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WWW.WHS.GOV.AB.CA WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY WEBSITE

ATVsRegulation & Training

ARE CHANGING ATTITUDES

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P e r s p e c t i v e

Note from the Managing Editor: We heard from the AlbertaMotor Transport Association about the cover of our September 2004issue and about the drawing on page 12 that introduced the coverstory on vehicle collision rates. Some readers perceived the imagesof transport trucks and “How is my driving? Call 1-800-SUB-PAR”to be offensive to professional drivers and the trucking industry.

The story acknowledges that thetrucking industry has madegreat progress in safetyprograms. It also makes it clearthat vehicle collisions are aserious concern in many otherindustries that do not employprofessional drivers.Nevertheless, we know imagescan be powerful, and we didnot intend to narrow themessage only to the truckingindustry. In this issue, KimRoyal, executive director ofAMTA, offers an industryperspective on safe driving.

T he Alberta Motor Transport Association representsover 12,000 for-hire trucking companies in theprovince of Alberta. As an industry, we are proud of

the men and women who have chosen to becomeprofessional drivers and the enviable safety record theyhave achieved.

We found the September 2004 issue with an article onVehicle Collision Rates offensive because it gives readers theimpression that commercial truckers are bad drivers. Eventhough the article talks about the overall incident rate, theimpression the graphics portrays is that commercial driversare the problem. The truth is just the opposite.

Alberta Transportation’s website shows that the safestvehicle on the highway is a commercial vehicle in the RockyMountain Double configuration. This is a tractor pullingtwo trailers with a total length greater than 25 metres(maximum 38 metres). The next safest vehicle is also a LongCombination Vehicle – the Turnpike Double, which is alsoup to 38 metres long (or a tractor with two 53-foot trailers).

Alberta Transportation conducted a four-year study thatreviewed every incident involving a Long Combination

Vehicle in Alberta. Not only was the incidence rate forRocky Mountain Doubles lower than for any other vehicleon the road, but most of the incidents were not the fault ofthe truck driver. The Rocky Mountain Double had only onecollision in an urban centre, and in this case the unit wassideswiped by a driver under the influence of alcohol. It isa testament to the skill of commercial drivers that thelargest vehicles on the road are also the safest.

National statistics for all commercial vehicles are equallyimpressive. On Canada’s highways commercial trucks are15 per cent of the total traffic but are involved in only 3 percent of the collisions. In those collisions, 80 per cent of thetime the truck driver is not at fault.

One of our industry’s biggest concerns on the road isthe actions of other drivers. Trucks do not behave orhandle like a passenger car, and a defensive driver actsaccordingly. Since a large commercial vehicle may bepulling as much as 80,000 pounds, it requires a muchgreater distance to accelerate or stop. Quite often when acommercial truck driver approaches a red light, makingsure there is adequate stopping distance, a car in anadjoining lane decides to switch lanes and moves in front ofthe truck. This action removes 10 or more metres of stoppingdistance for the truck. The trucker now must brake harder,and then unfortunately two more drivers may decide theirvehicles can fit into the space as well. This eliminates anysafety margin the truck driver had. It is only due to the skillof the operator that a collision is avoided.

Like all vehicles, large trucks have blind spots. A defensivedriver avoids those areas for everyone’s safety. As a guidelinewhen traveling in a neighbouring lane or behind a truck,if you cannot see the driver’s face in his mirrors he cannotsee you. When pulling in front of a truck at highwayspeeds make sure you can see both of the truck’s headlightsin your rearview mirror before making a lane change. In urban situations, leave adequate stopping distance forthe truck when making a lane change so as to allow foremergency stops.

If all drivers practice good road manners and treat fellowdrivers with respect, we will lower the collision rate, notonly for commercial trucks but for all vehicles.

Kim Royal is the executive director of the Alberta Motor Transport Association.

by Kim RoyalHAVE AN ENVIABLE SAFETY RECORD

Truckers

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M A G A Z I N E

O C C U P A T I O N A L

An Alberta Human Resources and Employment publication

Managing Editor – Wally BaerEditor – Anita Jenkins

Occupational Health & Safety Magazine is published three times a year, in January, Mayand September. Magazine policy is guided by the Occupational Health & Safety MagazineAdvisory Board, which includes members representing both industry and government.

Membership on the Occupational Health & Safety Magazine Advisory Board is open to any resident of Alberta with knowledge and experience of health and safety, and aninterest in communicating health and safety information to the public. Any individualinterested in joining the Board should submit a letter of application to the managingeditor of the magazine. The Board meets three times a year in Edmonton. Board membersdo not receive remuneration or reimbursement for expenses related to meetings.

Occupational Health & Safety Magazine Advisory Board members:

Chris Chodan Alberta Human Resources and EmploymentCommunications

Rick Ennis Christensen & McLean Roofing Co.Lloyd Harman Alberta Forest Products Association

Dianne Paulson Alberta Construction Safety AssociationKarl Pedersen Alberta Human Resources and Employment

Workplace Health & SafetyCorinne Pohlmann Canadian Federation of Independent Business

Kim Scott Salem Manor Nursing Home James Wilson Workers’ Compensation Board-Alberta

If there is a discrepancy between statements in this publication and the OccupationalHealth and Safety Act, or its Code or Regulation, the Act, Code or Regulation takesprecedence. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views orpolicy of Alberta Human Resources and Employment or the Government of Alberta.

Copyright is held by the Government of Alberta. Reproduction of articles in their entiretyis permitted. A reproduced article must include: the author’s name; title of the article; andthe full name of the magazine with its date, volume and issue number. For permission toreproduce excerpts of an article, please contact the magazine’s administration office.

Subscriptions are available without charge by calling 1-866-415-8690. When notifying us of a change of address, send an address label or subscription number with the new address. The magazine is also available as a PDF file on the Internet atwww.gov.ab.ca/hre/whs/publications/ohsmag.asp.

Letters to the editor. We welcome response to articles or information published in thismagazine, as well as suggestions for future articles. We will print letters to the editor asspace permits. The editor reserves the right to edit letters.

Publication Mail Agreement No. 40062521

Return Undeliverable Canadian Mail to:

Circulation DepartmentAlberta Human Resources and EmploymentWorkplace Health & Safety and Employment Standards Compliance10th floor, South Tower, 7th Street Plaza10030 - 107 Street, Edmonton AB T5J 3E4Email: whs@gov.ab.ca

Phone: 1-866-415-8690Fax: (780) 644-5424

Design and layout by McRobbie GroupPrinting by Quebecor World EdmontonISSN 0705-6052 © 2005

contentsP e r s p e c t i v e

2 Truckers Have an Enviable Safety Recordby Kim Royal

E r g o t i p s

9 The Toughest Jobs for Your Backby Ray Cislo

S t o r i e s

6 Fall Protectionby Allan Sheppard

10 Reinvesting Safety Rebatesby Cheryl Mahaffy

12 ATVsby Norma Ramage

16 Keeping Young Workers Safe in Central Albertaby Alf Cryderman

P r o f i l e

20 Oilpatch Innovationby Kerry Tremblay

M u c h M o r e

4 News & Notes

15 The Last Resort – Recent Convictions

15 From the Courtroom

19 Partnerships News

22 Web Watcher

23 Real World Solutions

23 Workplace Fatalities

N e w s & N o t e s

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Alberta’s CentennialO n September 1, 2005, Alberta will be 100 years

old. To mark this centennial year, Albertanswill take part in all sorts of celebratory

activities. Many people will also have anopportunity to learn more about the exciting eventsthat have taken place during the relatively short butnonetheless dramatic history of this province.

Without a doubt the discovery of oil at Leduc in1947 is one of the major events of the past 100 years.The rise of the Alberta oilpatch in the 1950s sawhundreds of workers enthusiastically signing up forjobs in this dirty and dangerous business because itwas also filled with adventure and offered a chance toearn good pay. Fifty years ago in the oil industry,people worked with little or no protective equipment,and safety training and regulation was minimal.

