Greetings,

Please review the applicable HSE Updates.

• Company Safety Meeting Presentation:   deadline: second Friday of each month for the previous month
  • 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
  • See attached: September 2024 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!
  • July PRC winners: Submit more cards! Be specific in how your coworkers are contributing to safety!
    • $500 Best Card Winner: Tyson Shewchuk
    • $100 Safety PRC Draw: William Yan
  • 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

Mental health Commission of Canada (MHCC)

• This month’s issue of The Catalyst | Le Vecteur, includes the following conversations about mental health:
  • Tough Talk Made Better: #ChatSafe guidelines for young people show how to safely discuss self-harm and suicide online.
  • Design Your Digital Diet: Is it time to take a pause – for your mental health?
  • Suicide Prevention Resources: September is Suicide Awareness Month. As part of our ongoing commitment to life promotion and suicide prevention, we have created a range of evidence-based resources.

Energy Safety Canada (ESC)

• Energy Safety Canada Online:
  • Courses and Webinars:
    • Updated - Incident and Accident Investigation | In-Person and Virtual: Designed for personnel involved in safety investigations, the course offers enhanced tools to identify the system failures that lead to accidents and provides a model for creating corrective actions that address these systemic challenges.
    • Updated - Health and Safety Committees and Representatives | Online: This online course is approved for training Alberta health and safety committees and representatives and has been updated to incorporate recent regulatory changes.
    • Leadership for Safe Workplaces | In-Person: Launched earlier this year, this course introduces Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) concepts to assist those directing the work of others, emphasizing leadership's pivotal role in ensuring safer outcomes.
  • ESC’s Confined Space Incident Re-enactment video has won a Gold Telly Award
  • Review the Fraudulent Training and Counterfeit Certificate Safety Bulletin to ensure only legitimately trained individuals access work sites
• Safety Alert | Catastrophic Centrifuge Failure 
  • Workers were processing slurry from a storage tank that was used to store shaker screen runoff. The centrifuge experienced a catastrophic failure, resulting in the centrifuge drive motor, gearbox and drive shaft being ejected from the centrifuge stand.
    • View the complete Safety Alert for more details and to reflect on how you can build capacity at your own work site.
• Webinar | WorkSafeBC - First Aid Regulation Changes 
  • Major changes to Part 3: Occupational First Aid Regulations will take effect in BC as of 1 November 2024. To ensure your organization is ready for the upcoming changes, join Energy Safety Canada and WorkSafeBC for a webinar to learn how these changes impact emergency response planning in the energy industry. Facilitated by WorkSafeBC, this webinar provides an overview of resources to help you navigate the changes, highlight key areas of the new regulations, and an opportunity to participate in a Q&A session.
    • Date: 9 October 2024
    • Time: 1pm-2:30pm
    • Cost: Free!

OHS

• OHS eNews – September 2024 
  • OHS is conducting research on the OHS Resource Portal to better understand how people use it and identify any ways in which it could be enhanced. As part of this research, you are asked to complete a short survey. Participation is voluntary and response will be kept confidential.
    • Some survey respondents will be contacted and asked if they would participate in a one-on-one online interview session with the research team. Sessions will last no more than about an hour. A facilitator will collect your detailed feedback and ask you to do some tasks using the OHS Resource Portal. Like the survey itself, participation in these one-on-one sessions is completely voluntary, and all information obtained during the sessions will be kept confidential.
    • If you have any questions, please email the research team at uxteam@gov.ab.ca.
  • Apprenticeship Day 2024 – young worker resources/CAREERS fall internships:
    • In recognition of Apprenticeship Day on September 23, Alberta OHS would like to highlight resources designed to guide young workers in workplace health, safety and compliance. Apprentices and employers are encouraged to review these materials to support a safe and successful start to their careers. For more information and to access these resources, see the Young workers category on the OHS Resource Portal.
    • In addition, CAREERS is now accepting applications for its fall high school student internships. CAREERS works with high schools to connect Alberta youth with employers for paid internships — short-term, paid positions in areas such as skilled trades, agriculture, environment, aviation and more. These internships are an opportunity that could save young Albertans time and money trying to figure out their future and put them on the path to a career they love.
    • No experience is necessary in order to apply. To learn more and submit an application, visit careersnextgen.ca/get-an-internship.
    • Alberta’s government provided CAREERS funding to continue to offer its SafeGen program. SafeGen provides students with foundational OHS knowledge required by industry and by schools overseeing students’ off-campus education.
  • School back in session – take extra care while driving for work:
    • Use caution and be alert when driving near buses and in school zones.
    • Watch out for alternating flashing amber lights, which means a school bus is slowing to stop where students will either be getting on or off the bus.
    • Slow down and stop when the school bus activates its alternately flashing red lights. This means you must stop whether you are approaching an oncoming bus or following one. The only exception to this rule is when the bus is on the opposite side of a two-way highway that is physically divided by a median.
    • Proceed only when the red lights on the bus have stopped flashing.
    • Watch for school buses loading and unloading students, even if the lights aren't flashing.
    • Be on the lookout for students crossing the road.
    • For more information on safe driving for work, see Driving safety on the OHS Resource Portal.
  • Report released on public feedback to proposed OHS Code changes: Earlier this year, Albertans shared their feedback on the latest group of proposed changes to the OHS Code. That feedback has been complied into a “What we heard” report, which is now available online. To see the report, visit open.alberta.ca/publications/ohs-code-review-engagement-what-we-heard.
    • More information about the code review is available at alberta.ca/ohs-code-review. Additionally, if you have questions, suggestions for upcoming OHS Code review topics or have identified errors with the legislation, you can send an email to OHSreview@gov.ab.ca.
  • Two upcoming free webinars co-hosted by Alberta OHS
    • Introduction to Disability Management and Occupational Health and Safety:
      • This webinar will take place 24 September 2024, from 9am to 10:30am.
    • Protecting Our Future: Health, Safety and Employment Standards for Young Workers:
      • The webinar will take place 8 October 2024, from 3pm to 4pm.
  • Upcoming live webinars on employment standards (new mini-webinar series, 30-minute sessions). For more information, or to register for one of the sessions, please visit alberta.ca/employment-standards-webinars.aspx. To request a presentation for your company or organization, please email EOP.Presentations@gov.ab.ca.:
    • Employment Standards Mini-overview on Overtime (Tuesday, September 24, 2 p.m.)
    • Employment Standards Mini-overview on Termination and Termination Pay (Wednesday, September 25, 2 p.m.)
    • Employment Standards Mini-overview on General Holiday Pay (Thursday, September 26, 2 p.m.)

WCB

• WCB has issued Worksight 2024, Issue 6
  • Introduction to Disability Management and Occupational Health and Safety: Created in partnership between Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and WCB-Alberta, this online seminar is for:
    • •  Small- to medium-sized employers
      •  Employers who have recently expanded their operations
      •  Employers with a relatively new prevention/disability management program
      •  New employers 
    • Details:
      • Tuesday 24 September 2024
      • 9am-10:30am
      • Free!
      • Online!
  • Plan ahead for modified work opportunities! Attend a workshop with our health care experts at Millard Health (131 Airport Rd, Edmonton) to learn more about how you can help reduce the impact of injuries in your workplace. You’ll learn how to build an effective modified work program and offer injured workers personalized support for a safe return to work.

Technical Safety BC (TSBC)

• TSBC has issued a reminder regarding Fee changes in effect on January 1, 2025 
  • Effective January 1, 2025, most of our fees will increase by 4% in accordance with our 2024–2025 fee schedule. This fee schedule was developed last year after a period of consultation with our clients and industry partners.