Below are the confirmed speakers for 2008 - speaker biographies are available by clicking on the BIO clip to the right of the speaker name (a seperate PDF file will open with the BIO information)
Session 101 – OPENING KEYNOTE
Bob Gray
Memory Edge
I'm no good with names...but I never forget a face!
How often have you bumped into clients, or
customers, or someone you know you have been
introduced to, perhaps two or three times before,
but for the life of you, can't remember his name, or
hers? And the harder you try to remember, the farther it seems to slip from your mind?
Socially, this can be extremely embarrassing, but in business, it can be disastrous. With our
lives already so hectic, and the number of people who are important to us increasing every
day, we need an instant and easy way to keep each and every one of them active in our
memory. The sweetest sound to someone is the sound of his or her own name. By forgetting
a person's name, you show not only a lack of respect, but you might just as well say that
this individual is of no importance to you. Conversely, by recalling a correct name, especially
after only one introduction, you will not only engage and flatter its owner, but you will be
remembered for your thoughtful interest.
In his amusing, unusual and empowering presentation, Bob reveals a wonderful method to
easily recall and store into memory the names of new friends and business acquaintances.
Having been taught the system, participants are quickly and easily able to recall both first
and last names of several new acquaintances as they are introduced during the
presentation. It’s an hilarious system that will have the audience in hysterics...and it works!
Session 102
Bob Gray
Memory Edge
Continuation of Opening Topic.
Session 103
Rick Caissie
Canadian Red Cross
Top Ten Injury Prevention Initiatives for Canadian Workplaces
Managing employee safety and wellness in the workplace is challenging. A 2003 Statistics Canada survey showed that 5% of males and 2% of females suffered from an activity limiting workplace injury.
Employers must juggle meeting legislative training requirements with staff turnover/leave/illness as well as scheduling training for their staff. In addition, Employers are increasingly aware of the need for business continuity
planning to support both potential physical disasters and pandemic preparedness. While the challenges are many, there are clear steps that workplaces can adopt to reduce the risks and mitigate the potential work hours lost.
This presentation will include:
- List key steps employers can take to reduce injury in the workplace
- Identify key components of physical disaster and pandemic preparedness planning
- Recommend ways employers can keep employee injury prevention awareness and skills top of mind.
Session 104
Rob Feagan
Alberta Employment & Immigration
Sharon Chadwick
Alberta Employment & Immigration
Alberta Employment & Immigration's Targeted Employer Program: "The Real Deal"
More than 99% of Alberta employers are performing well and complying with Workplace Health and Safety legislation. However, there are certain industries and employers who have demonstrated poor health and safety performance.
Health and Safety (WHS) will target these employers, in order to improve their health and safety performance. The focus is on helping those employers who can benefit the most from special assistance in meeting their obligations to provide safe and healthy worksites.
The AEI presentation is designed to provide an in depth overview of Workplace Health and Safety’s Targeted Employer Program for Alberta’s employers.
Session 105
Calvin Haws
Workers' Compensation Board - Alberta
The Importance of Early Intervention and Modified Work
This session will address the importance of early intervention and return to work practices when a work related injury occurs. The presentation will provide historical information on rehabilitation, the importance of early intervention, and strategies for early intervention and return to work programs. Modified work practices and the benefits of a modified work program will be explained.
Session 106
Dr. Peter Strahlendorf
Ryerson University
The Internal Responsibility System Phase Two: Creativity and Local Knowledge
The Internal Responsibility System underlies OHS legislation across Canada. Everyone in the workplace is directly responsible for health and safety. While many organizations have not yet benefitted from the traditional version of the Internal Responsibility System, some world-class companies have moved on to what can only be called "the IRS Phase 2". The traditional approach was negative in that it emphasized finding and correcting contraventions and hazards. That only takes you so far. To go further we must reduce risk as a side effect of creative improvements in the processes that everyone, as an individual, is involved with. Quality, done through the IRS, is much messier and less predictable than formal quality techniques, but pushes risk down in thousands of small steps based on the individual’s "local knowledge" of the work. The power of the IRS comes from the engaged, creative minds of every individual in the workplace, drawing upon each person’s knowledge, experience and insight. No other answer to the question "Who does health and safety in this workplace?" is as effective as the answer "everyone".
