January 2008 COS

January 2008 E-letter

Vol 5. No. 1

Safety community loses a friend

It’s with sadness that COS magazine announces that it has lost one of its friends and longtime contributors.

Wilf List passed away suddenly on December 19, 2007. He was 88 and a long-serving columnist. First and foremost, Mr. List was a newspaperman, who wrote regularly on labour issues for COS for more than a decade.

Mr. List was extremely knowledgeable about workplace issues, and there wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen over the years. His columns in COS and in our sister publication Plant Engineering and Maintenance dared to explore challenging topics that always reflected the values and issues of our changing times, whether it was the use of foul language by supervisors, to the display of tattoos and piercings, the rights of cross-gender employees, and everything in between.

Mr. List’s award-winning columns were always colourful, always provocative, and perhaps most importantly, were always written with a human touch. The Globe and Mail’s obituary, which was written by James Rusk, called Mr. List the ‘dean of journalists’ and paid him the highest journalistic compliment for setting the standard for labour reporters. In part, the obituary read as follows:

“Mr. List knew everyone in the Canadian and U.S, labour movements. In 1962, he traveled to Washington to interview Jimmy Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1957 until the mid-1960s. The grinding taping session lasted three hours and produced a long and penetrating feature in the Globe Magazine. His reputation for fairness stayed with him through his tenure on the labour beat.”

I worked with Wilf List when I was the editor of PEM magazine in the 1990s and his was always the first column I received (which always makes your editor happy) and I always looked forward to reading it as it always sparked a reaction and more than a few chuckles as he pointed out the foibles of human conduct in the workplace. He’ll be missed.

Todd Phillips, editor/associate publisher
Canadian Occupational Safety magazine
tphillips@clbmedia.ca

(Robert Robertson, PEM editor)

Advertisement

New Rebel™ eyewear – more secure fit in hot conditions

North is adding the Rebel™ (T8100) to their extensive eyewear line of safety products. The contemporary look and excellent fit make it attractive for both men and women. Rebel’s robust design delivers superior performance in the most demanding working conditions.

Features of the Rebel™ include:

• Black and grey co-molded, pantoscopic, non-slip, adjustable temples for a more secure fit (especially in hot conditions)
• High 9 base curve unilens design for a wider field of view
• Adjustable soft nosepiece for increased comfort and a snug fit
• Lenses available in clear, smoke, amber, and I/O mirror for a multitude of applications
• Lenses protected by North’s 3A coating – anti-scratch, anti-UV and anti-static
• Certified to meet CSA Z94.3Eye & Face Standards to insure compliance

To qualify for a FREE sample, contact us at info@northsafety.ca or 1-877-956-6784

Don’t forget to check out the COS digital edition!

If you haven’t yet checked it out, please visit the COS website at
www.cos-mag.com and experience our digital edition.

Reader reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, and there are features within the digital edition that don’t exist in the printed version.

Inside our digital editions, you’ll find direct links to exclusive content, including links to feature articles and other resources.

So subscribe today, and you’ll receive e-alerts from us telling you when the latest edition is available online!

News

COS launches new machine safety site!

Canadian Occupational Safety and our sister publication Manufacturing Automation have joined forces to launch a new online resource to help manufacturers get access to tools and information on machine safety and safeguarding: www.SaferMachines.com.

Please check it out and send us your ideas for how we can make the site a more useful reference tool for your machine safety efforts.

IAPA launches machine safety course

In an effort to drive down the rates of people injured by machinery, the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA) created a new machine safety course, “Interlocking Devices: Selection and Use.”

“Most workplaces don’t realize they have a problem until the Ministry of Labour does an inspection or a machinery accident occurs that involves critical injuries that have lasting effects for the injured party, their co-workers, and the organization,” says Jim Armstrong, IAPA’s Director of Consulting Services. “IAPA’s new course targets those employees trusted with ensuring machinery is safe to operate with the skills and knowledge to make better assessments of what interlocking devices are appropriate for different pieces of machinery and operations.”

The Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada reported that in 2005 there were more than 17,368 machinery-related lost time injuries in the workplace.

For information about course offerings, visit: www.iapa.ca

Machine Safety

Advanced design helps reduce RSI injury risks

Electro-pneumatic system saves workers from injury while handling steel automotive

By Mike Edwards

Repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) are a common problem at high-volume parts handling companies, and automotive tailored blank part supplier Noble Metal Processing Canada, Inc. is no exception.

