Combustible dust is a solid material composed of distinct particles or pieces which present a fire hazard when suspended in air or some other oxidizing medium over a range of concentrations.

Recent fatalities involving confined spaces demand that these areas be given more attention to reduce risk of injury or loss of life. The three men died after entering a structure in an Abbotsford mushroom farm in September, 2008. Two were “rescuers”. They inhaled fatal doses of toxic fumes. Two other workers / “rescuers” were left […]

Most Canadians use electricity every day, both in the workplace and at home. However, we don’t often consider the hazards in our day-to-day activities associated with electricity or electrically powered equipment.

Safety eyewear and face shields are the most common method used in industry to protect the eyes and face from injury. Safety eyewear is an essential piece of personal protective equipment (PPE), but all too often workers wear the wrong kind or even worse don’t wear it at all.

Fatigue is feeling tired weary from sleep, mental or physical work, or stress. Boring repetitive tasks can increase feelings of fatigue. Fatigue is either acute or chronic.

Hands are essential for work, yet hand injuries are one of the most common injuries in the workplace. Hands are injured by dull cutting tools, jagged edges, and sharp objects. Most hand injuries are preventable. Injuries happen when workers are rushed, not wearing PPE, using equipment without guarding, or poor supervision and training.

Every day we encounter hazards. Some are easily identified but others may be difficult to identify. A hazard is something that puts a worker at risk of injury or occupational disease. Hazards can also damage equipment and property, increase insurance premiums and lead to serious injury or death.

“Noise” is unwanted sound. The psychological effects of noise is that it can startle you, annoy you, and disrupt your concentration. Physiological effects include loss of hearing. Severe exposure to noise can cause pain and even nausea. Noise can also affect communications which interferes with both job performance and your safety.

Hot work is work that creates sparks or a flame (i.e. tiger torch), or a fire that must be monitored after being extinguished.

An incident investigation is a process that analyses an incident to identify the unsafe acts and conditions that lead to the incident in order to develop control measures to prevent the recurrence of the incident.

Cut injuries in the Manufacturing, food processing, wine making, brewing and distillery industries occur primarily through the use of knives, cleavers and slicing equipment. Cut injuries are one of the leading causes of injuries in abattoirs, fish, poultry and meat processing operations, as well as hospitality tasting rooms associated with the beverage industries.

Fall injuries are a major source of injury in BC both at home and at work. Most of these falls could be avoided with the application of some simple ladder safety work procedures.

Leadership allows leaders to influence to achieve a quality that inspires and attracts people to follow and demonstrates that a leader acts on the cause. A strong and visible leadership can help prevent accidents, injuries, and other risks. It also helps create a high standard of safety management and health.

Lockout/tagout is a safety practice. Dangerous machinery is shut off and can’t be started again before maintenance work is done. Lockout/tagout protects workers from serious injury or death while working on equipment.

Manual materials handling is handling items by lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying, holding, or restraining. It is the most common cause of occupational fatigue and lower back injuries. Three quarters of Canadians whose job includes manual handling suffer from back injury at some point. Many are unable to return to their jobs and some are […]

Scissor lifts are a relatively economical way to work at height safely and efficiently and as a result they are present on most medium to large workplaces, they are economical to rent so you even see them on small sites during projects. They are simple to operate, but because the operators are working at height, […]

The Internal Responsibility System (IRS) is the underlying philosophy of occupational health and safety legislation in Canada. The key to the IRS is that everyone in the workplace is responsible for his or her own safety, as well as for the safety of others in the workplace. To ensure a safe workplace, there must be a partnership between the employer and the employees.

Radiation is simply energy that is in motion. It can travel either in waves or as particles through space or some other material medium. All matter, whether at rest or moving, has energy. X-rays are a form of high energy electromagnetic radiation. It has the potential to harm us, so it is important to receive […]