Session 201 - BLOCKBUSTER
Dr. Elliott Berger
E-A-R / Aearo Technologies
The Essential Auditory Experience
Sound is vital to the human condition – whether it is our own sounds, those of loved ones, the sounds of communication, the sounds of play, or the sounds of the nature – we are immersed in and touched by our auditory environment (aurally, physically, metaphorically); although often peripheral to our focus and attention, sound is vital to the quality of our emotional experience. Be it a child for whom listening and the development of language and communication is essential and for whom the sound of a parent’s voice can provide comfort and security, or a teenager for whom sound can mean excitement, thrills, and social networks, or adults for whom sound and communication may be the keys to career or the joy of connection with loved ones and with the environment, it is important for us to perceive, understand, and appreciate the soundscape in which we are immersed. This talk is to direct awareness to the auditory realm and increase appreciation and understanding of that sensory modality. In the second part of the talk focus will be directed towards technical and regulatory aspects of hearing conservation, with particular emphasis on hearing protection, its performance and methods of test.
Session 202 - BLOCKBUSTER
Dr. Don Melnychuk
Nadon Consulting Ltd.
Building Stamina and Managing Fatigue
Human fatigue is recognized as being one of the primary causes of accidents in the industrial sector. The costs of fatigue are a major human and financial burden to companies, workers, and their families. Employers must ensure that everyone in their workplace is aware of potential workplace hazards (such as fatigue), and take steps to prevent workplace accidents, injuries and illnesses that may be a result of fatigue. This session will present some of the key issues related to employee fatigue and identify resources for managing fatigue. This session will answer the following questions: What is fatigue? What variables impact fatigue? What are the consequences of fatigue? How do you overcome fatigue? How do you develop a fatigue management plan?
Bringing Health To Work
Promotion and awareness of workplace health issues provide benefits for both employees and the organization as a whole. Find out how you can combine what you know works for safety programs and use this knowledge to help build a complete wellness or healthy workplace program. We will focus on understanding the benefits of a comprehensive and integrated workplace health program, how to build a program, and provide business case examples and best practice ideas. Resources to get you started will be highlighted.
Session 204
Mark Greene
Alberta Justice
Where Does The Buck Stop: Chain of Responsibility Between Employers and Workers
There are many instances where workers have legislated responsibilities under the OH&S Act, yet failure on the part of the worker may create liability on the part of the employer. This seminar will explore the roles of the employer and the worker, the responsibilities associated with each, and how the responsibilities may overlap.
Session 205
Len Cicero
Lenco Training & Technical Services
Control of Hazardous Energy - Lockout
This session is based on the CSA Z460—The Control of Hazardous Energy-Lockout and Other Methods. The information will provide a brief overview on how this CSA Standard can be applied to the Alberta OHS Regulations and compliance and how CSA Z460 can be utilized as a guide or common best practices. An emphasis will be placed on “Group Lockout and Complex Group Lockout” in addition to shift changeover and Emergency Lockout Device Removal—Worker Absent.
Session 206
Dr. Poppy Crum
Johns Hopkins Medical School
Noise On The Brain: A Review of the Effects of Acoustic Trauma
The aim of this session is to provide a general understanding of how various levels and durations of environmental noise exposure affect the physiology of the inner ear and higher level brain areas, and to offer an understanding of how both temporary and permanent damage to these structures alter a listener’s hearing. While damage to the inner ear is a primary concern when considering the effects of noise exposure, recent research has shown strong and rapid effects of noise exposure on the processing of acoustic stimuli in higher areas of the brain. We will discuss this research, as well as current research regarding cochlear damage and the implications for noise-induced hearing-loss and accompanying conditions such as tinnitus. Furthermore, new data suggest that simply being exposed to noise below critical levels for a long enough time can lead to neurological changes that result in threshold shifts. These changes are detectable using psychophysical tests intended to measure sensitivity to auditory parameters other than the absolute threshold of hearing. We will discuss when and why this happens and how these changes can affect the listener.
