Canadian Occupational Safety

PEOPLE & PLACES By Alexia Kapralos he seventh annual Canada's Safest Employers awards gala honoured organizations and safety professionals at Arcadian Court in downtown Toronto on Oct. 24 . At the event this year, which was put on by Canadian Occupational Safety, 34 companies won awards in 14 categories. "Tonight, we recognize companies who truly walk the safety talk," said COS editor, Amanda Silliker, during the event. "The most senior leaders don hearing protection and goggles when visiting the plant floor; the safety team considers all areas of OHS, including employee wellness and psychological safety; and field-level workers regularly speak up when they see a potential hazard." Guests attending the event came from across the country, from organizations in various industry sectors, including oil and gas, health care, transportation and manufacturing. The awards were presented after a cocktail reception, during a three-course meal, which was followed by another cocktail celebration for the winners. Managing director, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for Thomson Reuters, Neil Sternthal, echoed and elaborated on the importance and benefits of having strong occupational health and safety practices because it means so much more than just life or death for workers. "It's of critical importance for your company's and your organization's productivity, profitability, employee engagement, talent attraction and talent retention. It's also critical to what we all associate with our brands," said Sternthal. "Tonight we celebrate those who understand the importance of workplace safety and we're inspired by their stories, their examples and their best practices." He added that it's "mission critical" to ask employees to ensure safety is of the utmost importance. All employees, no matter where they are and what they do, must be protected. This year, a new category was added to the awards, honouring those companies that came a hair away from winning silver — the Publisher's Award — which two companies won. Todd Humber, emcee of the event and publisher of COS, said that often the "gap between the organizations that won a silver award and those left on the cutting room floor" could be very small. This award intends to acknowledge those companies and their merits in safety. The keynote speaker for the night was Eldeen Pozniak, president of the International Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organisations and director of Saskatoon-based Pozniak Safety Associates. The theme of her keynote address was for employers and workers to make a difference in the world of safety, and to continue to strive for constant improvement. "We are celebrating being the difference. Being the difference to make sure moms and dads and daughters, husbands and wives go home at the end of the day," said Pozniak. While addressing the crowd, Pozniak said that having structure within a company means that there are policies and procedures in place — puzzle pieces to make for a successful safety program. But structure needs to be backed by a solid safety culture where workers want to be safe, know how to be safe and follow through. Workers shouldn't even realize that they are "doing safety" because it's ingrained within them. Pozniak also shared what she called her favourite safety video, which featured a dancing mouse attempting to steal a piece of cheese from a mousetrap. The mouse wore personal protective equipment, used proper lifting techniques and was aware of the danger that the trap imposed. Suddenly, a broom that he did not see hit and squashed him. This video illustrated why it is important to recognize and understand workplace hazards and their corresponding risks in order to adequately prepare for them. "The worker mouse does not know about the farmer's wife (with the broom). How can he protect himself from the hazards?" said Pozniak. "Some of you are being recognized for the programs that you've been putting into place that help people recognize what the hazard is, be able to assess the risk and to put in the right control into place." Companies that have a basic "stop, think and act" philosophy succeed in employee safety and all of the winners this year have adopted that, she added. It is crucial to think and assess a situation before any worker acts. Pozniak congratulated the winners for helping Canada's safety culture move forward and progress because all too often, someone's family member falls victim to a workplace injury. She shared her own story, a story that unfortunately many people similarly share, where her father went to work in the early 1990s and became so severely injured, he lost his life shortly afterward. He only lived for seven days after the incident and for five of those days he was brain-dead. This story seemed to have struck a chord with the audience as the room of 300 people fell completely silent whilst listening to her personal anecdote. Pozniak thanked the crowed on behalf of sons, daughters and families for those safety professionals and organizations that have made and continue to make a positive difference. "Be proud. Because of the work that you do, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters are all safe at home tonight during dinner with their families, just as we're gathered here," said Humber, reinforcing a major theme of the evening — being the difference for workers to be able to arrive home safe and alive. For the complete list of winners, visit www.safestemployers.com/winners. 8 Canadian Occupational Safety | www.cos-mag.com Walking the safety talk Canada's Safest Employers awards recognize nation's best for 7th year running T PHOTO: TIM FRASER PHOTOGRAPHY

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