Canadian Occupational Safety

14 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com Canadian Occupational Safety is pleased to announce the winners of our and two additional prizes for wellness and psychological safety, these for their outstanding accomplishments in program — on issues ranging from fl ight deck distractions to aircraft damage — has ultimately allowed the company to develop a safety risk pro- fi le, reduce duplication of work and encourage collaboration. Another tool aimed at further breaking down information silos is Air Canada's safety information management system, a centralized, non-punitive structure that allows employees to voluntarily report an existing or potential safety event. "That sharing of information is crit- ical to safety, because if we don't know what is happening out there, you can't solve it," says Elfassy. The airline has seen a number of effi ciencies from the system, includ- ing: accountability and consistency within reporting metrics; fundamen- tal changes based on consistency; ability to track, trend, inform and educate on safety issues and risks; understanding of corporate risks; and a paperless working environment within the safety department. Driven by a specifi c focus on tack- ling back injuries and their role in lost time, in 2013 Air Canada teamed up with Pristine Condition, a British company that teaches techniques for lifting to reduce the risk of injury. Overall, says Elfassy, lost time injuries fell by 21 per cent in 2013, while days lost due to injuries fell 49 per cent. In 2013 the airline also imple- mented a web-based cosmic radiation monitoring system for pilots and fl ight attendants, in conjunction with PCAire, even though there is no regu- latory requirement to do so. "I've seen an increase across the nation of commitment and support from the employer to the employ- ees to communicate either through all the innovations in the systems or roadshows or town halls, and also just supporting the health and safety com- mittees," says Cheung. A s an underground mining con- tracting company, North Bay, Ont.-based Cementation Canada has a commitment to build mines safely. The biggest challenge, according to Denis Beaudoin, corporate director, health and safety, is to maintain a safety culture with a transient work- force on varied projects in Canada and around the world. To that end, the company has developed a generic safety management system that can be customized to countries and projects. "Based on our experience in Canada over four decades, this system allows everyone on a project to provide input and decide on the right process for them," says Beaudoin. "We do not Dufferin Aggregates W hile a commitment to safety is one of Air Canada's corner- stone values, the airline's pursuit of safety goals is transforming as tech- nology advances and its ability to capture and use data expands. "Going where the data takes us and acting accordingly has signifi cantly advanced safety at Air Canada and really, it produces the most responsive and effective results," explains Samuel Elfassy, Air Canada's senior director of corporate safety, environment and quality in Dorval, Que. One of the airline's greatest chal- lenges when it comes to effective and timely sharing of safety information is the sheer size of its workforce — some 27,000 employees working across the globe in aircrafts, taking care of pas- sengers or on the ramps. One recent move towards reducing gaps and fi nding new ways to work together cross-functionally, says Elf- assy, is Web-OHS — an online central repository for health and safety infor- mation, which allows Air Canada's safety committees in different cities to share information about hazards and concerns. "In, say, the ramp operations, we have similar problems. We don't have to re-invent the wheel, we can just call up Toronto and see what they're doing about it and basically it's a standardiza- tion of everything. It's a wonderful tool," says Christopher Cheung, lead station attendant, safety representative for Van- couver and national health and safety co-ordinator for the union representing below the wing and ground crews. The information gathered in the AFD Petroleum CANADA'S SAFEST Transportation Mining and Natural Resources SILVER SILVER GOLD GOLD

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