COR companies kick off construction season with updates on trends

WORKSAFELY’s May 9 COR meeting covered a lot of ground, including hearing from Darren James of Workplace Safety and Health, who gave an update of last season’s inspection results.

Workplace Safety and Health gave notice on some challenges it has with the heavy construction industry such as the transient nature of work, multiple locations/employers and the short timeline of projects. WSH has made it a priority to work in cooperation with employers and the industry-based safety programs toward the enforcement of safety initiatives.

James was among a number of other speakers who presented on a range of trends in the industry for COR companies in attendance.

Among the highlights were:

• Bryan Wall and Brenda Preston from St. John’s ambulance spoke on the rising importance of mental health in the workplace and increasing use of mental health first-aid classes. Mental health issues affect every workplace and is a growing area of concern in the construction industry.
• Peter Malegus of SAFE Work Manitoba reported current industry injury trends remain low, at below 4 workers per 100. The rate continues to slowly decrease but there remains room for improvement.  Additionally, he spoke on the new “young worker readiness” program that is available online and a safe driving program to be available in the fall.
• Mike Boileau from SAFE Work Manitoba gave highlights of the new Occupational Disease Prevention Strategy. This initiative will gather data for various occupational illnesses focusing primarily on diesel emissions and silica.
• Darren James also spoke about current enforcement strategies for the upcoming construction season. To see a current list of strategies you can visit https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/safety/enforcement.html.
• Jackie Jones capped off the meeting, speaking on the status of locates.  

Thank you to all who attended. To contact any of the speakers for further information on their initiatives, email Jackie Jones at jackie@mhca.mb.ca, or Phil McDaniel at phil@mhca.mb.ca.