2026 HSE Updates Week of August 12 – RAE, OHS
Greetings,
Please review the applicable HSE Updates.
- Company Safety Meeting Presentation: deadline: two weeks following the Company Safety Meeting
- It is mandatory to review the Company Safety Meeting on SiteDocs and sign-off that you have done so. If the deadline has passed – you missed it but are still expected to review and sign-off the presentation in SiteDocs.
- H&S Bulletin: Answer due by 8am last Friday of the month
- Attached: August 2026 Health and Safety Bulletin
- Health and Safety Committee: Next Meeting: usually Thurs before last Fri of the month
- If you can’t join the HSC meetings, you can still participate by providing feedback, questions, or concerns to hsc@raeengineering.ca. Please submit feedback prior to the next meeting so it can be brought forward.
- The HSC meets the last Thursday of each month at 1pm via Teams
- Previous HSC Meeting Minutes can be found in the Teams Channel and on SiteDocs
- Safety Rewards Program: Where your commitment to RAE’s Safety Culture is rewarded!
- Submit more cards! Be specific in how your coworkers contribute to safety! The latest PRC winners are:
- $500 Best Card Winner: Jay
- $100 Safety PRC Draw: Brett P.
- If you have any questions or concerns about the Safety Rewards Program, or would like to sign-up to do a presentation, please email hsc@raeengineering.ca.
- Submit more cards! Be specific in how your coworkers contribute to safety! The latest PRC winners are:
- Peer Recognitions: Due by Company Safety Meeting each month
- Certificates Reminder:
- Please send all your certs to raesafety@raeengineering.ca. We need to have them on file should clients as for them and submitting to safety sites for clients. SiteDocs does not allow certs to be downloaded and screen shots can’t always be taken (depending on the size of the file uploaded)
- SiteDocs Forms Reminder:
- After completing monthly inspections, send the form to the branch manager for them to sign.
- OHS eNews (OHS eNews – August 2026)
- Visit the OHS Resource Portal for bulletins, infographics, eLearning resources and recorded webinars supporting workplace health and safety in Alberta
- BeGrainSafe Week is 10-16 August
- Alberta’s Recognition of CSA’s MEWP Operator training and Ontario’s Program Standard for WAH training
- Alberta recognizes a Mobile Elevated Work Platform (MEWP) operator training standard issued by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and Ontario’s Program Standard for Working at Heights (WAH) program standard
- For more info, see:
- If you have questions about WAH and MEWP recognition work, submit them any time to ohsreview@gov.ab.ca.
- Biohazards in the Workplace:
- Read more in the new Biohazardous materials in the workplace bulletin and Break the chain of infection postcard, which is available for order on the OHS Resource Portal
- Working in summer:
- Under Alberta’s OHS legislation, employers are obligated to protect their workers and others at or around the work site from potential hazards, including summer-related risks such as summer storms or extreme heat. Workers also have an obligation to take reasonable care to protect the health and safety of themselves and others in the vicinity of their work sites
- For more information on how to stay healthy and safe in the summer, see the Working in summer bulletin on the OHS Resource Portal.
- Role and duties of Alberta OHS officers:
- OHS officers play an important role in keeping work sites in Alberta safe by monitoring and enforcing OHS law. They have the authority to implement Alberta’s OHS legislation by conducting inspections and investigations and issuing orders, tickets or administrative penalties. Additionally, OHS officers can issue a stop work order if they believe there is a danger to worker health and safety.
- By law, work site parties must cooperate with OHS officers and cannot interfere with or hinder them in their work.
- For more information, see the Role and duties of Alberta OHS officers bulletin on the OHS Resource Portal.
- Upcoming live webinars on employment standards
- Overview of Employment Standards in Alberta – Tuesday, August 18 at 1:30 p.m.
- For more information, future webinar dates or to register for one of the sessions, visit alberta.ca/employment-standards-webinars. To request a presentation for your company or organization, please email EOP.Presentations@gov.ab.ca.
- OHS: beyond the numbers
- A growing number of workplace injury and illness claims related to hot summer weather, ranging from heat fatigue to heat stroke, underscores the need to recognize heat risks across a range of work environments.
- Spikes in heat claims: Heat exposure can affect workers across a wide variety of occupations, particularly during the summer in Alberta. Workers’ Compensation Board – Alberta (WCB) summer heat-related claims from 2019 to 2024 peaked during years with significant heat events, including the 2021 Western Canadian heat dome and record-setting July temperatures in 2024.
- Expanding heat risks: While summer heat-related claims continue to occur in high-risk outdoor occupations, heat exposure is increasingly recognized as a hazard in indoor and enclosed environments. Recent guidance from the World Health Organization highlights that workers in vehicles, warehouses, factories, commercial kitchens and other non-air-conditioned workplaces may be vulnerable to summer heat hazards. This broader heat risk is reflected in the WCB claims data above, with bus drivers, subway operators and transit operators representing the highest number of claims from a single industry group.
- Canadian research also indicates that heat exposure can impact worker fatigue, concentration and physical performance, potentially increasing the risk of injury.
- Resources: To learn more, visit our resource on working in extreme heat. A Heat Stress Toolkit is also available from the Occupational Health Clinics from Ontario Workers Inc (OHCOW).