CSA Standards has launched Canada’s first comprehensive, national standard on managing work in confined spaces.

CSA Z1006 Management of Work in Confined Spaces specifies requirements and guidelines for managing work in confined spaces and coordinating rescues.

Social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook can help safety professionals spread the word about their programs, and engage employees in workplace health initiatives. But according to those in the know, there are a number of things to keep in mind before jumping into social networks.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) was a start-up employer in 2005. It would become a unique sort of employer, one that had a single purpose and would cease to exist once the job was done. It was in the process of forming a tight team of hard-working, keen people.

In those early days, VANOC’s then-small organizing committee of about 50 people became aware, through the Olympic grapevine, of occupational injuries and fatalities in previous Games in other countries.

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.