May 16, 2013
Trevor Linden and yours truly – Susan Main, Speaking of Safety blogger – May 2, 2013 at the Terminal City Club in Vancouver, BC. FIOSA-MIOSA photo by Arne Huse
“Team sports and athletics naturally teach us about goal-setting. The best leaders broke the game down into sections and gave us a road map of where we want to be,” said Trevor Linden at the BC Safety Charter Round Table on May 2 in Vancouver. “Details and structure are what makes good leaders.”
The former Canucks captain – who now runs his own business, Club 16 – Trevor Linden Fitness – talked about good leadership as the key to team-building.
“What defines a good team? For me, it’s always about the culture,” Trevor said. “As independent business leaders, we have the ability to create that and eventually it becomes our legacy.”
About 150 delegates, from more than 60 businesses and organizations from across BC and around the world, attended this event hosted by FIOSA-MIOSA, the industry safety association for manufacturing and food/beverage processing.
The Charter’s purpose is to bring together CEOs who acknowledge that good health and safety management is an essential part of business. Those who sign are doing their part to “spread the message to as many leaders in the corporate world,” reads this description on the Charter web site.
The Charter, started in 2011 with 22 signatures, now includes 75 signatures after the latest Round Table. Charter signatories have a goal to get 150 of B.C.’s senior executives sign the Charter by 2015 – and at this rate, I’m sure they’ll have way more than that.
What’s in a signature?
I asked CEO Justin Williams to tell me more about what it’s meant to his company since he signed the Charter. His company, Williams and White, makes tools and machinery for maintaining saws and knives.
“People come in and I say, ‘Hey have you seen we’ve signed this?’” Justin said. “We treat it as one of our qualifications – one of our certifications. We signed the Safety Charter. We’re committed to safety. We believe in it and now we’re living it.”
He said he and his brother Matt, operations manager, introduced the Charter to staff and talk about it with vendors, clients, and anyone who visits their office.
“It’s made a big difference – and that’s because it’s front and centre. It’s become a talking point really,” Justin said. “That’s the big impact of signing this document. It takes 2 minutes – that’s two minutes to start this conversation.”
Thanks to FIOSA-MIOSA for having me as a guest and for all the work on this important project.
May 14, 2013
Photo credit: jkgreenstein12 on Flickr
Weekend DIY warriors are getting busy as the weather warms. We can go online and see lots of inspiring ideas for new sheds and fences – or maybe a bird house or new deck with raised beds for the flowers… (I love those websites!)
But before you get out there, please review Power Tool Safety, a WorkSafeBC video series in English and Punjabi. It covers safe use of nail guns and circular saws, and be warned: they are not for the faint of heart.
When I was researching this post, a friend told me a story from his childhood. His mom was rushed to hospital for stitches after his dad accidentally chainsawed her in the head while they were in their yard cutting a dead tree into pieces for disposal.
The saw had been stalling and then not stopping properly. The dad put down the saw, which then lurched forward and hit the mom in the head when she bent down to pick up a pile of branches. What a terrible shock for the kids when a neighbour called them back from the park! Thankfully the woman needed only a few stitches. It could have been so much worse – or even fatal.
My friend and I both agreed, talking about this family story so many years later, that they should have stopped as soon as the saw malfunctioned. Ah hindsight! But they were probably in a hurry to finish their job. They were absorbed in the task at hand and weren’t thinking about what could go wrong. That’s how it happens – how things can go terribly wrong – especially if we are frustrated by a task, excited by the outcome, or on too tight of a deadline.
Here’s a question to keep in mind before you start any project – at work or home: “Are you as safe as you think you are?” That’s the theme of NAOSH Week 2013 May 5 to 11, so please keep it in mind and discuss it with the DIY-ers in your life.
“Team sports and athletics naturally teach us about goal-setting. The best leaders broke the game down into sections and gave us a road map of where we want to be,” said Trevor Linden, speaking to industry leaders at the BC Safety Charter Roundtable hosted by FIOSA-MIOSA on May 2, 2013 in Vancouver.
The WorkSafeBC YouTube channel has nearly 14-million video views – and now this popular source of safety information is available on an app for iPhone, iPod touch iPad, along with Apple and Android tablets.
You can download WorkSafeBC’s interactive ebooks onto your iPad – and once you’ve downloaded them, you can access their content again without an internet connection. This allows safety officers, supervisors, and trainers to use these interactive images, videos, photo galleries, quizzes, and other resources from any location.
We’ve heard it before – but here’s some new, scientific insight into how improved diet and lifestyle change can make a difference. Risk reversal is what’s needed.
Order decals and posters for Day of Mourning events in your community. Talk about lost workers in your community to help prevent similar incidents in future.
The BC Trucking Safety Council reminds us to pay attention on the roads. It’s a simple message indeed – but many people still aren’t taking note.
Since 2000, 14 workers in the US have died while refinishing bathtubs. All the deaths involved the use of paint-stripping products containing methylene chloride: “a highly volatile, colorless and toxic chemical that is widely used as a degreaser and paint stripper.”
NAOSH Week is getting closer ( May 5–11) , so here are a few more ideas on what you can do to engage your workers and the community in thinking about this year’s question: Are you as safe as you think?
It’s easy to be deceived by the sunshine and dress in clothes that aren’t warm enough. But if you are venturing into the wilderness – for work or recreation – it pays to be prepared.
