Times are tough. OHS managers across Canada are facing budgetary cuts as companies tighten their belts with fiscal restraints. How can critical safety programs be maintained with limited dollars?

“You have to be creative,” says Lisa Tkaczuk, OHS manager for sales and services at Diversey Canada, an Oakville-based manufacturer of sanitation and cleaning supplies for industrial sites.

The Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) has launched its new Working at Heights fall prevention training program, which addresses the basic fall prevention information to help workers work safely in areas where they may be exposed to fall hazards.

I have a number of wonderful client companies who are striving to improve their safety efforts by helping people understand just how personal safety is and why it truly needs to be that way.

During training sessions that we have developed, we spend time with employees (and in some cases, contractors) to discuss our personal stories of how safety (or sometimes the lack of it) has affected our lives. Sometimes the stories are humorous; often they are tragic. Either way, the process of discussing safety becomes very personal and has dramatic impacts on the participating individuals.

In Canada, an important professional designation in the field of health and safety management is provided and administered by the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP). The designation has been in existence since 1976. The BCRSP has committed itself to the ongoing enhancement and progress of the safety profession.

I believe most folks are well-intentioned when it comes to the health and safety of themselves and others.  I’ve never actually met anyone in any company during my over three decades of OH&S management experience who actually wanted to hurt anyone. I think the problem is that some percentage of employers, managers and workers just don’t know what activities they are to engage in to really make their workplace safe.

Here’s a fun way to communicate safety management ideas through the alphabet. A simple process that helps list some of the important factors in creating safety in our homes and places of work can work to enhance communication.

How many times have you watched shows like the CSI series, Law and Order, Bones, Numb3rs or even television’s most lovable serial killer show, Dexter and seen squads of individuals descending on a crime scene attempting to expose the most minute evidence in order to understand what happened?  Does your corporation’s incident investigations mirror these performances? If they don’t — they should.

Occupational health and safety professionals across the country face budget cuts that could make training and education more challenging. But service providers and industry observers say there may be ways of making curtailed safety budgets work, even in tough financial times.

ORLANDO, Fla. – The National Safety Council (NSC) kicked off its annual conference on Monday with a tribute to all the “heroes” of health and safety – men and women who work hard to keep workers and the public safe – and the awarding of outstanding individuals and organizations in the field of environmental, health and safety.

Despite the economic downturn that has touched – in one way or another – many organizations across the globe, safety is seemingly one area where many Canadian organizations aren’t willing to compromise.

In our most recent Reader Panel survey, we asked safety professionals about safety budgets and whether the global financial crisis is affecting how their organizations are dealing with safety spending.