Here’s how the situation is described inEdmonton: In Our Own Words by Linda Goyette(University of Alberta Press, 2004): "‘Everyonewanted to get in on the act,’ recalled Doug Gibbs,an Edmonton safety inspector, ‘so you hadinexperienced men working with very powerfulmachinery, often under high pressure, extremeweather conditions and at considerable heights.’Fifteen rig hands died on the job in Alberta in 1955and severe injuries were common" (p. 318).

For more information about theplans to celebrate Alberta’scentennial year, visitwww.albertacentennial.ca.

Royalite operation around 1950. Note the lack of personal protective

equipment a half century ago. Photo courtesy of the Provincial Archives ofAlberta, H. Pollard Jr. collection, No. P3067.

CD Raises Awareness of OverheadPowerline Safety

Recently, a worker at a road-paving site received ashock when the box of a nearby dump trucktouched an overhead powerline. The worker wastransported to hospital by STARS air ambulancewith undetermined injuries.

To help prevent incidents like this, which occurevery year in Alberta, the Alberta ConstructionSafety Association has developed a resource toeducate workers about the hazards of working nearoverhead powerlines. Called Overhead PowerlineContact Awareness, this CD presentation includesseven steps that apply when workers are nearoverhead powerlines. For example:

• Look Up and Live. Check for overhead powerlinesbefore beginning work.

N e w s & N o t e s

• Shuffle or Hop – Don’t Step. When moving across areasthat may present electrical hazards, either ensure thatthe heels do not pass the toes (shuffle) or keep both feettogether and hop.

For more information, go to www.acsa-safety.org/images/overhead.asp, where you can download the presentation. A CD ROM version is also available for $10.70.

Popular ACSA video nominated for award

The Alberta Construction Safety Association’s 2003 FieldLevel Risk Assessment video, See it Again for the First Time,was nominated for an Alberta Motion Pictures IndustryAssociation "Rosie" award and listed among the threefinalists. For information about this resource, go towww.acsa-safety.org or call 1-800-661-2272 (Edmonton) or 1-800-661-6090.

NAOSH WeekMay 1-7, 2005

It’s time to start planning your events and activities to celebrate North American Occupational Safety &Health Week, May 1-7. The theme for 2005 is “Equip.Educate. Empower.”

This annual event focuses the attention of employers,employees and the general public on the importance of preventing injury and illness in the workplace andencouraging new health and safety activities.

The National Launch will take place in Yellowknife this year.

For details, go to www.naosh.ca.

Hundreds Attend Annual Health & Safety ConferenceThe 3rd annual Alberta Health and Safety Conferenceand Trade Fair, held in Edmonton at the ShawConference Centre November 8-10, attracted over 400delegates and more than 100 trade fair exhibitors. Ifyou add in all the speakers and volunteers, the totalnumber of safety-oriented people gathered at this eventcame to about 720. Organized by the Health & SafetyConference Society of Alberta around the theme of“Building Partnerships,” this event provided somethingfor everything.

These are just three of the topics covered in the 42sessions that were available to choose from.

SAFETY CULTURE Employees’ perceptions can play apowerful role in creating a safe (or unsafe) environment.Presenter Dennis Ryan of Compass Health & Safetybrought his point home with a story about fivemonkeys who refuse to climb a set of stairs to get abanana, even though none of them knows why theyshouldn’t. It’s just “the way we do things around here.”

VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE presented by Abrantis.Having workers assaulted and/or threatened is badenough, but the effects of violence at work go far beyondthe suffering of the victim. There are steps an employercan take to help prevent the occurrence of a violentincident. It is also important to establish procedures forreacting if or when a violent incident occurs.

APPLIED RESEARCH Troy Jones, PhD, a University ofAlberta researcher in ergonomics, helped the AlbertaForest Products Association to identify the most typicalmusculoskeletal injuries in the industry. It was originallythought that backs were the biggest concern but a surveyindicated that most injuries were actually in the upperbody (forearms and shoulders).

Start planning now to attend the 4th annual conferenceand trade fair next year in Calgary. The dates arealready set: November 7–9, 2005.

For more information, go to www.hsconference.com.

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6 O C C U P A T I O N A L H E A L T H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5

M ichael Cowan has good reasonto appreciate the value of fallprotection equipment: “I

wouldn’t be here without it,” he sayssimply and sincerely.

Michael is living proof of the life-saving benefits of fall protection.More than that, Michael is livingproof of the need for employers tohave and enforce a fall protectionpolicy – and of the benefits of workingcooperatively with occupationalhealth and safety officers to correctdeficiencies when they are identified.

Michael joined MIT Contracting inMarch 2004 and went to work as aframer on a project in southeastEdmonton. His job orientationincluded a training session on theproper use of fall protectionequipment as provided by thecompany. He was also advised of thecompany’s mandatory fall protectionpolicy, which specifies fall protectionequipment must be used as requiredby the section 9.139 (1) and (2) of theOccupational Health and Safety

Code. Specifically, fall protection isnecessary when “the worker may fallthree metres or more,” or when“there is an unusual possibility ofinjury if a worker falls less than threemetres.” If, for example, a possible“injury may be worse than an injuryfrom landing on a solid, flat surface.”

In mid-July 2004, Michael wasworking on the roof of a framecondominium unit. He describes whathappened: “I was nailing down thesheeting on the roof, and it was wet,so it was a little slippery. We weredown near the edge of the building,and basically I had turned around togo back up to the peak of the buildingand slipped on some sawdust and slid

off the edge of the building.” Insteadof falling five storeys to the ground,he was saved by his standard safetyharness and lanyard and rescued byhis co-workers.

Had Michael started working forMIT Contracting a year earlier, thestory might have been sadly different.“Before the safety equipment wasenforced,” says foreman and two-yearMIT employee Ryan Rezansoff, “westill had safety harness and whatnotthat we used in certain situations ona roof.” But there was no policy, andworkers were allowed to make theirown decisions about when to use fallprotection. “Now that it’s beenenforced, they’re used a lot more

by Allan Sheppard

AN ALBERTA COMPANY DISCOVERS THEBENEFITS OF POLICIES AND EQUIPMENT

Fall Protection

Michael says he will always use fall protectionequipment when it is required. Would heinsist on having it, if it were not supplied?“Yes. Knowing what I know now.”

O C C U P A T I O N A L H E A L T H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 7

often. They make us wear them now,whether you want to or not.”

Michael happily endorses that policy.He says he will always use fall protectionequipment when it is required. Would heinsist on having it, if it were not supplied?“Yes. Knowing what I know now.”

There is an earlier chapter in the happystory of Michael Cowan. Shortly beforeMichael went to work for MIT, KarlPedersen, an Alberta governmentoccupational health and safety officer,went to an MIT work site in northeastEdmonton in response to informationreceived from a member of the public.“I found a group of workers framing theroof and sheeting the roof with no fallprotection, and a potential fall of aboutfive storeys. I stopped the work. I foundother problems so I stopped the workon the entire site until the problemswere fixed.”

The important thing, says Pedersen, is not how many stop orders he wroteagainst the job, but how MIT Contracting

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO USE YOUR FALL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT?

A fall protection system, properly used and maintained by a trainedworker, is indispensable when working above three metres. But

you cannot take your equipment and training for granted, says TedLane, a lead investigator with Workplace Health & Safety. Lane recallsan incident where a worker fell even though he was properly equipped and trained, and supported by a fall protection policy.

Lane describes the circumstances: “The site was theconstruction of a large bridge. The worker wasyoung, just 18, and he was working at a height ofalmost eight metres. The company had a fallprotection policy in place. They had providedeverybody with harnesses and lanyards. They weredouble lanyards, so that the workers could clip offat one point, walk along, and clip off at anotherpoint before they released the first clip, so that they were continuouslyprotected. Along a walkway, they were using vertical rebar (reinforcing rod) thatwas part of the bridge construction to clip onto.”

