Manitoba NAOSH Week

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, MAY 1, 2015 winnipegfreepress.com N orth American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week has been observed for almost two decades, but it has achieved a higher profile in re- cent years in Brandon. City of Brandon Occupational Health and Safety manager Greg Brown says the past three years have seen a stepped- up safety effort in Manitoba's second-largest city. "In 2012 we launched our Mission Zero campaign during NAOSH Week. Now we're moving into the next phase of the program, and we've seen a great improvement in our safety culture in Brandon," Brown says. The goal of Mission Zero, which earned the City of Brandon a 2012 NAOSH Week Award as an industry leader, is to reduce the frequency and severity of lost-time injuries. There's been a noticeable improvement on both fronts since the multi- year campaign was introduced. In 2010, an average of six hours of work were lost for every 200,000 hours. Last year, that had dropped to an average of 3.6 hours. City manager Scott Hildebrand, newly elected Mayor Rick Chrest and other members of Brandon City Council have identified safety as a major priority. Flood threats on the As- siniboine River, especially in 2011, have resulted in the pub- lic being generally more conscious of such concerns. The training and programming for Mission Zero is done in workshops conducted by team leaders employed by the city. Brown says workplace safety issues are the same for city workers as they are in any field. "When you look at the statistics that are kept by the Workers Compensation Board, we are not much different than any other business. Slips, trips and falls cause the greatest num- ber of accidents resulting in lost work days. Next on the list are injuries resulting from manual lifting," he says. "The picture is fairly consistent, whether you're looking at construction workers employed by the city, or people who do clerical jobs in an office." Brown says paying more attention to basic safety and taking common-sense precautions can help reduce the number of lost-time injuries in any workplace. "People always assume that the numbers of lost days are higher in construction and manufacturing because those jobs are more dangerous, and perhaps because safety con- cerns are not always dealt with as effectively as they should be. But a more detailed analysis of the numbers indicates it's because they're involved more frequently in manual lifting, and they're walking more frequently across uneven surfaces than office workers," he says. For Brown and the city, safety is a priority year-round. But NAOSH Week provides an opportunity to renew commit- ments to safe habits and raise awareness throughout the community. During the local launch, campaign sheets will be handed out to safety and health committee representatives, super- visors and managers of small workplaces. The intent is to have all employees fill out the sheet by completing the sen- tence "I make safety a habit for …" The campaign sheets can then be posted on a wall to serve as a daily reminder of why it's important to adopt the NAOSH Week theme and Make Safety a Habit. NAOSH Week will be launched in Brandon on Monday, May 4, with a flag-raising ceremony at City Hall at 12 p.m. Mayor Chrest and representatives of SAFE Work Manitoba and the Construction Safety Association of Manitoba will be among the speakers. The public is invited to attend the flag- raising and enjoy a barbecue following the ceremony. Slips, trips and falls are focus of city's safety campaign By Roger Currie For the Free Press Raising Awareness in Brandon Brandon Occupational Health and Safety manager Greg Brown speaks at the 2014 NAOSH Week launch. Photo courtesy of the City of Brandon MotorCoachIndustrieshasalwaysbeenaproudsupporterofNAOSH weekandunderstandsthevitalimportanceofprovidingahappyand collaborativeworkenvironmentthatchampionssafetyandhealthinall collaborativeworkenvironmentthatchampionssafetyandhealthinall partsofourbusiness.Training,developingandmotivatingeveryoneto partsofourbusiness.Training,developingandmotivatingeveryoneto promoteandpursuesafetyandhealthexcellencehelpsusalltobuild promoteandpursuesafetyandhealthexcellencehelpsusalltobuild terrifichabitsandattitudeswithinourcompany–andathomeandin terrifichabitsandattitudeswithinourcompany–andathomeandin ourcommunities! ourcommunities! Our NAOSH week schedule includes: •PresentationsonHealthyEating,PhysicalActivity,Smoking,Diabetes •PresentationsonHealthyEating,PhysicalActivity,Smoking,Diabetes •SupplierPresentationsonHealthandSafetyProducts •SupplierPresentationsonHealthandSafetyProducts •HighBloodPressureMonitoringStation •HighBloodPressureMonitoringStation •FireExtinguisherTraining •FireExtinguisherTraining •CompanyWideHealthyLunch •CompanyWideHealthyLunch •Children'sColouringContest •Children'sColouringContest •SafetyVideos •SafetyVideos •Much,muchmore! •Much,muchmore! ATMCI,SAFETYTAKES THEDRIVER'SSEAT! SAFETYDRIVEN mcicoach.com Findresourcestohelpyou"makesafety ahabit"atsafemanitoba.com Injuriespreventedandlivessaved that'stheVALUEof SAFEWork

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