HSE Updates Week of 1 November 2023 – RAE, ESC, OHS

Greetings,

Please review the applicable HSE Updates.

• Company Safety Meeting Presentation:   deadline: second Friday of each month for the previous month (13 Oct 2023)
  • If you have not already done so by the deadline, please review the attached Company Safety Meeting on SiteDocs to indicate you have reviewed it. If the deadline has passed – you missed it but are still expected to review and sign-off the presentation in SiteDocs.
    • All employees must indicate in SiteDocs that they have read the presentation by 10 November 2023.
• H&S Bulletin: Answer due by 8am last Friday of the month (24 Nov 2023)
  • See attached: November 2023 Health and Safety Bulletin
• Health and Safety Committee: Next Meeting: Thurs before last Fri of the month (23 Nov 2023)
  • 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 SiteDocs.
• Safety Rewards Program: Where your commitment to RAE’s Safety Culture is rewarded!
  • September PRC winners:
    • $500 Best Card Winner: Anita Vance
      • Submit more cards! Be specific in how your coworkers are contributing to safety!
    • $100 Safety PRC Draw: Sam Shute
  • 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.
• Peer Recognitions: Due by Company Safety Meeting each month

Energy Safety Canada (ESC)

• Per email: 2023 Potentially Serious Incidents Report
  • This report summarizes updated Potentially Serious Incident (PSI) data from Alberta’s energy industry for Q1 2019 – Q3 2023. For the PSI Program, ESC analyzed Contact or struck with object, tool or equipment PSIs and categorized the incidents to identify additional insights.
  • ESC’s PSI Program improves worker safety by standardizing the confidential collection, storage, and analysis of PSI data.
  • According to Alberta Occupational Health & Safety, PSIs are:
    • “Any incident that had a likelihood of causing a serious injury or illness, and there is reasonable cause to believe that corrective action may need to be taken to prevent recurrence.”
  • View the 2023 PSI Report

OHS

• Per email: OHS eNews – November 2023
  • Visit the OHS Resource Portal for bulletins, infographics and recorded webinars supporting workplace health and safety in Alberta.
  • New: Ergonomics in the workplace – eLearning
  • Updated: Fun quizzes – eLearning (Noise in the workplace, Working alone safely, Young workers, Impairment in the workplace)
  • Changes coming to Alberta’s Certificate of Recognition (COR) program
    • In 2018, an extensive evaluation of the COR program concluded it has a valuable role in workplace health and safety, but needed to evolve, modernize, and promote continual improvement. As part of these efforts, a working group is developing a new audit instrument called the Complexity-Based Scalable Audit (CBSA). The CBSA is intended to replace the current standard COR and Small Employer Certificate of Recognition (SECOR) audits and will be developed in several phases over the next three years.
    • The CBSA is in early development. In future, stakeholder input will be gathered and a draft made available for review. Employers and auditors can expect the following when the CBSA is implemented:
      • It will be scalable and expandable based on the complexity of each employer’s operations.
      • There will be no SECOR designation under the CBSA. All audited employers that meet the requirements of the program will receive a COR regardless of their size.
      • Inclusion of industry-specific audit content will ensure the CBSA is relevant to each employer’s operations.
    • An information sheet about the CBSA and accompanying frequently asked questions are available on the OHS Resource Portal. If you have additional questions, please contact your Certifying Partner; contact information is available at alberta.ca/find-certifying-partner.aspx.
  • OHS Online Incident Reporting form changes
    • A change has been made to the OHS Online Incident Reporting (OIR) form, which is used by prime contractors – or employers, if there is no prime contractor – to report some incidents to Alberta OHS. When selecting the type and cause of the incident, the parts of the body that were injured, and the type of injuries, users no longer have to choose from a long list of options; they now select a main category, followed by a shorter list of subcategory options. This change should enhance the user experience and streamline the process of filing an incident report.
    • For more information on the available options, download the OIR online form reference list. For information about reporting incidents, see Incident reporting and investigation on the OHS Resource Portal.
  • Weather’s effects on fall protection systems
    • Fall protection systems keep people who work at heights safe. Because of the critical role this equipment has, it’s important to know how different weather conditions can degrade fall protection systems and understand how to protect them from rain, ice, snow, heat, and sun exposure.
    • Learn more in Fall protection systems and weather on the OHS Resource Portal
  • Preventing domestic violence in the workplace
    • November is Family Violence Awareness Month in Alberta. This month is an opportunity to increase awareness of the warning signs of domestic violence and the resources and supports available, so that we can work together to build healthier relationships in our communities.
    • It’s important to recognize that domestic violence can also be a workplace hazard. By law, if an employer knows that a domestic violence incident might come into the workplace, they must take steps to protect workers. In addition, workers must notify their employer or supervisor if they think domestic violence is, or might be, occurring at the work site.
    • For more information on preventing workplace domestic violence and legislated work site party responsibilities, see Domestic violence in the workplace on the OHS Resource Portal.
  • Upcoming live webinars on employment standards
    • Employment standards set out the rights and obligations of employers and workers in Alberta. These include the minimum standards that employers must provide to their workers.
      • Employment standards in Alberta – Wages and overtime: Thursday, November 2 at 1:30 p.m.
      • Employment standards in Alberta – General overview: Tuesday, November 21 at 10:30 a.m.
      • Temporary Foreign Worker Advisory Office – TFWs and employer rights and responsibilities: Thursday, November 30 at 1:30 p.m.
      • Employment Standards in Alberta – Vacation pay and general holiday pay: Tuesday, December 5 at 1:30 p.m.
    • For more information, or to register for one of the sessions, please visit alberta.ca/employment-standards-webinars.aspx. To book a presentation for your company or organization, please email mailto:EOP.Presentations@gov.ab.ca.