The rebar was strong enough to provide a secure anchor point. The safety gearcomplied with CSA standards. Yet the keeper (safety latch) opened understress, and the worker fell. Subsequent investigation showed that the rebarwas placed so closely together that it interfered with the free movement ofthe snap hook and occasionally kept the hook from seating properly against abar, preventing the keeper from closing fully. When the worker slipped and puthis full weight on the hook, it opened and fell away from the rebar. Theworker was fortunate to survive the fall with only minor injuries.

Workers may clip and move their snaps hooks “several times a minute,” saysLane, so it would have been difficult to make sure the hook was properly seatedbefore moving every time. But if unencumbered anchor points are not available,staying alert and aware of possible dangers is the only way to keep safe.

The Alberta Construction Safety Association has issued a set of guidelines tohelp workers minimize the risks associated with the use of fall protectionequipment. Here is a partial list of the ACSA’s precautions for individual workers:

Be fully conversant with the protection system.

Know the capabilities of fall protection equipment.

Know your anchor points.

Do not wrap the lanyards and/or rope around beams, girders, pipes, etc.

Utilize a buddy system. Continually check each other’s harness and Dring to ensure the harness is not too loose and or the D ring has notslipped down the back.

The guidelines are available in full at www.acsa-safety.org/safeworddocs/SWP00030.doc.

Worker using an approvedadjustable travel restraint line.

continued on page 8

O C C U P A T I O N A L H E A L T H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 58

responded to his intervention. “Theresponse was positive right from thebeginning. I had the owner’s ear. I wentover to his office. They hired a safety

Entry deadline is February 15, 2005.

For more information on the awards and to download an application package visit worksafely.org

worksafely.org 1-866-415-8690 ( to l l f ree)

Be recognized as one of Alberta’soutstanding health and safetyinnovators. Apply today.

Be recognized for your efforts in creating a safer and healthier work environment.Individuals, organizations and companiesare eligible to enter health and safetyinnovations implemented during the 2004 calendar year.

Annual Awards for Innovation in Workplace Health and Safety

Call for Applications

Are you a Health

and SafetyInnovator?

R e s o u r c e s

WEB LINKS

www.gov.ab.ca/hre/whs/publications/pdf/al014.pdf Safety Bulletin on proper use and selection of anchors

http://construction.healthandsafetycentre.org/s/Prevention-GeneralConstruction.asp?ReportID=23916Worksafe BC links, fall arrest procedures and incidents

www.ohscanada.com/SafetyPurchasing/Fallarrest.aspProper use of fall arrest equipment

IN THE ALBERTA GOVERNMENT LIBRARY – LABOUR BUILDING

For contact information, see page 18.

Videos

Fall Protection Ladder SafetyTraining for employees on the use, inspection andmaintenance of portable and fixed ladders commonlyused in the industrial workplace. (VC 0400)

Falls in the WorkplaceTopics covered: categories of falls, falls fromheights, the five components of the Hierarchy ofControls and range of control measures that can beused to prevent falls in the workplace. (VC 0347)

High Impact Fall PreventionGraphic re-creations of 10 incidents remind us aboutshortcuts and other common safety mistakes thatcan lead to death or injury. (VC 0322)

consultant. They took the training.They trained the whole crew. I havethe records of that.”

The result: a safety-conscious workingenvironment in which workers areequipped and trained to work safely atheights. That, says Pedersen, is theresult of a positive working relationshipbetween him and the contractor. “Ifyou take the advice of the provincialgovernment and follow the legislation,it does pay dividends.”

Dividend No. 1 for MIT Contractingis a healthy young worker namedMichael Cowan, still productive andlearning on the job.

Allan Sheppard is as freelance writer andresearcher who lives in Edmonton.

� Take every opportunity to link employeehealth and safety to the organization'sperformance and its business strategy.

� Expand the scope of individualattitudes and behaviours beyond therealm of health to include productivity.

� Start thinking of healthy workenvironments as the enabling contextfor learning and innovation.

Source: At Work: Information on workplace research fromthe Institute for Work & Health, Issue 38, Fall 2004.

GETTING WORKPLACE HEALTH ON THE AGENDA

Dr. Graham Lowe of the Graham LoweGroup Inc. has identified three steps totake to get workplace health on theexecutive team's agenda.

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THE TOUGHEST JOBS

for your back

E r g o t i p s

Up to 80 per cent of adults will experience back painat some point in their lives. But which jobs are themost likely to involve back injury?

Selected members of the American Chiropractic Associationwere recently asked which jobs they considered to be themost “backbreaking.” At the top of the list were the drivers ofheavy trucks and tractor-trailers. The prolonged sitting andconstant vibration they are exposed to can damage the spine.Increased body weight, often the result of a less-than-optimaldiet on the road, can also contribute to back problems.

The other nine jobs, in no specific order, included:

• Construction work. The awkward body positionsrequired when hammering, lifting or doing steelworkor ironwork can injure the back.

• Landscaping. Injuries are often associated with liftingheavy loads of dirt, rocks, peat moss, etc. and wheelingan unsteady wheel barrow.

• Emergency personnel. Police officers can spend longperiods of time sitting in their cars, often wearingheavy equipment belts. They can also twist or straintheir backs while struggling with someone during anarrest. Firefighters and EMTs may have to carry victimsto safety and maneuver heavy hoses that deliver waterunder high pressure.

• Roof shinglers often kneel or have their body in anawkward position.

• Delivery drivers are always on the go, often carryingheavy and awkward packages. The prolonged periodsof driving are also hard on the back.

• Nursing home workers. The awkward body positionsand significant forces required to lift, lower andmove elderly people are significant hazards. Patientssometimes make unexpected movements that causethe worker to sustain an injury.

• Auto mechanics assume awkward body positions allday long that contribute to back and neck problems.

• Farmers. Lifting heavy equipment and supplies, andconstantly looking backwards when doing fieldwork,contribute to back injuries.

In 2003, Alberta workers in the following 10 jobs hadthe highest number of reported back injuries (listed inorder from most to least):

� truck drivers� labourers� nurses� janitors/cleaners� freight handlers/stevedores sales clerks carpenters and workers in related occupations� material handling labourers� welders/flame cutters personal service occupations

Source: Lost-time claim data, Workers’ Compensation Board-Alberta

Why the differences in these two lists? A lost time claimis a work-related injury that results in the worker missingat least one day of work. The injury must also be reported tothe WCB. Many back injuries go unreported. The workermay take a couple of days off, take on other less demandingduties or simply become one of the walking wounded,waiting for the injury to heal and the pain to go away.

The injured worker may go to a doctor or chiropractor fortreatment but leave his or her injury unreported. Althoughthe workers are not included in the WCB statistics, theirinjuries are captured in a survey of chiropractors.

Ray Cislo, P.Eng., B.Sc.(H.K.) is a safety engineering specialist at Workplace Policy and Standards, Alberta Human Resourcesand Employment.

by Ray Cislo

R e s o u r c e s

WEB LINKS www.gov.ab.ca/hre/whs/publications/pdf/bcl004.pdfLifting and Your Back – Some Fresh Ideas

www.gov.ab.ca/hre/whs/publications/pdf/bcl005.pdf Seven Myths about Back Pain

www.gov.ab.ca/hre/whs/publications/pdf/ph003.pdf Let’s Back Up a Bit – Some Truths About Back Belts

S ay your company receives a $200,000insurance rebate for significantlyimproving its incident rating. How

should those dollars be used?

Halliburton CanadaFacing that happy question, HalliburtonCanada, an international oilfieldservices company, is reinvesting itssavings right back where they camefrom: into initiatives aimed atimproving safety. Combining its PIRrebate (see sidebar) with another$250,000 saved by having an incidentrate 20 per cent below industry average,Halliburton is mounting a three-dayhealth, safety and environmentaltraining session for 350 supervisors,taught by such company leaders asDavid Ackert, regional vice president,Terra Nicolay, region counsel, and RickTheriau, health and safety manager.Nor is this the first such use of therebate, which last year funded theMOOSE (Managing Our Observations

Seeking Excellence) behavioural safetyand performance training program for260 frontline workers.

