“On the Day of Mourning, we recognize people who’ve had tragedies and workplace incidents, then the following week is NAOSH Week. That should be the call to action for people – to do something to make the change in their health and safety culture in their organization,” said Kathy Tull, industry specialist at WorkSafeBC. “How can they do that? By having safety meetings, doing training, and there are so many things organizations can do.”
One hundred and forty-two people died from workplace injury and illness in 2011 in BC. They will be remembered – along with far too many others – at Day of Mourning ceremonies throughout the province (and around the world) on April 27 and 28.
It was exciting to see history in the making on Oct. 27 when 23 CEOs and senior managers signed BC’s first safety charter – similar to documents signed in Newfoundland Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.
I found lots of great stories to track down and tell after looking at the list of NAOSH and Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) Achievement Recognition awards. Winners were honoured October 20 at the 2011 Safety Forum and Awards ceremony in Langley, and I’ll be following up to find out more about what they did.
A workplace safety magazine’s first “Canada’s Safest Employers List” drew nominations from more than 100 employers who claimed to go above and beyond in promoting safe workplaces.
Steps For Life is a fundraising walk to raise money for families who lost loved ones in workplace tragedies. On May 1, 2011, people in 33 Canadian communities will walk together and remember the human faces behind the statistics.
Last fall, I had a great time hearing about all the NAOSH Week 2010 winners at the annual awards ceremonies – and now it’s time to plan for this year’s activities.
Here’s wishing you a happy, safe, and healthy holiday season. This is Speaking of Safety’s final post for 2010, and I’ll be back in the new year with more stories for you. In the meantime, check out the most popular posts of the year on Speaking of Safety.
I’ve always loved to see people acknowledged for their efforts to make a difference. On October 21, I had a chance to hear about the great work done by OHS folks in BC when I attended the 2010 Safety Forum at Newlands Golf and Country Club in Langley.
Photographer Simon Kolton met construction workers and their families in Bangkok and Pattaya. He went to work with them, followed them up the buildings to take photos, and shot this photo of a young mom without fall protection.