Session 207
Gary Wagar
Alberta Construction Safety Association
Garth Rattray
Alberta Building Trades Council
Health & Safety Association Network (HSAN)
At present, there is no process in place to standardize the content and quality of the training courses across industry, no consistent process of tracking training taken by a worker, and no easy process by which an employer can verify training claimed by a prospective employee. The Health and Safety Association Network (HSAN) is a new organization established, in partnership with industry, to collaboratively manage, promote and develop workplace health and safety training standards. This workshop will explain the process developed by HSAN and supported by a government administered Industry Training Tracking System (ITTS) that will enable workers and employers to track accredited training via a web-based system.
Session 208 - KEYNOTE PANEL
Alberta's Disposable Workers? Occupational Health and Safety for Temporary Foreign Workers
Three leaders from industry, labour and government provide their perspectives on the risks to health and safety for Temporary Foreign Workers.
- Are temporary foreign workers at increased risk of injury or disease?
- What types of rules apply to temporary foreign workers?
- Should you have special programs in place if you employ temporary foreign workers?
Session 209
Dr. Richard Tay
University of Calgary
Work Related Driver Safety
Road accidents are now the most common form of work-related death, injury and absence from work. Nevertheless, few organizations outside the professional transportation industry consider it as an important occupational health and safety issue even though many of their employees are required to drive for work purposes. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing concern about work related road safety as well as the health and safety of professional drivers. This presentation will discuss some of the research related to health and safety of work related drivers including driver safety culture in organizations and evaluation of fleet safety countermeasures in non-transportation sectors as well as the perceptions of health, safety and security by professional drivers.
Session 210
Gary Hughes
Alberta Employment & Immigration
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Radiation Health and Safety in Alberta - But Didn't Know Who to Ask!
This presentation will cover a wide range of radiation health and safety topics that are currently of interest in Alberta:
- An overview of Alberta’s Radiation Protection Act and Radiation Protection Regulation
- The process for inspection and registration of designated radiation equipment
- Personal exposure monitoring
- Lasers
- Radioactive materials licensing
- Non-destructive testing – industrial radiography
- Naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM)
- Radon gas
- Radiofrequency radiation – cell phones and cell phone towers
- Extremely low frequency electromagnetic radiation – power lines
Session 211
Paul Holmes
NorQuest College
Safety Through A Cultural Lens
Can cultural and language issues impede safety training? Work sites can have serious hazards which new Canadians may not recognize, even with training. The workshop will discuss the second language and cross-cultural factors that often impede the understanding of Occupational Health and Safety in Canada. Focus will be given to practical strategies to overcome these obstacles.
Session 212
Don South
ATCO Noise Management
Acoustics 101
The nature of acoustics and noise control can be confusing. In a province with progressively stringent noise regulations, it is important to be aware of how noise affects worker safety and what can be done to reduce harmful worker noise exposure levels. This session, based on the Noise Control Handbook developed by ATCO Noise Management, will present the basic principles of sound, common industry terminology and the regulations that govern noise in the workplace. Real life examples of occupational noise problems and corresponding noise controls will be presented. Attendees to this seminar are eligible to receive a free copy of the Noise Control Handbook.
Session 213
Tom Vanderwalker
Salt River Materials Group
Building A Successful Safety Team
Who at this conference doesn’t want to be successful? Do you know what success looks like, sounds like or feels like? That can be as simple as this is where we are today and if we do what needs to be done, we will be successful tomorrow and the day after. Everyone in your organization is either part of the solution to be successful or part of the problem. Find out what the barriers are and get them out of the way. Give your people the tools, training and support and then get out of their way and let them use their training and tools to make a difference.
Session 301 – BLOCKBUSTER
Dr. Gary Namie
Work Doctor Inc.
Workplace Bullying: Health Hazard
Learn how to challenge the acceptance of routine abusive conduct to improve employee health while simultaneously boosting your employer's bottom line and effectiveness. Make the business case that bullies are too expensive to keep in the face of inexplicable retention. Be a hero by taking home the solution that prevents countless future problems and anticipates a new legal landscape.