“The senior managers are allcommitted to safety as a value and nota priority,” Theriau says. “We want toensure those at the frontline have asmuch commitment, knowledge and asmany tools as we have, and really tocontinue to develop their skills andcapabilities, so there’s not a weak linkin the chain.”

Halliburton’s lost time incidentrecord, for example, has dropped froma spike of 2.52 lost time injuries per200,000 hours worked in 2000 to ayear-to-date rate of 0.22 for 2004.

Strategic use of the PIR rebate is onekey to that progress, Theriau says. “We useit as in investment, and investmentspay returns. Every time you don’t havean incident, you have more time forproductivity – and more time to doproactive things to continuously drivethe zero injury culture.”

H&R TransportH&R Transport in Lethbridge isinvesting part of its $150,000 rebatefor 2003 in quarterly bonuses forincident-free drivers. “We used to giveaway trinkets, to put it bluntly, butthey didn’t seem to work as well,” saysStephen Evans, vice president for losscontrol and regulatory compliance.“Now we pay drivers up to $350 eachquarter if they have no incidents, noclaims, no safety violations. Thereseems to be a stronger incentive whenit’s money rather than a jacket orbelt buckle. Also, it’s every quarter soit’s more immediate. So there’s a farstronger connection betweenperformance and rewards.”

The bonuses are part of a safetyredesign implemented about a year agoafter reviewing benchmarks in theindustry, Evans says. As part of that sameredesign, the temperature-controlledtrucking firm is using rebate dollars tofund two new positions. A safety coor-dinator now consults with employeesinvolved in all incidents (not onlythe headline grabbers), stressingaccountability and addressing root

by Cheryl Mahaffy

Reinvesting

O C C U P A T I O N A L H E A L T H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 510

ABOUT THE PIR PROGRAMThe companies featured in this article are just four of the 7,183 Alberta employers who’vesigned onto the Partners in Injury Reduction program, which rewards safety improvementsby rebating as much as 20 per cent of Workers’ Compensation Board premiums. In 2003more than half of those partners earned rebates, which totalled $47.3 million.

As a group, PIR participants make 13.5 per cent fewer (and 27 per cent less costly)lost-time claims than non-PIR firms. What’s more, many have seen a healthy trendtoward improvement since joining PIR.

O C C U P A T I O N A L H E A L T H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 11

causes. A full-time Workers’Compensation Board coordinator workswith every injured employee to explorepreventive measures and facilitate themove back into the workforce.

“There’s no magic bullet,” Evans says.Yet he feels strongly that strategic rebatereinvestment under the new safety plandeserves significant credit for a positivetrend in both incident rates and WCBclaims. Nearly five decades old, H&R waswise to revamp, renew and re-energizeits approach to safety, he adds.“Everyone gets into a rut after severalyears of doing things the same way dayin and day out. We had to stop, lookaround and find out there was anotherway of encouraging, recognizing andrewarding safe behaviour.”

Shepherd’s Care FoundationWhen Shepherd’s Care Foundation inEdmonton received its first sizeablerebate for safety improvements in2002, President John Pray set the toneby saying, “Reinvest it in the staff.”

Each department chimed in with awish list, and by carefully stewardingthe $18,000 rebate the health and

safety committee made all thosewishes comes true. “It was a wiseinvestment,” says Kay Willekes, directorof operations and human resources.“We’ve seen a lot of benefits, includinga significant drop in injuries.”

Serving hundreds of senior residentsin units ranging from continuing careto independent condos, Shepherd’sCare workers are especially prone toback injuries due to bending andlifting, Willekes says. Many of the safetypurchases reflect that fact. Nursingstaff received transfer belts to supportthe weight of residents being moved,for example. Laundry staff gainedplatforms that enable them to reachthe bottom of a basket without bendingas far. Other purchases range fromladders to first aid training to protectivesleeves that reduce kitchen burns.

Health and safety has become asignificant priority since Pray becamepresident in 2000, and statistics reflecthis visionary approach, Willekes says.Rebates vary, with last year’s dippingto $5,000, but the trend is positive.Departments such as laundry andhousekeeping have not seen any injuriessince receiving the new safety devices.

Unlike some organizations that investin a few large items, Willekes adds,“We went the route of a variety ofthings, those most needed as identifiedby staff. To me, if you empower staff,you’re going to get a lot more mileage.”

CanforA left-hand turn lane. Not the firstpurchase you’d expect with corporatesafety dollars. But it made sense for

Canfor, whose Grande Prairie workerswere enduring raised hackles andincidents as they entered the company’ssawmill/planer mill complex alongincreasingly busy Highway 40. Havingsome funds left in its PIR rebate pot,Canfor entered into a joint venturewith the City of Grande Prairie toinstall a turning lane coupled with anadvance signal during shift changesand lunch hours. Since then, no furtherincidents have happened at the turn.

“We try to hold some of our rebatein a safety fund, knowing somethingwill come up in the middle of nextyear that’s not in the plan and not inthe budget,” says Pat Donnelly, GrandePrairie plant manager. “It allows us tohave a little bit more flexibility.”

Rebate investments are chosen by ajoint plant safety committee involvingboth union and management from allareas of the mill. With a $90,000 rebatefor last year, the committee is ponderinga behavioural safety program calledSafe Start, which prompts workers toexplore what causes incidents andhow to prevent them. Previous years’rebates helped maintain and upgradea gymnasium that is well used by bothworkers and their families.

“We tend to try to use our rebatedollars to fund things we might notnecessarily do otherwise,” Donnelly says.“Safety is about a culture and about anenvironment. When we have a little bitof extra money, we want to spend it toenhance that culture and environment.”

With about half as many reportableincidents as the industry average,Donnelly adds, “We operate on thepremise that all individual incidentsare preventable, and we’re workingvery hard to make sure that happens.”

Cheryl Mahaffy, an Edmonton writer, is co-author of Agora Borealis: Engaging inSustainable Architecture.

SAFETY REBATES

R e s o u r c e s

WEB LINKS

www.wcb.ab.ca/news/2004/040519bkg.aspBackgrounder on the 2003 PIR program

www.wcb.ab.ca/news/2004/040519.asp May 2004 WCB-Alberta press release about rebates

T wenty years ago, all-terrain vehicles were primarilybought for recreational use. Today, they’re thetransportation workhorse at many Alberta work sites.

Oil and gas employees hop aboard them to check outpipelines and foresters take them into deep woods.Emergency medical technicians, adventure travelcompanies, seismic and survey crews, ranchers and policeall use ATVs because they’re cheaper and more versatilethan four-wheel drive trucks.

Until last April, however, no part of the provincialgovernment’s occupational health and safety rules dealtspecifically with ATVs – although they were essentiallycovered by a long-standing general provision in the GeneralSafety Regulation requiring that machinery be used inaccordance with manufacturer’s specifications.

RegulationThe decision to include ATVs by name in the OccupationalHealth and Safety Code (Part 19, s. 280) reflects theirincreasing prevalence at provincial work sites, says KennHample, senior engineer, Legislation and Policy Development,Alberta Human Resources and Employment. “One of the

reasons they weren’t specifically mentioned before is thatthe previous rules were 20 years old in some cases. ATVs ona job site were pretty rare back then,” Hample says.

In addition to provisions in the Code, the OccupationalHealth and Safety Regulation requires that employersensure workers are trained in the safe operation of anyequipment they are required to use, adds Hample. TheCode has several general provisions describing things likeoperator responsibilities, safety equipment, and inspectionand maintenance, along with four specific provisions:

■ The use of three-wheeled ATVs is prohibited. (Thesehave not been manufactured since 1987 because oftheir instability.)

■ Operators’ manuals must be in place on the vehicle orat the work site.

■ If an ATV is used to move a load, that load mustconform to the limits in the manufacturer’sspecifications.

■ If the manufacturer has not established limits for useof the vehicle on sloping ground, employers mustdevelop their own set of instructions.

