Blog Post #500 – I Cannot Believe I Made It!

I have finally come to a special time in my writing life, blog post #500! I would like to share with you my feelings about many of the previous articles and to notify the readership on where HRS Group Inc., and Daniel L. Beal, CHSEP, in particular, are going.

First of all, the health and safety theme of this site has taken my stories right across Canada. Most were to do with Ontario but many were articles dealing with issues in some of the other provinces and territories. I enjoyed the research and now would like to give a summary of the blog posts. I cannot believe I made it!

I created an 8 part miniseries on ‘Fall Protection’ based on section 26 of the Ontario ‘Construction’ sector regulation 213/91. (Look towards July 2011) This was put together 3 years before the new ‘Working at Heights’ legislation was to be enacted. Nice to be ahead of the game!

The biggest monies paid out that I was to see during the past 4 years was the Walmart Violence and Harassment issue. 1.46 million dollars. (since appealed) Most fines in Ontario were around the $100,000 range and there were about 10 issues every month.

The 2 most prominent issues that were to be discussed were the Westray mining accident in 1992 which drove the need to create federal legislation (Bill C45) which is now covered by Canadian Labour Code, section 217.1, and the tragic scaffold accident on Christmas Eve day, December 24, 2009. 5 men were on a swing stage meant for two. There were numerous charges including 8 for manslaughter. By the way, Bill C45 was used here.

My opinion is that the Ontario Ministry of Labour has been doing a great job. The enforcement of the laws are a priority but I still see numerous issues especially in the ‘Construction’ sector. I bet we all can say we see workers not tied off when working at heights.

The regular reader knows that I find most provinces attempting to do a good job to protect their workforce. Quebec and British Columbia, are two provinces that stand out as leaders in safety. I also find that the province of Saskatchewan is also making great strides in health and safety.

The readership also knows that I have quite a storied past with the province of Alberta. The laws are there BUT the government of Alberta does not enforce them.(or at least could do a better job) Oh, they give lip service to the laws but there is quite a cowboy mentality there that cannot be hidden away. I was recently in Calgary and found two large scaffolding projects, one over 6 levels high, with no guardrails. This was two minutes from the largest safety conference in Canada. Go figure!

In closing,

I hope that I continue to be able to provide worthwhile stories. I am finishing up my advanced applied degree in CHSEP as well as the exam portion of the first leg of my journey for a CHSC designation. I also hope to begin the preparation towards the CRSP as well. Wish me luck!

There are many things happening in the world of health and safety and I promise that HRS Group Inc. and I will be staying on top of things.

Let’s get researching the material for the next 500 blog posts. I do hope to hear from you if you have comments or suggestions for material or how to make the articles more interesting or appealing. Just saying hello would be nice as well.

Remember – In Canada, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”

‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.

Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Foundation Level
VP & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.