Canadian Occupational Safety

26 Canadian Occupational Safety | www.cos-mag.com TOOLS OF THE TRADE PRODUCTS & SERVICES The latest OHS innovations and industry updates Calgary non-profi t has success with lone worker app The Calgary Urban Project Society (CUPS), a non-profi t organization that supports individuals and families in overcoming poverty, has many lone workers across different teams. Lone workers within health care and housing provide support to individuals dealing with addiction and mental health. The unpredictable nature of clients, especially those in vulnerable situations, poses a greater risk of aggression and violence towards staff members. Within the education services, bus drivers transport groups of children to education programs. The risks of the road are very different to those associated with client outreach and can be both unpredictable and diffi cult to control. To manage these risks and meet the require- ments of the Alberta work alone legislation, CUPS decided to take a closer look at its current lone worker monitoring program. While the technology provided a rough idea of where staff was located, it was not enough to locate them quickly in an emergency. CUPS also found that it wasn't suitable for all of its lone workers. The organization began searching for a different solution, with accurate GPS monitoring being key. CUPS ended up choosing StaySafe, a smartphone app and cloud-based monitoring service. "The StaySafe App has allowed our organization to respond to emergencies in real-time by locating our users right away. The integration with GPS and Google Maps makes it really easy to know where our remote workers are in case of an emergency. It's been incredibly useful to get detailed information about their route and stops as it helps us know more about their situation and how we may be able to assist them," says Faby Martin, HMIS specialist at CUPS. For health-care and housing workers, having a discreet way to panic and a duress pin were very important should diffi cult situations arise. "Our workers also feel safe knowing they can trigger an alert at any time during their offsite work," says Martin. Bus drivers check-in when they have reached their destination. If a check-in is missed, CUPS is alerted and it can see the driver's location and movement to determine if he is still driving (and therefore can't check-in) or is stationary and may have had an accident. Overall, Martin says CUPS now feels more confi dent in its ability to help its lone working employees if they may be in distress. "As a social agency, we've also been able to develop a more robust internal protocol for emergency procedures as we now have the tool to ensure a quick response and the safety of our staff." Memoir published about fi refi ghter on front lines in Fort McMurray fi re On May 2, one year after the fi re that tore through Fort McMurray, Alta., Simon and Schuster Canada published a memoir by Damian Asher, a 16-year veteran fi refi ghter and a captain with the city's fi re department. What began as a remote forest fi re quickly became a nightmare for the 90,000 residents of Fort McMurray and eventually turned into one of the largest natural disasters in Canada's history. As the fi re swept through neighbourhoods, it fell to the men and women of the fi re department to defend the community and to save thousands of lives. Inside the Inferno: A Firefi ghter's Story of the Brotherhood that Saved Fort McMurray is a fi rst-person account of the catastrophe, as told by Asher. Born and raised in Fort McMurray, Asher was tasked with protecting not only the city, but also his crew of fi refi ghters. Day after day, his devoted crew tirelessly fought on the front lines. While embers rained down around them, they pushed their minds and bodies to the brink. Asher led his team through the smoke and the fl ames. He had little time to worry about his personal safety or whether his own family's home — which he had built himself — was still standing. With media unable to get into the locked-down city, the world watched in hope and fear, wondering what was happening on the fi ery streets. Finally, after weeks of battling the fl ames, the fi refi ghters regained control, but when the smoke cleared, much of the city had been destroyed. Inside the Inferno details the courage, strength and sacrifi ce of the fi refi ghters and shows what it takes for a city to reunite and rebuild. "This gripping, on-the-ground account of the Fort McMurray disaster from Damian Asher is a testament to all of the brave men and women who battled the wildfi re. It is a story full of heart that's sure to touch many people across Canada," says Kevin Hanson, president and publisher of Simon and Schuster Canada. Next wave of PPE might have wearable technology Lumo Bodytech, a motion science company, recently announced the general availability of the Lumo Motion Science Platform — the technology behind its wearable devices. The Lumo platform combines sensor data with advanced algorithms to help better understand and optimize human movement for better health, physical performance and injury risk reduction. The Lumo Motion Science Platform has been powering all Lumo products, including Lumo Lift, a posture and activity tracker. The enterprise grade platform is scalable to millions of users and can be deployed as a whole or in separate modules, giving third-party partners a faster and effi cient way to bring applications and products to the Internet of Things (IoT) market. For example, safety suppliers could integrate Lumo sensors into various personal protective equipment, such as hard harts, goggles and lifting belts for feedback and training on lifting techniques and other movements related to proper ergonomics. The company is also working on fall prevention and fall detection for workers. "We strongly believe that future wearables will be completely invisible and seamlessly embedded in our everyday lives," says Monisha Perkash, CEO and co-founder of Lumo Bodytech in Palo Alto, Calif. "From the very beginning, our passion as a company has been to give the body a voice, and in doing so, help each and every one of us unlock our full physical potential." The Lumo Motion Science Platform, designed by engineers from Stanford University, offers access to unique algorithm models that can track a myriad of human movements and provide a wide spectrum of biomechanical insights relevant to various industry applications, while offering actionable feedback to promote behavioural change for healthier habits. For example, algorithms powering Lumo Lift can be used to promote safer lifting of heavy objects in a warehouse environment. The platform offers access to algorithms that interpret movement data points into feedback and analytics; the cloud that provides easy product life cycle management and predictive analytics; mobile and web applications; and the sensor technology hardware. Knipex introduces tethered tool pliers program Knipex Tools has introduced 24 tools with tether attachment mounts as part of its Tethered Tool Pliers Program. Tools with tether attachments and lanyard connections provide effective protection against accidents caused by falling tools. The tether attachment point is a plastic bracket with a closed wire clamp that is securely welded to the multi- component handle of the tool. Without interfering with the tool's functionality and user's comfort, the tether attachment allows the tools to be secured to a lanyard to prevent falling during use with cherry pickers, scaffolding and ladders. Industrial climbers with wire ropes and high-altitude rescue workers can also use the tools. "Being struck by falling objects is one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities," says Todd Shumate, president, Knipex Tools. In 2013, there were 8,609 injuries from workers being struck by falling objects, and 23 were fatal, representing 2.5 per cent of all fatalities, according to the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada. Concussions, lacerations and puncture wounds are just some of the injuries that can ensue. Using tools with attachment points and lanyards that do not interfere with functionality or require alteration to the tool are ideal. A comprehensive program also ensures that all of the components work together and maximize effi ciency while promoting a safer working environment.

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