Safety and training consultant George Billings says theprovincial government has “taken the lead” in ATV safety byspecifying the vehicles in its revised Code. “This highlightsfor employers and users that there are requirements for thesafe operation of these vehicles.”

TrainingBillings, who has driven ATVs for more than a decade, sayshe is constantly amazed at the casual attitude of the vastmajority of people toward these powerful machines, whichcan weigh up to 650 pounds and travel at speeds as high as

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Whether participantsare experienced ATVriders or novices, thecourse takes themback to the basics.

by Norma Ramage

ATVsRegulation & Training

ARE CHANGING ATTITUDES

80 kilometres per hour. “We have toeducate people in the safe operationof these vehicles. You wouldn’t letsomeone drive a car without training,so why let them drive an ATV?”

Training is exactly what Billingsprovides as chief instructor for theAlberta Safety Council’s ATV coursesfor instructors and riders. The AlbertaSafety Council offers public courses inEdmonton and Calgary, plus customizedcourses for companies and groups inAlberta and B.C. The one-day ridercourse, which costs $160 for SafetyCouncil members and $170 for non-members, covers safe ridingpractices and strategies, pre-rideinspections, traversing, protectiveequipment, turns, loading andtransporting. The five-day instructorcourse, which is $1,100 for membersand $1,230 for non-members, includesall of the basics in 21 learningmodules, plus actual hands-onteaching experience with a class ofeight beginning riders. To successfullycomplete the course, would-beinstructors have to pass both a skillstest and a written knowledge test.

Graduates of the instructor’s coursecan go back and train fellow employees,says Billings. “We encourage companiesto send people to this course. If theytrain one of their own staff as a certified

instructor, that personcan then train otheremployees in-house.It’s cheaper and moreconvenient for thecompanies, especiallyif there is a largeturnover of employees.”

Trevor Whiting,owner of an oilfieldservices company inEdson, is a recentgraduate of the course. Although aveteran ATV user, Whiting says theAlberta Safety Council course is“excellent” and taught him things hedidn’t know. Now he plans on offeringtraining to the contractors he hires inhis business. “The big oil and gascompanies I work with don’t wantuntrained people on their sites, and Idon’t want my contractors working forme without training.”

Alberta Safety Council coursesBillings says the basic goal of theSafety Council courses is to “providepeople with responsible, prudentviewpoints on the safe use of ATVs.”So whether participants areexperienced ATV riders or novices, thecourse takes them back to the basics.

Billings starts with proper equipment,which includes a Department of

Transport-approved helmet, shatterproofgoggles, leather gloves, boots that coverthe ankle, sturdy pants and a jacket.“After all,” he says, “you wouldn’t ridea motorcycle without a helmet or insneakers and shorts, and you shouldn’tride an ATV that way either.”

One of the most valuable thingsBillings teaches his students is thatthey can’t treat an ATV like either atoy or a car. It has four wheels like acar, but it also has handlebars forsteering control like a bicycle ormotorcycle, explains Billings. Like amotorcycle or bicycle, it requiresdrivers to constantly shift weight forcontrol. “It’s a very rider reactivevehicle. I’ve had people come backfrom their first training run aching inmuscles they didn’t know they had.”

Billings teaches students how toshift their weight to go uphill, downhill,

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Participants in Alberta Safety Council ATV courseslearn that their vehicle is neither a toy nor a car.Photo courtesy of Alberta Safety Council.

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across slopes and around corners. He also teachesthem methods of assessing unfamiliar terrain andreacting quickly in an unexpected or emergencysituation. For example, ATVs have foot pedalslike a car that activate only the rear brakes andhandlebar levers, similar to those on a bicyclethat operate both front and back brakes. In anemergency an untrained rider might instinctivelyslam his foot on the pedal as he would in a car.But with an ATV, there are certain times whenthat can throw you off the machine.

“They really are different from a car,” Billingssays. “You can’t safely take them on a pavedroad. Car tires have 30 to 40 pounds of pressure,while ATV tires have three to five pounds. If youmake a sharp turn on pavement with those softtires, they could come right off the rim.”

Preventing ATV incidentsVerleen Barry is a provincial government leadinvestigator and occupational health and safetyofficer who typically investigates one or twoATV incidents every year. She says many of theproblems she sees are caused because peoplearen’t wearing the right safety equipment. “In alot of ATV incidents, people get thrown off themachine and land on their heads, and theyaren’t wearing helmets. The Code now requiresproper safety equipment, including a helmet, soI look for that when I go out to a job site.” Barrysays other common problems are excessive speedand unfamiliarity with the terrain.

Barry says many incidents could be avoided ifemployers and employees read and adhered tothe manufacturer’s operations manual providedwith every ATV. She says these comprehensivemanuals include information on safety equipment,loading, pre-trip and post-trip inspections, ridingon sloping ground and maintenance, as well asother instructions for safe riding.

Tracy Arbuckle is vice-president of a group ofATV users in the Crowsnest Pass called the QuadSquad and a graduate of the Alberta SafetyCouncil instructor course. He agrees that manypeople don’t realize how demanding it can be toride an ATV in Alberta’s rugged back country. “Ifyou’re a company with a dozen quads – and Iwork with some companies that use as many as25 or 30 of them – that represents a big capitalinvestment,” Arbuckle says. “If you throwsomebody who is untrained on them and theyget injured and the machine gets wrecked, itdoesn’t make any kind of sense.”

Norma Ramage is a freelance writer and communicationsconsultant living in Calgary.

R e s o u r c e s

WEB LINKS

www.safetycouncil.ab.ca/ Alberta Safety Council (Choose“Programs/Training” and then “All Terrain Vehicle–Instructor’s Course.”)

www.safety-council.org/info/sport/atv.html Canada Safety Council information on ATV safety

www.saferoads.com/pdf/ATVBrochure.pdf Alberta Transportation ATV safety brochure

The proper equipment for ATV ridersincludes a helmet, goggles, gloves and boots.Photos courtesy of Alberta Safety Council.

Forensic Accounting ReportsAt a spring trial in Red Deer, Jirah ConstructionServices Ltd. was found guilty of failing toensure the health and safety of a worker (seedetails in “The Last Resort,” column opposite).However, after the finding of guilt, the directingmind of Jirah Construction Services Ltd.informed the court that the corporation hadbeen dissolved and that he was now conductingbusiness under a new corporate name, RockyMountain Custom Homes Ltd. At the request ofthe Crown Prosecutor, the court ordered theproduction of extensive financial records datingback five years for both Jirah ConstructionServices Ltd. and Rocky Mountain CustomHomes Ltd.

Alberta Justice retained an expert forensicaccountant to review the financial informationand comment on the inter-relationship of thesetwo entities. The report concluded that RockyMountain Custom Homes Ltd. appeared to be analter ego of Jirah Construction Services Ltd.

When imposing the sentence, the courtemphasized that if Jirah Construction ServicesLtd. does not pay the fine, the successorcorporation will be pursued to make payment.

To suggest topics for future columns, please send amessage to Tamara.Trull@gov.ab.ca orBrian.Caruk@gov.ab.ca.

Tamara Trull is a Crown Prosecutor in the OccupationalHealth and Safety Prosecution Unit of Alberta Justice.

F r o m t h e C o u r t r o o m

by Tamara Trull

O C C U P A T I O N A L H E A L T H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 15

EMPLOYER/PRIME CONTRACTORTrican Well Service Ltd.

INCIDENTOn November 5, 2001 a worker was fatally injured whenan explosion occurred in the piping system on a coiltubing unit and the failed components struck the worker.

VIOLATIONTrican Well Service Ltd. was found guilty of threecharges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act:failing to ensure workers are aware of the hazardinformation on a controlled product, failing to obtain aMaterial Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and failing to ensurean MSDS is available to workers for a controlled product.

FINESTrican Well Service Ltd. was fined $120,000 plus an$18,000 victim surcharge.

EMPLOYERJirah Construction Services Ltd. and W.S. Building Products Ltd.

