show them the door. Mike Doyle accepts his 2019 Safety Leader of the Year award from me at the Canada's Safest Employers gala on Oct. 22.