Session 302 - BLOCKBUSTER
Joe Lstiburek
Building Science Corporation
Don't Do Stupid Things: How Architects and Engineers Inadvertently Make Buildings Sick
Session 303
Dr. Louis Francescutti
University of Alberta
Cellphone-Free Driving
In Alberta, injuries are the leading cause of death for people aged 1 to 44 years and motor vehicle related injuries account for the majority of these deaths under the age of 34. Transportation related injury and fatality rates in Alberta have consistently been among the highest in the country. Driver distraction/error is attributed to more than 90% of Alberta’s traffic crashes. Distraction due to cellphone use while driving is believed to be one of the major reasons behind increased risk of injuries and collisions. The risk of injury increase 4-6 times for both hand-held and hands-free cellphone users. Drivers using a cellphone are as impaired as drunk drivers with a .08 level of blood alcohol. Using a cellphone while driving increases the probability of missing red lights and slows the driver’s reaction time by 18%. Alberta drivers identify driver inattention as the most likely cause of traffic crashes.
Session 304
Mike Harnett
WorkSMART
Field Level Ergonomics: Real Solutions In Real Time
Safety professionals have enough on their plates without having to tackle the world of ergonomics on their own. Thankfully, the most knowledgeable people are right there and willing to help you ... your employees. This session will focus on how to implement a systematic, employee driven ergonomics process that delivers real results. By following a step by step methodology and cost matrix, you will learn how to empower your organization, maximize employee input, implement quick turn-around solutions and avoid “analysis paralysis”. Real solutions in real time ... now that’s working smart.
Session 305
Bruce Huber
Barrick Gold Corporation
The Importance of Courageous Leadership
Understand the difference between management and leadership. Being a safety/health leader takes more than commitment. Leadership is action. What have you done in the past year to improve safety performance that was different from the year before? More importantly, what are you going to do differently in the next year? Acting on your commitment requires passion and technical skill savvy. Do you have both? Do you give 100% ever? Do you “do your best”?
Session 306
Steven Bilawchuk
ACI Acoustical Consultants Inc.
The Myths and Realities of Industrial Noise Control
The purpose for this presentation will be to discuss noise generation within typical industrial work-spaces and how to control it. The discussion will begin with various types of noise, the nature of these noise sources and when noise control at the source is not practical. The methods for controlling the noise will follow the general source-path-receptor route. At the source, various noise control methods will include enclosures, separate rooms, and vibration control. Path noise control methods will include building reverberation control and barriers. At the receiver, a brief discussion will be given for personal hearing protection.
Session 307
Sandra Loy
Caritas Health Group
How Can I Play The Game If I Don't Know The Rules
This is an interactive session, using the power of play to illustrate how essential it is for work teams and leaders to focus on the teams developmental needs as a foundation for success at work. It will help participants recognize and normalize team behaviours both positive and negative in an easy to understand context, along with strategies for increasing team effectiveness.
Session 308
Tricia Gain
McLennan Ross
Understanding the Alberta Court of Appeal Decision in Alberta (Human Rights and Citizenship Commission) v. Kellogg Brown & Root (Canada) Company
Drug and alcohol policies in Alberta have come into conflict with human rights legislation ever since drug and alcohol testing was implemented. To minimize harm caused by impairment at the worksite, owners and contractors in Alberta, particularly in the oil sands, have been incorporating drug and alcohol policies into their safety programs. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, employers have a duty to ensure the health and safety of workers, and while it is a laudable goal to have a safe worksite, those policies have often been challenged under the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturism Act with great success.
The December 28, 2007 decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal in Alberta (Human Rights and Citizenship Commission) v. Kellogg Brown & Root (Canada) Company has significantly changed the law in this area and attempts to strike a balance between the necessity for safety in the workplace and respect for human rights.
