Canadian Occupational Safety

20 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com working," she says. Some provinces are much further ahead than others in their reg- ulations that implementing a national standard at this point could be a challenge. "So the question now becomes what is it that we can do (to make) sure that we're sharing that information, work- ing closely with the other jurisdictions but providing some fl exibility for the mobility issues and stuff like that," Julien says. Collaboration among jurisdic- tions already exists in the industry, says BCCSA's Oliver. Through the Canadian Federation of Construction Safety Associations, which consists of the BCCSA, ACSA, IHSA and other construction safety associations across Canada, industry meets every year to share and collaborate on initiatives the diff erent associations have developed in their respective jurisdictions. ese collaborations include align- ing their respective certificate of recognition (COR) programs and their construction safety offi cer programs. " ere are diffi culties — obviously, each province has their own regulations CONSTRUCTION to follow — but the federation contin- ues to work together to try and align all of their programs," Oliver says. rough the federation, industry has achieved a level of consistency with the COR programs, for example, says IHSA's Garritano. " e COR program has 13 basic ele- ments that all provinces share and must comply with, and then the specifi c prov- inces can go above and beyond that for regulatory issues. But it ensures that at least there is a framework there to become similar across the provinces," he explains. Trainer certifi cation Certifi cation for safety training provid- ers is another way to ensure workers are trained to regulatory standards, some of the panelists say. How to implement trainer certifi cation that ensures the quality is maintained and consistent, has been the challenge in jurisdictions that have done it in the past. Work- SafeBC is one of them. According to Oliver, WorkSafeBC has implemented trainer certifi cation in the past "but they have moved away from going in that direction." "It became a challenge to continually try to maintain this list of training pro- viders and do quality assurance, so they no longer do that process," Oliver says. Newfoundland, for its part, has implemented an approval process for training providers in fall protec- tion training, Oliver says. Trainers are required to submit their fall protec- tion training courses for approval by the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission of New- foundland and Labrador, before they are allowed to train in fall protection in the province. One of the things Ontario is moving toward — and learning from the expe- riences of other jurisdiction — is a standard for safety trainer certifi cation, Julien says. "We've had some conversations and lessons learned through discus- sions with B.C.," says Julien. "From an Ontario perspective, we are certifying service providers in a standard that is being established. e chief prevention offi cer has that ability to establish stan- dards for particular training so, with what we are doing, that is the one we're going to be able to manage with respect to service providers." Regardless of how each province enforces it, elevating the level of the trainers is vital in improving health and safety of the workers on construction sites — it ensures quality and that train- ing meets regulatory requirements. "We don't want to forget that the trainers are the ones who are transfer- ring that information or trying to get that knowledge across the board. And if they're not at a certain level then you may have a house of cards, as they say — we need to elevate that level as well," IHSA's Garritano says. THE COR PROGRAM HAS 13 BASIC ELEMENTS THAT ALL PROVINCES SHARE AND MUST COMPLY WITH AND THEN THE SPECIFIC PROVINCES CAN GO ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT FOR REGULATORY ISSUES $7<285&219(1,(1&(,1285&/$665220$7<2856,7(21/,1( www.osg.ca 800.815.9980 With over 15 years in the Health & Safety industry, Occupational Safety Group offers exceptional training, expert consulting, and evaluation to keep safety first in your workplace. Visit us at Booth 64 CSSE 2013 PDC Montreal, Quebec September 15-18 Safety and security are essential for the protection of employees and therefore for a company's success. As the most important trade fair for the industry, A+A provides impulses for this sector. Here you will experience product innovations for the future, meet experts from around the world and close any safety gaps. www.AplusA-online.com November 5 – 8, 2013 Düsseldorf, Germany Safety, Security and Health at Work International Trade Fair with Congress *Source: International Social Security Association/ISSA Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce Inc. Your contact: Stefan Egge 480 University Avenue _ Suite 1500 _ Toronto, Ontario _ M5G 1V2 Tel.: (416) 598-1524 _ Fax: (416) 598-1840 E-mail: messeduesseldorf@germanchamber.ca For Travel Information: LM Travel /Carlson Wagonlit Tel: 1-888-371-6151 _ Fax: 1-866-880-1121 E-mail: ahoule@vovagelm.ca

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