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Put An End To The Unsafe Workplace

Pic with Trevor Linden

Running a small business is never easy! As a small business owner, I am aware of the challenges of managing service delivery, marketing, sales and finances. A company owner wears many hats. My company helps businesses manage a very important legal obligation- workplace safety. The laws governing Occupational Health and Safety are complex and can be overwhelming. My team of experts helps companies understand workplace legislation and find practical solutions for their safety program.

Recently employers have been given a new challenge from WorkSafe BC: Address the issue of mental health in the workplace.  Since the implementation of the new workplace legislation that came into effect on November 1st, 2022, employers across this province are required by law to eliminate bullying and harassment in the workplace.

Workplace Bullying and Harassment is defined as “any inappropriate conduct or comment by a person towards a worker that the person knew or reasonably ought to have known would cause that worker to be humiliated or intimidated, but excludes any reasonable action taken by an employer or supervisor relating to the management and direction of workers or the place of employment. This includes behaviour from the public or a client to a worker. 

As the company owner, I have a legal obligation to do everything reasonable to protect my workers from conduct or comments that can be considered intimidating or humiliating.  Recently, my employee was on a sales call in a local store.  The intent of the sales call was to educate the store manager about the new legislation on Workplace Bullying and Harassment and to offer our professional services to develop a training program for his workplace.  The manager grabbed my employee by the shoulders and spoke to her in an intimidating way.  There is no question that his conduct and words were intended to intimidate.

The irony of the situation slapped me in the face.  Here we are trying to educate business owners about Workplace Harassment and Bullying and my employee is the one who is attacked.  As a result, I took the step to develop even more procedures for my sales team who work alone and engage extensively with the public.

Harassment and bullying has long been the topic of conversation in schools, but as a society we have been silent on this issue in the workplace.  Harassment and Bullying are critical risk factors for mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety.  At the recent MAKE IT SAFE!  Conference in Vancouver, BC held by the food and manufacturing industry occupational safety association, hundreds of delegates gathered to tackle this issue.  Trevor Linden, founder of Club 16, spoke about the need for companies to demonstrate leadership.

Trevor Linden told us: “Leaders create a culture.”   Great companies are taking leadership to eliminate toxic work environments.  Successful business leaders understand that a healthy and happy workplace is a profitable workplace.  I have been fortunate to work with great industry leaders such as the Jim Pattison Group.  These companies are creating a culture of respect in the workplace.

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In my recent conversations with the WorkSafeBC prevention officers in charge of Workplace Harassment and Bullying, many employers are still unaware of the new legislation. WSBC is already receiving numerous reports of Bullying and Harassment cases.  Often in these cases the reporting procedures were unclear for the workforce and the employer did not complete an effective investigation into the complaint. Workplace Bullying and Harassment is very similar to other safety related issues.  An employer has the opportunity to eliminate problems before they happen.

Now is the time for business owners to take action! If an employer can think through the possible situations that can lead to Workplace Harassment and Bullying, there is a greater chance that the employer can eliminate any conflict before it begins. If an employer can take the time to draft clear procedures in the event of a complaint, the easier time the employer will have addressing the complaint. A critical component is to fully understand and think through the investigation process. What would the employer need to document? How can the investigation get to the root cause of the problem?

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I work with numerous companies to help them put together programs for Workplace Harassment and Bullying. My clients have the attitude that they want to take initiative to foster a respectful workplace. Happy workers are effective workers. A toxic work environment will poison relationships with customers and clients and choke productivity. The leaders in the business community are embracing this legislation to create workplaces where people are happy to go to work.

 

Posted on: January 31st, 2023 by Victoria Comments

Asbestos- a hidden killer in the construction industry

Safety Solutions at Work is proud to feature the following guest article from the Mesothelioma Center. You can learn more about their centre by checking out Asbestos.com

Need information to pass along to your construction contractors? Be sure to read our article discussing how asbestos can affect construction workers!

Thanks to the popularity of energy efficiency upgrades and environmentally friendly home overhauls, construction workers are handling an ever-increasing number of home renovation requests. Often, multi-worker construction teams tackle the same project, providing high-quality upgrades in a short amount of time. However, workers must mindfully allocate time to safety addressing asbestos hazards. If mishandled, asbestos products can lead to a number of serious diseases including the most common type of mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma cancer.

Construction workers have some of the highest risks for asbestos-related diseases, thanks to the frequency with which they handle asbestos-containing materials. Asbestos is present in many of the insulating, flooring and roofing products that construction workers renovate on a daily basis.

Workers in many different construction sectors may encounter asbestos. Some of the riskiest construction industries include:

  • Demolition
  • Plumbing
  • Pipefitting
  • Roofing
  • Carpeting

These industrial sectors have high rates of mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases. However, any construction worker who handles older construction materials may have an elevated risk of contracting these diseases.