INCIDENTOn July 24, 2002, a knuckle boom crane operatoremployed by W.S. Building Products Ltd. was placing abundle of OSB sheathing weighing 910 kilograms ontothe roof trusses of a single-storey residential house underconstruction. Two Jirah Construction Services Ltd. framerswere on the roof trusses, guiding the operator. The loadslipped off the forks of the crane and fell onto severaltrusses, collapsing them. One framer was fatally injuredafter falling 3.35 metres to the concrete floor below.

VIOLATIONJirah Construction Services Ltd. was found guilty offailing to ensure the health and safety of a worker [s. 2(1)(a)(i), Occupational Health and Safety Act]. W.S. Building Products Ltd. pleaded guilty of notensuring that work was being performed by acompetent worker [s. 14(2), General Safety Regulation].

FINESJirah Construction Services was fined $5,000 plus a$10,000 victim surcharge, and was required to donate$85,000 to the Alberta Construction Safety Association ora comparable recognized or accredited constructionsafety association. W.S. Building Products was fined$5,000, and was ordered to allocate an additional$45,000 to community charitable foundations.

For more information, go to www.whs.gov.ab.ca/prosecutions/releases.asp.

T h e L a s t R e s o r t

Reporting on RECENT CONVICTIONSunder the Occupational Health and Safety Act

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Young workers bring a lot to the job site: enthusiasm,strength, energy and a desire to do well. But, whetherit’s cooking fries at a fast food restaurant or being a

welder’s helper on the floor of an oilfield supply company,they also bring inexperience. They are often not aware ofthe risks of their jobs or how they can protect themselves.

Combine that inexperience with a young person’stendency to feel invulnerable, that nothing can happen tothem, and the result is some grim statistics. Young workersbetween 15 and 24 are one-third more likely to be injuredon the job than those over 25, and over 50 per cent of thoseinjuries occur during the first six months on the job.

Several groups and individuals inCentral Alberta are doing somethingabout this important issue. They aredeveloping and delivering safety programsfor youth, often by working together.

Youth Employment Development CentreThe Youth Employment DevelopmentCentre has provided employment supportservices in Red Deer for 20 years. A projectof the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce, this agency offersjob safety training through a partnership with St. JohnAmbulance and other agencies.

“It’s all about awareness,” says Donna May, administratorof the centre. “Young people often don’t know the dangersof a job and they especially don’t know that they have theright to ask the boss questions, to ask for safety training or

– and this can be critical – that they have the right to refuseto work in dangerous conditions. An injury, even a smallone, can change the direction of their lives.”

The Youth Employment Development Centre offers freesafety courses to young people who no longer attend school.They provide Job Safety Skills, WHMIS and Standard FirstAid courses. Since 2002, 483 young people took the basicthree-day safety course there, with most going into jobs inconstruction and the oil patch. As well, there are courses inPetroleum Safety Training and Construction SafetyTraining. Employers can send their young employees tothese programs too. (For a full list of the courses available,

go to http://ux.yedc.org/index.htm.)

Central Alberta Career PrepCentral Alberta Career Prep aims itsmessage about safe working conditionsat high school students. It links careerdevelopment information to variouscourses to prepare them for work orfor post-secondary training – and safetytraining is an increasing part of theirprograms. Through the Tech Prep

Credential, high school students take courses in personalsafety (CTR 1210) and Standard First Aid with CPR (CMH 2120).

Recently, Career Prep added a fun, yet informative,Safety@work interactive virtual reality program to theirwebsite, www.careerprep.ab.ca. Funded by Alberta HumanResources and Employment, Safety@work takes dead aim atworkplace hazards. Hazards are found even in relatively safe

“ The more we can educateyoung people and teachthem that it is okay,even cool, to be safe,the better it will be.”

by Alf Cryderman

Keeping young workers

SAFE

O C C U P A T I O N A L H E A L T H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 17

workplaces like offices, wherebookcases can topple, and fast foodrestaurants, where workers can sufferserious burns.

Executive director Patti Henley says,“Young people tempt fate more thanolder workers. We’re dedicated tomaking them aware. We try to getthem talking about safety, and wewant to take safety training from anevent to a continuing process.”

The Safe Communities Coalition of Central AlbertaLaunched in September 2003, the SafeCommunities Coalition of CentralAlberta wants to prevent injuries toeveryone, but they place an emphasison the young. This group is anaffiliate of a national injuryprevention organization called theSafe Communities Foundation(www.safecommunities.ca), which wasstarted in Ontario by a man whose19-year-old son was killed on his thirdday on the job. The coalition sponsorsRed Deer’s Youth EmploymentDevelopment Centre/St. JohnAmbulance program for out-of-schoolyoung people between 16 and 24.

“Injuries are preventable,” saysTheresa Huber, the coalition’scoordinator. “This especially applies toyoung people, who are over- representedin accident statistics because ofinexperience and lack of training. We know that safety training andawareness can make a huge difference.But there’s still a long way to go.Many young people start jobswithout any training, because it’snot available.”

Job Safety Skills SocietyThe Job Safety Skills Society(www.jobsafetyskills.com), a province-wide non-profit organizationstarted in 1991, is also active in centralAlberta. In a partnership witheducators, industry, government andlocal communities, it seeks to addressthe unacceptably high number ofworkplace injuries and fatalitiesamong young workers.

The society’s executive director, Dr. Michael Alpern, says, “For manyyears youth injuries and fatalitieswere looked upon as a relatively minorproblem because young people areseen as just passing through, as

transient to the work force. Since 1997our safety courses have been approvedas options by Alberta Learning. It’sour hope Alberta Learning willconsider making them a graduationrequirement for all students.”

Other activities in schoolsDan McLellan, in Blackfalds, just northof Red Deer, is the safety supervisorfor the NWP Group of Companies.He’s achieved a certain level of famein the local safety community for hisno-nonsense presentations to studentsabout job safety. He starts by bringingin a body bag – a real attention-getterfor the students.

“It’s quite the little prop, and itworks because I tell it like it is,” saysMcLellan. “My message is that youcan end up in a body bag. Thestatistics are there to back me up.There are too many victims. I’ve hadto talk to parents and families afterincidents, and it is very difficult.How do you console a family whensomeone is hurt on the job? Anincident affects other people besidesthe victim – the family, friends and(often overlooked) co-workers.”

“My biggest frustration is that whilethere are some excellent job safetyprograms, not all schools offer them,”McLellan says. A lot of schools say theycan’t fit them in. Or if the teachers arewilling, it’s the school boards thatneed to get behind safety programs.Teaching safety in the schools canmake a big difference.”

Getting a safety message to studentsis part of Kathy Harrington’s job asoff-campus education coordinator atthe Innisfail Junior/Senior High School,

in Central Alberta

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just south of Red Deer. While job safety courses areoptional at her school, most senior students take them.“The more we can educate young people and teach themthat it is okay, even cool, to be safe, the better it will be.But it’s going to take time for the effects to filterthrough. A lot depends on employers recognizing theimportance and value of establishing and sustaining asafety culture in the workplace.”

Until more employers make safety integral to theiroperations, until more schools provide and promotesafety programs, and until more kids realize howdangerous working can be, the statistics on youthworkplace injuries aren’t likely to change much. But it’sgood to know that in central Alberta excellent people andorganizations are working hard to make that happen.

Alf Cryderman is a freelance writer and editor based in Red Deer.

R e s o u r c e s

WEB LINKS

www.passporttosafety.com/youth/default.phpPassport to Safety – cool Canadian website for young workers

www.gov.ab.ca/hre/whs/workers/index.aspAlberta information for young workers

http://youngworker.healthandsafetycentre.org/s/Home.aspWorksafe BC information for young workers

IN THE ALBERTA GOVERNMENT LIBRARY – LABOUR BUILDING

For contact information, see column opposite.

