Photo credit: RhonniRhubar on Flickr
They make different things – bread, roofing tiles, metal pipes – but they share a lot in common.
Their processes are often similar, and, no matter what they make, they use many of the same safety solutions.
A group of manufacturing employers, safety professionals, and safety committee members will have a chance to compare notes on October 25 and 26 in Richmond, BC at the Make It Safe conference.
It’s hosted by WorkSafeBC, the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters of BC, and the Food Industry Occupational Safety Association of BC (FIOSA). FIOSA will be hosting post-conference seminars on October 27, 28, and 29.
Downloadable sticker from WorkSafeBC.com
Conference topics include:
- Slips, trips, and falls
- Safeguarding equipment
- Ergonomics/MSIs
- Return-to-work/Stay-at-work programs
- Influencing human behaviour to improve safety
- Managing toxic chemical processes in manufacturing
Creating a new safety association
Even though manufacturing is B.C.’s second largest industry, there is no organization devoted to safety for this large group of workers.
The conference hosts want to change this, so they are working together to garner support for a new organization called the Manufacturing and Occupational Safety and Health Association (MOSHA).
Injury rates for manufacturers
The injury rate for BC manufacturers is 4.6, significantly higher than the province-wide injury rate of 2.37. The food processing subsector has an even higher rate of injury at 7.1. – or, in other words, for every person who worked full time in a one-year period, seven out of 100 suffered an injury.
Win a pass to the Make It Safe conference
Enter to win a free pass ($450 value) to the conference by doing one of the following:
*Leave a comment on this post
*Retweet this post on Twitter, or
*Introduce yourself on the wall of the blog’s Facebook page.
I will draw one winner at noon on Thursday, October 14, 2010. The contest is not open to WorkSafeBC employees and does not include hotel or travel costs.