Session 309
Sameer Deshpande
University of Lethbridge
Social Marketing Approach to Promote Health and Safety at the Workplace
When we venture out for information, we first think of “google.” When we hope to achieve social change, our basic instincts jump to educational posters or advocacy efforts. This presentation will argue how social marketing thought can provide effective ideas to overcome certain challenges. Using relevant examples, this session will compare social change approaches to promote health and safety at workplace and discuss situations when social marketing is an effective tool. It will also offer practical tips to attendees in their attempt to convince employees to comply with safety standards.
Session 310
Doug Hawkins
Construction Labour Relations
Audiometric Testing in a Multi-Employer Environment with a Highly Transient Workforce
Given the requirements of Alberta OH&S Legislation regarding audio metric testing, individual employers can not properly comply with its spirit and intent in a multi employer, highly transient workforce environment such as the construction industry. One sector of this industry has developed and implemented an industry based solution to this problem which has been endorsed by Alberta Workplace Safety. Find out more about this model solution and how your organization may be able to contract audiometric testing within this model.
Session 311 –CLOSING KEYNOTE
Kevin Burns
Burns Attitude Systems & Education
Safety Attitude Adjustment
The Safety Meeting is a joke. You’ve heard it: “Nobody moves. Nobody gets hurt.” As a safety professional, how do you get through to your people the message of safety on-the-job and know that it sticks? Here’s my answer to that question: stop talking about safety!
Yes you read it right. Stop talking about safety. Stop talking about the negatives of not being safe. Stop talking about losing eyesight or hearing. Stop talking about losing a leg or an arm – people who have lost them have gone on to win Gold medals in the Paralympics making them heroes. There is glory in coming back from injury to do something with your life. There are a ton of motivational speakers on the circuit doing just that – missing limbs and glorifying injury. So people aren’t afraid of injury anymore. Scaring or shocking them won’t work. So stop it.
Instead, start talking about things like accountability and responsibility. Talk about being responsible for one’s actions. Start talking to your workers about values and principles like family, trust, respect and integrity instead of giving them a list of rules to follow. Talk to them about their contributions toward making the work environment a safer place to be. Ask your people to take pride in what they do and at the end of the day; ask them to help make sure the other team members take pride in their work. People who take pride in their work are engaged in the work. People who are engaged and focused on what they’re doing rarely have accidents happen.
DINNER MEETING - Hosted by CSSE and MHSA
ISSUES IN ACCIDENT THEORY
Presenter – Dr. Peter Strahlendorf, Ryerson University
| Date: | Friday, October 24 | |
| Time: | Reception | 5:30 pm |
| Dinner | 6:00 pm | |
| Presentation | 7:00 pm | |
| Location: | Royal Glenora Club - 11160 River Valley Road | |
| Cost: | $ 60.00 | |
| To Register: . |
Click here and complete conference registration form | |
Our beliefs about how accidents happen have a tremendous impact on how health and safety gets done. Is it the worker's behaviour that is critical? Is it the management system? Do we even agree that we should be using the word "accident"? Disputes about the best course of action to bring down risk are often really disputes about accident causation. What insights do ergonomists, engineers and psychologists bring to the subject? Are their views compatible? Are we looking for one best accident theory or are there many different but valid models that can be used? We tend to use accident theories when we are investigating an accident -- but can they be used more profitably in a proactive way? These and other issues will be discussed.
Special CSSE Sponsored Session
SUCCESSFULLY STARTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
Presenter – Jim Ewing
| Date: | Monday, October 27 |
| Time: | 10:00 am to NOON |
| Location: | Shaw Conference Centre |
| Cost: | No charge, but pre-registration is required and space is limited |
To Register: |
Click here and complete conference registration form |
Thinking of starting your own business in the near future? This introductory session will be a great place to begin the journey to successfully launching your new business. Together, we will explore some of the important factors that lead to success. We’ll introduce you to the necessary basics to start and operate your own business in Alberta and point you to valuable resources available to help you succeed.
Discover 5 critical areas required to succeed in your own business
Learn the absolute ‘musts’ that you need to consider in starting a business
Examine the pros and cons of the three most common business structures
Uncover deductions that your business can expense.
Tap into a world of resources to further help you succeed in business.