British Columbia's provincial health and safety board has expressed their support for Canadian Occupational Safety's search for Canada's Safest Employers (CSE).

As the father of two young children, the idea that they could be injured seriously scares me. Through my extensive experience applying safety tactics in major industrial environments, I have learned the virtues of applying them at home.

In my experience, efforts to prevent injuries are typically targeted towards workplace exposures. However, if an individual is provided with safety information that is portable, they can translate their efforts to other areas of life; not just at work.

HALIFAX - If a recent study out of Nova Scotia is any indication, employers’ commitment to safety and how it is exhibited in the workplace and viewed by the workers would go a long way in preventing workplace injuries.

It starts with a simple request: “We are looking for volunteers to help us improve safety.  Those who are interested, please tell the safety manager.” A couple of weeks pass and the number of interested parties who stepped forward is a bit less than desirable. Do you start selecting people?

With a lost-time injury rate that’s second highest in the country and a hospitalization rate from unintentional injuries that’s twice the national average, Saskatchewan’s safety record is in need of a big change.

Observers believe Saskatchewan’s agricultural roots have imbibed among its people a ‘git-r-done’ mentality that’s more focused on getting a job done rather than getting it done safely.

Have you ever thought, “Did I stop all the way at that stop sign?” Have you ever had to turn down the radio in your vehicle because you are lost? If so, you found yourself with the rest of humankind, identifying the weaknesses of performing multiple tasks at once. 

(Editor's note: Beginning this month, Canadian Occupational Safety is adding another talent to its roster of columnists. Shawn Galloway, international speaker and professional safety coach, will draw from his experiences to provide readers with valuable insights towards achieving safety culture excellence.)

QUEBEC CITY – Have you ever put your employees on safety probation for continuing to perform work unsafely? Do you use incident investigation scorecard for measuring safety performance? Do you know who are in your “bottom 30” of worst performers in safety?

‘World Arm Wrestling Champion’ is not a title you commonly see among the list of credentials of a typical safety manager. Yet his earlier arm wrestling feats are a significant part of Darrell Belyk’s approach to health and safety management.