Author Archives: Susan

A new safety tool – this ABS Avalanche Airbag Backpack – fulfilled its ultimate job of saving a life. At work or at play, this looks like a good option that many people are only just finding out about.

Check out this video from Cold Fire Canada, who just released a new, portable fire extinguisher that can be suspended from any ceiling.

Everyone on a farm is responsible for safety. That’s the message from the Alberta Farm Safety Program in its “I Have A Role” campaign set for launch during Canadian Agriculture Safety Week March 11 to 17. This year’s nation-wide campaign focuses on the assessment, improvement and further development of safety systems.

RoadSafetyAtWork.ca is a new online toolkit for employers with workers who drive on the job. It uses a five-step approach to safer workplace driving, including tools, tips, guidance, examples, and best practices – launched by WorkSafeBC in partnership with the BCAA Road Safety Foundation.

The first four entries are posted – and I’ve got to say I’m pretty impressed with the creative ways they answer the question: “What motivates you, your friends, or your family to come home safely from work?”

Recently I learned a new term – “dichotic listening” – for describing what we do in a noisy environment, like a cocktail party, where there are multiple conversations happening. Here’s a story about a group of workers used theirs to monitor voice mail greetings – one in each ear.

They did everything they were supposed to do – but something unexpected happened. An excavation crew was replacing a water main when they hit and ruptured a gas line. More than 100 people were evacuated, buses were re-routed, and roads were closed.

It could be months before investigators know what started an explosion and fire that killed two workers and injured 19 on Jan. 20 at the Babine Mill in Burns Lake, BC. One possible cause is combustible dust explosion, but it’s still too early to know for sure. The CCOHS says things that may “seem like harmless substances” – including sugar, coal, wood dust, flour – can “become the fuel for an explosion.”