How Construction Workers can Reduce their Risk of Asbestos Exposure

Construction workers are not always required to undergo asbestos training. However, abatement professionals and workers who may encounter asbestos during their work must complete asbestos licensure courses outlining methods of safe handling and disposal. Workers should complete these classes before beginning any asbestos work, and they must remember to renew their certifications before they expire.

Until asbestos inspections confirm otherwise, construction workers should assume that materials installed before the 1980s contain the fibers. These fibers can easily enter the air if the materials are cracking, crumbling or otherwise in poor condition. Additionally, construction work such as grinding, sawing or cutting can release asbestos fibers into the breathing space. Workers must take special precautions – such as using wet removal methods – when handling these products.

Although wet removal methods can help reduce the likelihood that asbestos enters the air during renovation, construction workers should still wear protective gear when working in older homes. Supervisors must provide respirators, face masks and other safety equipment when construction workers head to jobsites where asbestos is present.

Author bio: Faith Franz researches and writes about health-related issues for The Mesothelioma Center. One of her focuses is living with cancer.

 

Posted on: March 18th, 2022 by Victoria Comments

Why don`t we care? Reasons why people don`t protect themselves on the job

DeskToday I celebrated a moment of great self-care for my workplace – I spent my first workday at my new stand- up desk!  Recent studies have shown that sitting for extended periods of time is harmful.  The inactivity and the unnatural body posture caused by sitting for long periods of time negatively impact all body types.  Even normally healthy people will suffer ill health from sitting extensively.

So I built a desk where I work standing up!  I added to my new creation a “wellness mat” that I stand on to ease any tension in my legs.  I feel cared for and energized.

What I discovered in this process is how long I was willing to suffer with back pain and knee pain before I took action.  I care a lot for my body and invest in gym memberships, yoga passes, healthy food and meditation classes.  I enjoy being healthy, fit and well…..yet I was willing to sacrifice my well being for my work.  My work ethic overruled my health ethic.

Recently, my loved one, Jacob, came home with cracked, red and irritated hands.  He is a metal fabricator and had spent his day working with grease and then a harsh industrial paint.  His hands were covered in paint and grime.  The irritation on his hands was extremely painful.  I asked him if his employer provided him with gloves to protect himself from the irritating chemicals.  Yes, his workplace had protective gloves.  He knew where to find them, but they were across the shop from his workstation.  He was engrossed in his task.  Here is how he describes his thoughts:

I get so focused on my task that I don’t want to stop.  I just want to keep focused.  Stopping to find protective gloves would have interrupted my thought process and work flow.  I just wanted to get the work done

Interestingly enough, after greasing the deadline anchor that he was working on, Jacob needed to clean up the mess on his hands.  He used some degreaser that was in the shop.  The degreaser began to irritate his hands and caused what looked like skin ulcers.  Alarmed he needed to hunt down his supervisor and first aid attendant to find the MSDS on the product.  Yes, the degreaser can cause dermititis and skin ulcers in people who have sensitivities.  The combination of the degreaser, the soap and the handcleaner that he used to try to remove the grease may have also caused a chemical reaction.

Then Jacob went on to paint the deadline anchor.  The thick industrial paint got on his arms and hands.  It coated his hands in a thick crust.  An hour of scotch brite scouring pads at home finally got off the paint.

Mission before Man!

Maybe it is not for lack of caring  that workers do not care for themselves.  Quite often it is the case that they care too much.

Across the land, in every workplace, we have hard working Canadians who are working themselves to injury or literally to death.

Just get the job done!

If only we could care enough to stop this cycle.  Jacob made another interesting comment to me:

Sometimes I see other workers doing things that I know aren’t safe.  For example, I see young guys positioning themselves in the path of danger.  If a clamp holding a heavy piece failed, they could be crushed.

Experience can help us teach others.  Send a message to fellow workers to take measures to care for themselves and to work safely.  We can work as a team and all go home healthy and safe at the end of the day.

That is a sign of caring.

 

Posted on: February 19th, 2022 by Victoria Comments

They laughed when I told them to tie off . . . The role of peer pressure in safety

Create Inclusion

We thought that we had grown out of peer pressure when we left high school, but it continues in the workplace.  Safety rules are constantly being broken because people are afraid of peer pressure.  When faced with the choice of shame, exclusion or jibes from a peer group or the choice of physical injury or harm, it is amazing the number of people who would risk physical pain over social conflict.

A safety culture needs to break the energy of negative peer pressure.  This can only be achieved by a combined effort of positive leadership.

