Canadian Occupational Safety

26 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com A family-run business that is 400 kilometres from Vancouver in a wilderness "over the irrigation canal and at the top of Tinhorn Creek Road" faces some pretty unusual health and safety challenges. According to Sandra Oldfi eld, CEO and president of Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, the 1,000 hazards on the property include "rattlesnakes and bears, heavy boxes of wine and unruly customers." Until seven years ago, the winery's health and safety efforts focused only on the cellars where wine is made and stored. In 2009, Oldfi eld hired an Australian vine- yard manager and viticulturist who emphasized the company needed a comprehensive health and safety plan to ensure everyone was as safe as the cellar workers. Since her 50-employee business is relatively small, develop- ing such a program meant Oldfi eld had to give up her evenings for a year to develop the framework herself. "Once that was done, we imple- mented the program quickly and now just continually update it to fi t our evolving needs," she says. Oldfi eld admits she initially feared administering an OHS program would require an authoritarian approach, but instead has found it stimulates co-operation across the company. For example, near miss and incident reports have risen from zero to an aver- age of 25 per year — a direct result of encouraging employees to analyze dan- gers and act on them. In addition, the employee retention rate has climbed from 2.5 years to almost six since the OHS program was put into place. And the winery's costs for injured workers' claims have seen a yearly decrease of 15 to 30 per cent. These results show that a small, highly diverse company with limited resources can serve everyone effectively. In the hospitality department (concerts, a tasting room, guest suites and admin- istration offi ces), the keys to successfully managing some 200 OHS challenges are encouraging and rewarding face-to- face communications. These include weekly toolbox meetings, monthly joint health and safety committee meetings and ongoing conversations among employees who not only work together, but regularly socialize off the job. A monthly health and safety award (the Tinny) recognizes one person or area for something they did right and includes a prize such as wine or dinner. On the annual health and safety day during NAOSH Week, the winery closes for the day and stages games, quizzes and challenges with prizes, personal protective equipment (PPE) fashion shows and lunch in the vineyard. Tasting room assistant and Tinny award-winner Zola Doré, who has worked in the hospitality department for two seasons, reports that her intensive orientation included a full day of safety training. "What hit me the most when I started my job was that health and safety is the fi rst thing discussed at all meetings," she says. Cross-training is another strategy that impressed her. Since part of her job is retrieving bottles from the cellar, she has done a stint there. "The policy of having employees train in different areas ensures we all appreciate the risks in any aspect of the business, because we — and our customers — are constantly moving around the property both indoors and outdoors," says Doré. Horizon North Camps & Catering HOSPITALITY BUILDING AND the property include "rattlesnakes and bears, heavy boxes of wine and unruly customers." the winery's health and safety efforts focused only on the cellars where wine is made and stored. In 2009, Oldfi eld hired an Australian vine- yard manager and viticulturist who emphasized the company needed a HOSPITALITY BUILDING AND family-run business that is 400 W hen EllisDon wanted to increase employee engagement in safety, it went first to Prime Minister Trudeau for help. In December, in response to a company-wide safety culture survey that showed employees wanted a greater voice in safety, the large general contractor based in London, Ont., launched the Jersey of Courage tour. Travelling across Canada, the safety team visited project sites and invited workers to sign a jersey pledging their commitment to safety. "They were big, celebratory events," says Kari Lynn Harris, vice-president, health and safety, adding the tour was also directed to sub-trades in the industry. "We want them to commit to helping us improve safety." Workers who take the pledge commit to participating in improving safety on work sites, working together to fi nd innovative safety strategies and transferring their safety knowledge to the next generation. The tour began in May in Ottawa, where Trudeau was the fi rst to sign the jersey, Harris says. The company plans to meet him again later this year. "That will be exciting for us. There are thousands of signatures on the jersey he signed. He will see the momentum and success we had during our tour." The safety culture survey gave rise to other, "next-level" safety initiatives, Harris says. EllisDon, which has about 2,800 employees, conducted a company-wide safety procedure review. It wanted to ensure procedures were truly understood by workers and relevant to their tasks. Canadian Safety Reporter is an essential resource for the creation of a safe workplace. This monthly newsletter illustrates techniques and strategies on how to keep the workplace safe from hazards and in full compliance with the latest legislation. Workplace safety is a cheap yet effective insurance policy Call toll free 1-800-387-5164, in Toronto 416-609-3800 . Online at www.safety-reporter.com/subscribe Email carswell.customerrelations@thomsonreuters.com Access a sample issue now at: bitly.com/CSR-FreePreview Safety Reporter Canadian www.safety-reporter.com • 12 issues of Canadian Safety Reporter • As an added feature, www.safety-reporter.com provides daily news, updates, features, and videos • Monthly e-newsletter delivered right to your desktop that links to our publications Start your subscription and receive: Safety Reporter Canadian www.safety-reporter.com April 2015 Hepatitis C a serious concern for baby boomers: Experts BY SARAH DOBSON MENTION HEPATITIS C and many people make a face, un- comfortable with talk of an in- fectious disease often associated with intravenous drug use and sexual activity. But the virus can be caught many ways, such as through poorly sterilized medi- cal equipment. And symptoms of hepatitis C can be minor or not present at all, so while a simple blood test may provide answers, it's often not done because people aren't aware they are at risk. As a re- sult, the virus can go undetected NEWS BRIEF Prices > pg. 8 HIGH COST OF INJURY Workers who suffer a permanent injury on the job are much more likely to die prematurely, according to an IWH study pg. 2 ANGRY PHONE CALLS pg. 3 Despite harassing and verbally abusing other employees, a worker shouldn't have been dismissed from his job, according to an arbitrator looking at a case involving CPR DO EAPS REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE? A recent Canadian study paints a clear picture of the fi nancial benefi ts for employers offering employee assistance programs as part of group benefi ts pg. 6 INSIDE FOOTBALL PLAYER CALLS IT QUITS OVER HEALTH CONCERNS San Francisco 49ers player Chris Borland, a leading rookie last season, is retiring from the NFL over health concerns related to re- peated head trauma, ESPN and the team said. "While unexpected, we certainly respect Chris' decision," 49ers gen- eral manager Trent Baalke said in a statement. "I just want to live a long, healthy life and I don't want to have any neurological diseases or die young- er than I would otherwise," Borland told ESPN. Head trauma is an issue that has rattled the league and prompted a massive lawsuit against the NFL. A class-action lawsuit involv- ing thousands of former players, fi led in 2012, contended that the league hid the dangers of brain in- jury among players while profi ting from the sport's violent physical contact. There have been suicides in recent years by former NFL play- ers. In February, a U.S. judge refused to accept a proposed settlement between the NFL and the players, saying payment should be expand- ed for some players and families among other concerns. Credit: Antoniu/Shutterstock. Social media > pg. 4 BY LIZ BERNIER STICKS AND STONES — and nasty emails — may not actually break a person's bones, but they can lead to some pretty signifi- cant consequences in the work- place. Whether it's increased stress claims, a toxic work culture, high turnover or all of the above, the negative impacts of bullying can be challenging and costly for an organization. As our cultural awareness of bullying increases, we've begun to realize bullying doesn't stay in the schoolyard, according to Ruth Wright, director of lead- ership and HR research at the Conference Board of Canada in Ottawa. "It's a growing social issue. We're hearing about reports of cyberbullying in the schools, with some tragic consequences From school to the office New tools used in workplace bullying, cyberbullying include texts, emails Subscribe today! $129 per year! Order No.20208 2016

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