Videos

Lost Youth: Four Stories of Injured Young WorkersRe-creations of incidents and emotional interviews with the young peopleand their parents bring home the message that parents, employers, workersand the community all need to help teach young people how to be safe onthe job. (VC 0365)

Dying To WorkFollowing David Ellis’ father as he campaigns for tougher safety rules andtries to make teenagers aware of the risks on the job, W-Five reporter WeiChen discovers an astounding statistic: on average, one young worker inCanada dies on the job each week, and 60,000 young workers are injuredeach year. (VC 0345)

Safety FirstIn 1994, seven young workers died in Ontario workplaces. The IAPA andthe Workers Health and Safety Center believe that these injuries anddeaths could have been prevented. (VC 0367)

Wo r k p l a c e H e a l t h& S a f e t y ( WH S )

Contact WorkplaceHealth & Safety any timeFor occupational healthand safety informationand assistance, or toorder Workplace Health& Safety publications,phone the Contact Centre at1-866-415-8690 (415-8690 in Edmonton and area) orvisit www.whs.gov.ab.ca/expert.

Sign up for Workplace Health & Safety news

To be notified by e-mail of all new Workplace Health& Safety website postings, sign up for a FREEsubscription service through www.worksafely.org.

Alberta Government Library Labour Building SiteTo review the large selection of occupationalhealth and safety information materialsavailable through the Alberta government, go towww.gov.ab.ca/hre/library.

To borrow materials, either contact your locallibrary and make your requests through theinter-library loan system or visit the AlbertaGovernment Library, Labour Building Site, at this address:3rd floor, 10808 - 99 AvenueEdmonton AB T5K 0G5

Library phone (780) 427-8533Audio-Visual Services phone (780) 427-4671

To reach either of the above numbers toll-free inAlberta, dial 310-0000 followed by the area codeand phone number.

Fax (780) 422-0084

Workplace Health & Safety is a division of Alberta HumanResources and Employment and falls under the jurisdictionof Minister Mike Cardinal.

O C C U P A T I O N A L H E A L T H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 19

LifeQuilt arrives in EdmontonA large quilt mural known as the LifeQuilt, which has been on touraround the country since last spring, arrived in Edmonton on September21. The quilt features images of 100 young workers from across Canadawho were killed on the job, as well as the names of numerous otheryoung workers who have been seriously injured at work.

Minister of Human Resources and Employment Clint Dunford unveiledthe quilt at the Alberta Legislature, and the following day it wasdisplayed at the Partner General Meeting (see accompanying story).It then went on public display at West Edmonton Mall for several days.

The purpose of the LifeQuilt, which was created by Toronto artist LaurieSwim with the help of many community volunteers, is to honour the livesof young workers whose deaths could have been prevented, and to raiseawareness of this issue by presenting the humanity behind the statistics.

For more information, go to www.youngworkerquilt.ca.

New Partners in Health and SafetyWelcome to:

• Alberta Hotel and Lodging Association, Edmonton• North American Construction Group Inc., Edmonton• Procor Limited, Edmonton• University of Alberta Faculty of Extension, EdmontonPartners in Health and Safety have exemplary health and

safety management systems and are recognized as leaders intheir industry. Through a Memorandum of Understanding,Partners commit to taking a proactive role with the Albertagovernment’s Workplace Health & Safety office in promotingworkplace health and safety throughout Alberta. The MOUoutlines the Partners’ role in improving their own effectivehealth and safety management systems and helping othersimprove theirs – and in promoting the concept of Partnerships.

Partner General Meeting 2004More than 150 people attended the Partner General Meetingin Nisku on September 22, 2004, including four of the fiveoriginal members of the Partnerships team (see photo).

These special guests were honoured for their contributionsto the Partnerships in Health and Safety program, whichmarked 15 successful years in 2004. Each of the originalteam members received an etched crystal globe thatrepresents the growth of the program from Alberta tovarious other provinces, states and countries.

Also to mark this special occasion, the LifeQuilt (see sidebar)was brought to the meeting following its unveiling at theAlberta Legislature.

On the agenda for the day were presentations from theprivate and public sectors. These included sessions onviolence in the workplace, the benefits of effectiveworkplaces and the services available, the importance ofsharing best practices, innovative approaches inoccupational health and safety, unique safety and healthchallenges in the construction sector and the benefits ofbeing a Partner. Both the attendees and the speakersmade this a highly successful event.

NEWSPartnerships

Original Partnerships team members standing in front of the LifeQuilt. L to R: Bob Hird, Martha Beauchamp, Carol Eamer, Brian Thomas. Missing: Bill Rozel. Photo by Perry Scott

Partnerships in Health and Safety is a non-regulatory,province-wide injury prevention program sponsoredcooperatively by government, labour and industry. The program offers:

• tools to implement a health and safety management system

• guidance in applying for a Certificate of Recognition (COR)

• potential for premium refunds from the Workers’Compensation Board-Alberta

For more information, call (780) 427-8842 (toll free 310-0000)or visit www.whs.gov.ab.ca/partners.

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It's a matter of safety piggybacking on safety

A kita Drilling Ltd. has won a provincial safety awardfor the design and implementation of a blowoutpreventer handler, an engineering control used to

protect workers from being squashed or hurt when a pieceof heavy oilfield equipment known as a blowout preventer(or a BOP) is being moved. The equipment being moved isa piece of safety equipment itself.

According to Akita’s Chief Operating Officer Karl Ruud, thecompany’s goal was to develop a safer and more ergonomicway to move the blowout preventer, without compromisingthe business purpose or economic considerations.

“This handler,” says Ruud, “gives alot of safety without compromisingpracticality. Now, we move the deviceinstead of allowing it to move us. We canpick up the blowout preventer, then moveit from side to side or up and down.”

The invention won’t fit in a toolboxor a back pocket like some engineeringcontrols. It weighs in at 2.2 tonnes,and it needs the weight. It’s designedto move a blowout preventer that is almost six times itsown size, at 16 tonnes, with the precision needed to parka cement truck on a dime in the middle of a muddy field.

According to Akita’s engineering manager Lorne Thompson,the blowout preventer handler is technically easy to use,despite its size. “It just takes a couple of hours of hands-ontraining for one person.” That cuts training time for rigworkers and at the same time keeps them much safer.Thompson says the company engineers designed the giantmetal lifter in about two months at the request of a client.It took a further six weeks to build.

OILPATCHThe handler is currently being used on one drilling rig in

the tar sands area of northeastern Alberta, on Akitaequipment, under contract to the client. In the year it hasbeen used, nobody on the oil rig has been hurt whilemoving the blowout preventer with the new handler.

It’s a leap forward in technology, explains Patty Whiting,chair of Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Council.She says the idea for a blowout preventer handler sticks outas a safe new way of looking at a significant problem in theoil and gas sector.

When the nine council members looked at and rated thedifferent contenders for the province’s first annual Awardsfor Innovation in Workplace Health and Safety in the spring

of 2004, this idea was a clear winnerover many other good ideas, Whitingsays. “It’s the next phase of what wehave to do to reduce injuries. AkitaDrilling took the industry to the nextstep.”

Whiting says she knows from herown industry experience running anoilfield company that even well-trainedworkers have lost limbs and had severe

head injuries while working with large equipment. “Thosekinds of workplace injuries are major, significant injuriesthat affect people for the rest of their lives.” Taking theworker out of harm’s way while the blowout preventers arebeing moved will make the workplace safer. She says thespark of the idea has far-reaching implications for theworkers involved and for the industry as a whole.

The change is similar to changes that have occurred inother industries over time, Ruud says. He compares the useof the handler to what has happened at car repair shops.In the old days, cars were lifted up with chains so that

P r o f i l e

by Kerry Tremblay

The idea for a blowoutpreventer handler sticks outas a safe new way of lookingat a significant problem inthe oil and gas sector.

O C C U P A T I O N A L H E A L T H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 21

mechanics could work on the underbellies. Now, modernshops have hydraulic hoists that lift the cars safely.

Ruud says that while the hydraulics technology is notcompletely new, it is the first time it has been designedfor use with mid-sized blowout preventers. He seespotential uses for it anywhere that similar-sized blowoutpreventers are required. With a few modifications andtime to set it up, the handler could easily be adapted forwork in places like Alberta’s foothills, where holes arenotoriously deep and the potential for blowouts is high.

