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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8 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com HEALTH & SAFETY NEWS Mental health workplace training program launched M orneau Shepell and telecom- munications giant Bell, in collaboration with Queen's Univer- sity, have launched a new workplace mental health certifi cate training pro- gram that teaches leadership skills in managing performance and promot- ing a mentally healthy workplace. "It enables the in-depth develop- ment of leadership skills in managing the prevention of mental health issues and associated disability claims for any organization," said Alan Torrie, president and CEO of Morneau She- pell, an HR consultancy company and employee assistance program provider in Toronto. "The training also educates leaders on the scope of their role and infl uence in promoting a mentally healthy workplace and is an inspiration to other organizations to follow suit." The Mental Health@Work Training Program is certifi ed by Queen's Fac- ulty of Health Sciences in Kingston, Ont., with input from Heather Stuart, one of the world's foremost experts on mental health disorders and stigma. It is the fi rst university-certifi ed work- place mental health training to be aligned with the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, introduced one year ago by the Canadian Standards Asso- ciation (CSA Group) and the Bureau normalisation du Québec (BNQ). Grounded in adult learning princi- ples, the three-phased training program takes a blended approach that consists of in-class and online learning and a knowledge assessment process. The program covers mental health from both a health and business perspective, and introduces effective management practices in this area. Outcomes of the new training include leaders developing empa- thetic coaching skills and effective management practices focused on early intervention, recovery and return to work. Upon successful completion of the training and exams, participants will receive a Mental Health@Work Certifi cate from Queen's University. Every year, one in fi ve Canadians experience some form of mental illness, and two-thirds will not seek help due to fears of being stigmatized. Mental health challenges and illnesses are the number one cause of disability in Canada, and between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of mental disability costs directly incurred by employers could be avoided, according to the Mental Health Commission of Canada. New IWH project tackles leading indicators By Sabrina Nanji E mployers in Ontario will be able to measure how their health and safety measures stack up compared to other workplaces, thanks to a new project from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) in Toronto. The Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) aims to identify leading indicators to help prevent injuries and ill- nesses at workplaces before they occur — as opposed to most performance measurement tools that look at injury and illness rates after they happen, or lagging indicators. More than 1,700 businesses across a wide landscape of industries took part in the survey, such as those from the agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, construction and service industries. The survey itself includes a number of questions based on managerial and organizational practices surrounding the health and safety culture at a particular offi ce. That includes fi ve umbrella policy groups: health and safety practices, health and safety leadership, ergonomics, disability man- agement and prevention, and employee engagement. The OLIP's defi ning attribute is that it requires only health and safety representatives to answer the questions — most other surveys measure as many employees as possible, said Benjamin Amick, a senior scientist at IWH. "We wanted to talk to the one person who was most knowledgeable about health and safety in the organiza- tion," he said. "It provides information that empowers the health and safety group within the company, the health and safety representative if it's a smaller company, or the manager or owner if it's even smaller." The OLIP also includes an organizational performance metric, a safety climate tool, and a joint health and safety committee tool to help determine overall leading indica- tors. Its fi nal component, the occupational health and safety management system, includes nine measures — OHS policy, worker participation, OHS training, communica- tion, preventive and protective actions, emergency response, monitoring and review, procurement and contracting, and benchmarking. The latter is another tool unique to the OLIP. Benchmark- ing reports are provided for each company, showing exactly where they lie on the health and safety spectrum compared to other similar companies in the industry. Though the OLIP is still in its adolescence and data is still being disentangled, one notable result has emerged: there is no one notable result. Amick said one of the more interesting fi ndings is that there is no one leading indicator that plays a factor in the health and safety of a workplace. "One of the more interesting fi ndings is that there isn't one thing — it's really quite variable," he said. "It looks like most of these tools are relevant cross-sector, and they are relevant for small and large fi rms." The IWH partnered with Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS), Workplace Safety North (WSN), the Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA) and the Infra- structure Health & Safety Association (IHSA) for the project. Currently, the IWH is combining survey data with infor- mation from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board's data (such as injury claims rates) to help determine which leading indicators are related to claims. Sabrina Nanji writes for Canadian Safety Reporter, a sister publication of COS. Defi brillator legislation now in effect in Manitoba Defi brillators are now required by law in designated public buildings in Manitoba. The devices deliver an electric shock to restart a stopped heart and are programmed to detect if a person is having an irregular heart rhythm that indicates potential cardiac arrest. "A cardiac arrest can occur anywhere at any time. Having a defi - brillator close by can save someone's life and this new legislation ensures busy public places will have one ready in case of an emer- gency," said Health Minister Erin Selby. "Other jurisdictions across Canada and internationally are look- ing to replicate our legislation and I'm proud our province is considered to be a leader in this initiative." Manitoba was the fi rst province in the country to develop legislation requiring public places to have an automated external defi brillator (AED) available on-site, said the government. Under the Defi brillator Public Access Act, designated facilities include several types of high-traffi c public places where cardiac arrest is more likely to occur such as gyms, indoor arenas, certain community centres, golf courses, schools and airports. To make it easier for non-profi t and community-owned public facilities to acquire the life-saving devices, the Manitoba government provided more than $1.3 million to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba for 1,000 defi brillators. In addition, the province partnered with the foundation to negotiate with multiple distributors to provide discounts ranging from 30 per cent to 40 per cent off the regular retail price to make it easier for facilities designated under the new legislation to purchase a defi brillator. The legislation also supports public access in an emergency by requiring signage to identify the locations of defi brilla- tors and require they be centrally registered with the Heart and Stroke Foundation. The registry information is shared with emergency medical service dispatchers to help those trying to care for a cardiac arrest victim fi nd the nearest defi brillator. As of Dec. 31, 2013, there were 2,291 AEDs registered in Manitoba.