Noble wanted a system for its operators who handle hundreds of 30-50 lb laser-welded steel blanks each day which emerge from inspection laser welding stations at various locations around its plant.

Noble Metals customers include General Motors, with tailored blanks for the Equinox and Impala models, and Chrysler, with tailored blanks for the 300, Charger and Magnum models. Linear and non-linear laser-welded blanks created at Noble are produced for inner door panels, window frames, whole body sides and floor pans.

Click here for full story

Featured Column: The Training Connection

The Human Factor

The view from outer space

Put some space between you and your notions of safe behaviour

By Alan D. Quilley, CRSP

If you want to change the way that you think, try spending a day with an astronaut.

Unfortunately, less than 500 people have had the space experience so our chances of doing this are indeed rare. Let’s face it, looking at our big blue marble of a planet through the window of a space vehicle is bound to change the way you think about a great number of human challenges.

Astronaut Mike Mullane shared that experience with me when I had a chance to co-present with him recently. The project was to help get a large group of construction supervisors to focus on the safe construction of a large gas plant with more than 4,000 construction workers. No small project for anyone.

Click here to read the full story

Tools of the Trade:

Safety calculator software verifies functional of safety protection devices on machinery

Pilz launched a software tool called PAScal, which verifies the functional safety of protection devices on machinery in light of current standards. The software tool enables a reduction in costs and the amount of time spent on the task, particularly as figures need to be recalculated each time the safety functions are modified. The company says its PAScal Safety Calculator separates the safety functions into their component parts, calculates the overall probability of a dangerous failure per hour (PFHD value) and verifies the data with the prescribed performance level or safety integrity level. The software tool also takes into account potential architectures and variations if sub-components are connected together and parameterized. For more information, visit www.pilz.com.

Gateway Safety 4x4 protective eyewear offers protection and style

Gateway Safety Inc. added a new 4x4 brand of safety glasses to its line of protective eyewear. With a rugged, yet stylish design that’s available in several different lens and frame options, 4x4 is the choice for workers who want maximum impact protection and high-end style, even in the harshest conditions, says the company. The wrap-around frame supports the scratch-resistant, dual polycarbonate lenses and features a soft, inset nosepiece for additional comfort and a snug fit. Temple tips relieve pressure behind the ear. The 4x4 safety glasses are available in three distinctive frame options: Standard, Sport and Style. For more information visit: www.gatewaysafety.com.

Monitoring electrical phenomena to keep utility and construction workers safe

Every year, many on-site accidents occur because of the proximity of high-voltage electric lines causing injuries, sometimes fatal. Designed for use on construction sites, MADE’s SkyRadio system helps detect high-voltage electrical lines overhead. It includes one-to-eight wireless sensors on the high point of the equipment, such as the boom on a concrete pump, and corresponding transmitter/receiver modules that communicate with the central processing unit. The sensors measure the electrical field around a medium- or high-voltage line and, if a sensor is inside a risk zone (within three meters for a medium-voltage line; within five meters for a high-voltage line), the system indicates which sensor is “at risk” by a visual and audible signal to alert the operator. For more information, visit: www.made-sa.com.

Coming Events

February 4-6, 2008
Creating a Culture of Health and Wellness through Effective Leadership
Ontario Hospital Association Educational Services
Toronto, Ont.
www.oha.com

March 26-28, 2008
Nova Scotia Safety Council
26th Annual Health and Safety Conference
Halifax, N.S.
www.nssafety.ns.ca

April 21-23, 2008
Health & Safety Canada 2008
IAPA Conference and Trade Show
Canada's largest annual health and safety event
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Bldg.
Toronto, Ont.
www.iapa.ca/conference

Sept. 14-17, 2008
''Leveraging Partnerships''
CSSE 2008 Professional Development Conference
Québec City, Qué.
www.csse.org



In The Current Issue Of COS

Please visit us on the web at www.cos-mag.com to view our current issue and archives.

Product Focus: Tools of the Trade Our Tools of the Trade feature will shed the spotlight on the latest safety products from gas detection equipment, ear protection and sensors and lockout / tagout devices. Chemical Safety Former COS editor Michelle Morra takes an in-depth look at safe chemical handling and provides expert advice on how best to manage your chemical safety program. The story features sidebars with information on extra resources. Reader Panel: Workplace stress: Part II Our reader panelists had so much to say about workplace stress, and the health and safety risks that it poses that we had to spread it across two issues. In this issue, we’ll find out which health effects they’ve suffered as a result of high stress levels, and we’ll find out whether they feel safe using their company’s employee assistance program. Plus, much more!

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