Canadian Occupational Safety

November/December 2020

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.

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www.thesafetymag.com/ca 25 experiences, learn, and grow in real time. He has also worked extensively with educators to manage complex work situations by clarifying instructions for workers and identifying new tools. Loeffelholz has a background working for industry-leading multinational corporations including, Siemens and Abbott Laboratories. In both organizations, he was instrumental in the implementation and maintenance of ISO 14001 registered environmental management systems. During that period, he focused on incorporating safety and environmental protection into organizational change management practices. Loeffelholz worked on a number of environmental sustainability projects from waste and toxic chemical reduction to tree planting. He earned his designation as a Canadian Registered Safety Professional in 2007 and as an Environmental Professional in 2005. Loeffelholz currently volunteers as a director for the School Safety Association of British Columbia and sits on two sector committees chaired by WorkSafeBC. in the workplace due to continual and immersive exposure to risk and potential harm, acute and long term. OHS professionals have a responsibility to continually promote the profession and its importance through the lens of influence, not authority. "Education, 'the right to know' is personally by far the most important pillar in health and safety. As an OHS leader, my professional goal is to model OHS principles every day, in everything I do; to lead through self, to influence and inspire change in others." Hans Loeffelholz, Sector Lead, Occupational Health and Safety, at British Columbia Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) Hans Loeffelholz has built up more than 20 years contributing to the field of environmental, health and safety. He recently joined the British Columbia Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) as the sector lead, occupational health and safety, where he will support the future growth of occupational health and safety programs at K-12 school districts across the province. Prior to BCPSEA, Loeffelholz spent three-and-a-half years with the North Vancouver School District as the occupational health and safety manager. During his time in the public education sector, he has shared his passion for safe and healthy workplaces with both educators and other OHS professionals in the sector. His vision brought together a community of professionals in the sector using technology to share "Being a leader in the world of safety, regardless of the industry or organization, is unquestionably one of the most difficult leadership roles in business today." Robert Palmer, Air Canada Kody Messenger, Corporate Compliance Advisor at Enger "My view of safety and being a safety leader grows out of my background as a commercial diver. As a diver, I was faced with all kinds of different challenges and hazards and was expected to be competent and adaptable in face of them. Making mistakes and neglecting safety in that world was a thin line between living and dying. I remember feeling this disconnect between safety and the work I was doing, however. It felt as if safety needed to babysit us to prevent us from dying at work. Once I switched into occupational health and safety, I was committed to giving people the benefit of the doubt and helping them make their work easier. I felt that it was important to treat people as the experts they are in their fields, that they were solutions to be empowered and not problems to be managed. It's vital for us to remember that people want to be safe and that they don't need people to tell them to be safe. We have to hold in tension that errors are normal, and even the best and most competent workers and teams make them. I believe that we as safety leaders are in place to facilitate worker and organizational empowerment, to help them make work better and not there to constrain their operations unnecessarily." Erin Oliver, Vice President of Health & Safety & Sustainability at Modern Niagara Group, Inc., Erin Oliver has spent more than 25 years as a health and safety professional leveraging her education in kinesiology and forensics to guide her leadership. In her role with Modern Niagara Group, Oliver manages the company's national health and safety program to ensure all employees work in a safe and healthy environment. She oversees all facets of the program including training, development, injury prevention, rehabilitation, wellness and mental health. She also oversees corporate sustainability. Prior to joining Modern Niagara, Oliver founded a consulting firm that specialized in inspections, investigations and OHS program development for a wide range of clients. She was an active member of the Ontario Labour Management Regulatory Advisory Committee, the Occupational Disease and Research Advisory Committee. She is an active member of the Provincial Labour Management Health & Safety Committee for pipe trades and a contributor to the Ontario General Contracting Association's safety committee. Oliver is a past president of the Ontario Kinesiology Association and currently registered with the Ontario Sean Cammaert, BASF Erin Oliver, Modern Niagara Group Angela Keenan, Nova Scotia Health Authority Robert Palmer, Air Canada Hans Loeffelholz, BCPSEA Virginie Tremblay, Canada Post Kody Messenger, Enger Steve Wrixon, Cementation Canada

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