REA - EHS Headlines - Ontario

July 2004 - Ontario Edition

REA News: Our New Ottawa Office
We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Joanna Tam (nee Szymandera) on her recent marriage. Joanna will continue to act as our Director of Training Services under her new name and can be reached through her updated e-mail address jtam@rea.ca or by contacting our office.

Ministry of Labour Updates
In line with recent initiatives to reduce workplace injuries by 20% by the end of four years, on July 8, 2004, the MOL announced that it will be hiring 200 additional enforcement staff, including 100 new health and safety inspectors. These new enforcement officers, along with 230 existing enforcement staff will be targeting firms with high injury rates and high injury costs in order to meet the MOL objective. Using statistics from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, approximately 6 000 firms were identified as high risk and will be targeted. These included firms where workers were injured more often, where compensation costs were higher, and where injuries were more costly when compared to other firms in their sector.

While implementing this initiative, the enforcement officers will continue to give priority to investigating workplace critical injuries, work refusal, work stoppages and immediate hazards to worker health and safety. For Occupational Health and Safety inquiries, the Ministry of Labour can be reached at 1-800-268-8013 or through their website, www.gov.on.ca/lab

Heat Stress
With summer upon us, many employers are having to deal with issues of heat stress. Hot temperatures, combined with factors such as high humidity, heavy physical labour, fatigue, loss of body fluids and some health conditions can put stress on the body’s natural cooling system, potentially leading to various heat related illnesses.

Although there is limited guidance regarding minimum temperatures in the Occupational Health and Safety Act or Regulations, according to the Ministry of Labour (MOL), employers have a duty under section 25(2)(h) of the Act to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. This includes developing policies and procedures to protect workers performing work in hot conditions. In order to comply with this duty, the MOL recommends following the Threshold Limit Values for heat stress and strain published by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.

Main considerations for controlling heat stress include acclimatization (allowing the body to adjust to the work and conditions) and modification of the work environment through engineering and administrative controls. The MOL has published a guideline on Heat Stress which is available through their website at http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/hs/guidelines/gl_heat.html. If you would like any assistance managing your heat stress program, please call us at 416-495-1314 or 1-888-732-4347


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UPCOMING COURSES

Joint Health & Safety Committee Basic Certification:
Aug. 4 & 5, 2004 – Ottawa
Aug. 10 & 11, 2004 – Toronto
Aug. 16 & 17, 2004 – Kingston
Aug. 24 & 25, 2004 – London
Sep. 8 & 9, 2004 – Kingston
Sep. 8 & 9, 2004 – Toronto
Sep. 15 & 16, 2004 – Hamilton

Joint Health & Safety Committee Part 2 Certification – Health Care:
Sep. 21 & 22, 2004 – Hamilton
Oct. 19 & 20, 2004 – Ottawa
Oct. 19 & 20, 2004 – Toronto

Joint Health & Safety Committee Part 2 Certification – Office:
Sep. 16, 2004 – Ottawa
Sep. 23, 2004 – Toronto
Oct. 7, 2004 – Hamilton
Oct. 28, 2004 – Kingston

Joint Health & Safety Committee Part 2 Certification – Industrial:
Sep. 28 & 29, 2004 – Toronto
Oct. 26 & 27, 2004 – Ottawa
Nov. 16 & 17, 2004 – Hamilton

Contractor & Project Safety Management:
Aug. 9 & 10, 2004 – Ottawa
Sep. 28 & 29, 2004 – Hamilton
Nov. 2 & 3, 2004 – Kingston
Nov. 16 & 17, 2004 – Ottawa

Environmental Protection Regulations in Ontario:
Sep. 30, 2004 – Toronto

Mould: Identification and Control in Facilities:
Oct. 7, 2004 – Toronto
Nov. 25, 2004 – Toronto

Machine & Process Safeguarding:
Aug. 18, 2004 – Ottawa
Aug. 18, 2004 – Hamilton
Oct. 14, 2004 – Toronto
Nov. 10, 2004 – Hamilton

OHS for Managers & Supervisors – the "Competent Person" Course:
Aug. 23 & 24, 2004 – Ottawa
Sep. 14 & 15, 2004 – Toronto
Oct. 13 & 14, 2004 – Kingston
Oct. 19 & 20, 2004 – Hamilton

Pre-Start Health & Safety Review:
Aug. 17, 2004 – Ottawa
Aug. 17, 2004 – Hamilton
Oct. 13, 2004 – Toronto
Nov. 9, 2004 – Hamilton

Infection Prevention in Health Care Construction and Maintenance:
Aug. 26, 2004 – Toronto
Aug. 30, 2004 – Ottawa

Industrial Ergonomics for Safety and Performance:
Aug. 19, 2004 – Ottawa
Sep. 21, 2004 – Toronto

OHSAS 18001 – OHS Management System Awareness Course:
Sep. 22, 2004 – Toronto
Nov. 16, 2004 – Toronto

OHSAS 18001 – OHS Management System Implementation Course:
Nov. 2 – 4, 2004 – Toronto

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