The blowout preventer handler won the Award ofDistinction for technological innovation that directlyimpacts health and safety in the mining and petroleumdevelopment sector.

Kerry Tremblay is a Calgary freelance writer specializing insafety and training.

INNOVATION

In oilfield drilling blowout preventers are safety devicesdesigned to close in or shut down a well during emergency situations.They mechanically protect the world and workers from uncontrolledreleases of potentially dangerous oil well fluids that range fromdeadly poisonous sour gas to environmentally damaging oil.

The trouble is, the blowout preventers can be heavy (upwards to 40tonnes), and they have to be moved onto the wellhead for thedrilling operation. They are used in virtually all well drilling, butsome of the wells – either because of their depth, the anticipateddownhole dangers or the width of the hole itself – need biggerblowout preventers for safety.

Akita’s drillers are using the award-winning handler on giant drillingpads that are the base for numerous wells. Here, the handler can beand is used on a daily basis, moving a 16-tonne blowout preventerfrom well to well.

The blowout preventer handler improves the flow of work at a heavyoil well site because it eliminates the need to expose workers to theblowout preventer while it is being moved into place. Under the oldsystem, four to six workers were needed to guide the machine, usingwinches, slings and pulleys to hold the weight.

The new system allows one person to control the blowout preventermove with accuracy and from a safe distance, using hydraulics. Oncethe blowout preventer is in place, workers can bolt it down.

HOW IT WORKS

Akita Drilling's "handler," a safer and more ergonomic devicefor moving blowout preventers.

R e s o u r c e s

WEB LINKS

www.akita-drilling.com/Akita Drilling home page

www.gov.ab.ca/hre/whs/ohscouncil/innovation2004.asp Winners of 2004 Annual Awards for Innovation in WorkplaceHealth and Safety

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W e b W a t c h e r

by Bob Christie

In the September 2004 issue I highlighted the efforts ofCanQual (www.canqual.com), which uses the Internet to doonline contractor pre-qualification. This column describestwo more companies that are providing services throughthe Internet to help people meet the long-standingproblems of the workplace.

RMS Remote Medical ServicesThe brainchild of Robert Smith, RMS Remote MedicalServices was born out of Robert’s frustration with a smallnumber of personnel supply companies who try to makebigger dollars by hiring new medical and safety servicespeople, paying them little and, in Smith’s words, “abusingthem for the short winter cycle and then discarding them.”From the RMS website (www.remotemedicalservice.com)it appears possible to hire a turnkey service, complete withthe necessary equipment for a job and training for companypersonnel – or for individuals who want more or bettertraining in the industry.

Although it’s difficult to see how this works from thewebsite itself, Smith says the idea is simple. “Candidatespost a resume for free. Employers can view the resume butnot the contact information. They send a Visa number, andup comes the contact information. Candidates now haveoptions regarding who to work for. When the industrygets busy and the staff crunch of January and Februaryarrives, employers will have to search the easiest or mostimmediately available spot. This is my first season, so thetest is coming.”

By the time this article reaches your desk, I expect theexperiment to be in full flower. We’ll know by then if thingsare working as planned.

RigskillsDave Morgan’s baby called Rigskills (www.rigskills.ca). isnot, on its face, a health and safety site. But I am remindedof what a teacher once told me: “Every teacher is a teacherof English.” In the same way, getting the right services orthe right people for the right job has to mean doing thingsthe right way, which also means the safe way.

In Morgan’s words, “The basic objective is to providethe most accurate location and availability informationabout hands and equipment in Western Canada.” FromAbandonment Services to Wireline, Rigskills divides the listedresources into over 60 categories. You can search for an item,skill or service, or you can look at a growing list of inventory.Perhaps most intriguing is that as a subscriber you get fullaccess, but as a typical cheapskate Web user (like me) you canget a limited listing of resources free. It is quite a neatmarketing system. Suppliers who do not want to bear theburden of getting their information to potential customerscan just be listed and be available only to paid-up subscribers.More proactive suppliers can pay an annual subscription feethemselves and have their listings available free.

So both sides can get something free, and they can payto get more. This site will make you smile. So, whetheryou are looking for crew quarters in Abee or a backhoe inZama Lake, give Rigskills a try.

When next we meet, I will try to decipher the website ofthe Canadian Association of Geophysical Contractors. Untilthen, happy surfing. It is hardly ever hazardous to yourhealth or safety.

Bob Christie is a partner at Christie Communications Ltd., a multimedia development company in Edmonton. Bob suppliesmost of the Web link resources for the articles in this magazine.

CREATIVE APPLICATIONS OF INTERNET TECHNOLOGY Serve Workers and Employers

W o r k p l a c e F a t a l i t i e s

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The following information about deaths caused bywork-related incidents or exposure is published to remindreaders of the importance of workplace health and safety.In many cases the investigation into these fatalities iscontinuing. Final investigation reports are filed at theAlberta Government Library – Labour Building Site andcan be reviewed there or on the Workplace Health &Safety website at www.whs.gov.ab.ca under Fatalities.

To protect personal privacy, the fatality descriptions donot include the names of the deceased.

Most work-related incident fatalities that fall underprovincial jurisdiction are investigated by WorkplaceHealth & Safety. In general, highway traffic, farm,disease or heart attack fatalities are not investigated.

The following fatalities have been or are beinginvestigated.

A 52-year-old maintenance supervisor slid downthe steps of a tool van and broke a leg. The workerreturned to modified work duties the day afterreceiving treatment, and then within a few daysunderwent corrective surgery. The worker was ableto perform modified work duties for approximatelythree weeks following the surgery, but then died inhospital as a result of complications.

A 61-year-old heavy equipment operator with 30years of experience was crushed between the frameand blade of a caterpillar. The fatality occurredwhen a second operator, failing to see the worker,moved the caterpillar to hook up the blade.

A 43-year-old truck driver with more than 20 yearsof experience suffered fatal internal injuries whena building fell on him. The worker was helping toremove old buildings with a picker truck.

A 25-year-old lift mechanic’s helper who wasmaintaining ski lift towers from a work chairsuffered fatal head injuries when the railing of thechair contacted the lower terminal. The workerhad three months of experience in this job.

A 25-year-old corrosion protection technicianwith two and a half years of experience waselectrocuted while working on a rectifier box. Theworker had not isolated the power supply andmade contact with 480-volt terminals in the box.

Work-related incident fatalitiesFebruary 2004 - May 2004

Real WorldSolut ions

What improvements have you made at your workplace? If you’vefound a solution worth sharing, please send it to ray.cislo@gov.ab.ca.

MOTORIZED ELECTRIC STAIR-CLIMBING HAND TRUCKS

THE PROBLEMHow do you get heavy orawkward-sized loads up ordown stairs, or loaded into apickup truck?

A SOLUTIONMotorized electric stair-climbinghand trucks can move a load upor down stairs, onto the tailgateof a pickup truck or into autility van without relying onmultiple workers to lift andlower the load. A motor on theunit raises and lowers the loadfrom one stair to the next.

BENEFITEliminates the need for workersto lift and lower heavy andawkward loads on stairs.

Going up some stairs

Loading onto the tailgateof a pickup truck

AN ALTERNATIVE TO ALWAYS KNEELINGTHE PROBLEMSome jobs or tasks require workers to kneel for long periodsof time, which places stress on knees, ankles and backs.

A SOLUTIONStools or portable steps mayhelp, as might a uniquekneeling product from Swedencalled the “Snapsit”.

BENEFITSImproved working conditionsresult in less strain anddiscomfort in the knees,ankles and back.

Return Undeliverable Canadian Mail to:

CIRCULATION DEPARTMENTAlberta Human Resources and Employment

Workplace Health & Safety and EmploymentStandards Compliance

10th floor, South Tower, 7th Street Plaza10030 - 107 Street, Edmonton, AB, T5J 3E4

E-mail: whs@gov.ab.ca

Publications Mail Agreement Number 40062521ISSN 0705-6052 © 2005

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