In my long experience in education, my most interesting work was in creating a positive learning cultures.  My work was to create tightly-knit peer groups called Tribes.  I worked with these groups to develop skills to collaborate and work together.  In an industrial environment, these working groups can be empowered to problem solve areas in a company.  These teams can be built from people who work together on a regular basis or mixed groups from people in various departments.  The goal is to create groups that contain a natural leader who will support a positive work culture.

The peer leaders influence others.  When leadership comes from a peer group, the energy spreads.  If the leader follows the safety guidelines, the peers will follow.

Within the group, there will also be negative leaders- those who try to distract or sabotage positive initiatives.  Negative leaders have the power to undermine a group if their are given the opportunity.  The goal is to create a momentum behind the positive change and lessen the influence of negative leaders.

Management plays a critical component in this area.   Managers and supervisors need to work to include negative leaders in the positive changes.  There is a danger of focusing on positive reinforcement for positive leaders and disciplinary action for negative leaders.  This only leads to more feelings of exclusion and deeper resentments with these members of the group.  Others who share feelings of exclusion will gravitate to this energy and it will grow.  Instead, kill it with kindness.

Kindness is a powerful tool and takes many forms.  Kindness can be an acknowledgement of a person- a friendly hello in the morning, or “how was your weekend, Bill?”.  It can be looking for opportunities to praise positive performance.  Find the good.

This does not mean that company discipline policies are not followed.  Focusing kindness on negative leaders exposes their complaints and grumpiness as superficial.  Underneath is a person who wants to be respected and to be acknowledged.

Creating a positive safety culture is challenging but it is possible.  Use the power of the group to direct the energy.  One person can not create it on their own.  If enough people are following the same desired path or positive outcome, the momentum carries the group forward.  The culture shifts or changes and new habits are formed.

Posted on: January 15th, 2022 by Victoria Comments

Keep your family safe this holiday season

Christmas Fire Safety

Safety Solutions at Work asked a safety expert about fire safety for the holiday season. This newsletter teaches us how to keep our family and home safe for Christmas.

Fire Safety for your Family at Christmas

Christmas is fast approaching and the excitement is palpable. This festival is always characterized by gifts, Christmas trees, lights and Santa Claus among others. It offers family members an opportunity to bond with one another and show their appreciation for each other. During Christmas, people allow themselves to be immersed in the excitement, which is quite a good distraction from workplace-related stress.

Regardless of the happiness associated with Christmas, safety should be an important priority for all families. In particular, fire safety is important to ensure that the home is rid of any fire accidents. Many people have sought treatment on Christmas day for injuries, cuts and falls related to fire incidents.

Tips to maintain fire safety in the home

The following tips could be helpful when seeking to keep the home free from fires:

1. Purchase the right Christmas tree
Most families would opt for artificial Christmas trees due to their benefits. When doing this, it is important that they go for a fire-resistant variety. Such trees are usually easy to extinguish in the event that they catch fire.

The freshness of the tree is another important ingredient of a good Christmas tree. Green is always the color that indicates the freshness of a Christmas tree. They also have needles that do not break and could not easily be pulled from the branches. Such trees are usually sticky as a result of being coated with resin and do not lose a lot of needles when tapped on the floor.

All Christmas trees should be placed away from radiators and fireplaces. The stand should be consistently watered and kept out of doorways and foot traffic.

2. Think about the Christmas lights
The perfect Christmas lights are those that have undergone laboratory testing and comply with safety standards. Family members should also ensure that the lights do not have bare wires, loose connections, cracked sockets or damaged sets. The maximum number of standard-size lights should be three for every extension cord.

Fire safety can also be achieved by avoiding the use of electric lights on metallic Christmas trees. There is the risk of electrocution when someone touches the tree after becoming charged from contact with the lights.

Outdoor lights should also be securely fastened onto house walls, trees or other firm supports. This shields the lights from wind damage. The fastening process should only be done using staples. These lights should be turned off at bedtime or when nobody is in the house.

When purchasing Christmas lights, people must also remember to purchase GFCIs (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters). These devices would provide shock against electronic shocks by circuits that hold outdoor electrical lights.

3. Use decorations correctly
When trimming a tree, it is recommended that families should use non-combustible materials. Examples of such materials include non-leaded metals plastic or tinsel. People should also remember not to bring lighted candles in contact with the Christmas tree. Closely related to this fact is the fact that requires families to use non-flammable candle holders.

Children should also be kept out of reach of harmful decorations. Such decorations include breakable or sharp ones that could be ingested or inhaled by the young ones.

4.Maintain the fireplace
All flammable materials should be kept away from fireplaces. These include materials such as, Christmas decorations, lights or trees. Wrapping papers should also not be burned in the fireplace as they could ignite unexpectedly and cause a lot of damage.

 

Nisha represents a site called http://www.aplclothing.co.uk. She enjoys writing about health and safety in the work/home.

Posted on: December 18th, 2021 by Victoria Comments

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