Canadian Safety Reporter

PUBLISHED BY CANADIAN HR REPORTER www.safety-reporter.com THE WORKPLACE SAFETY SOURCE FOR OHS MANAGERS AND HR PROFESSIONALS Situational awareness: A new safety strategy Tactic changes the way workers think about situations and surroundings: Consultant | BY ZACHARY PEDERSEN | ness is a state of mind where you're constantly reviewing and keeping in GUY CHENARD has a new way of thinkmind what's happening around you at ing about safety and says the best work," he says. example of his new thought process Situational awareness isn't a new is when a group of workers was doing concept. The term can be traced as everything right — almost. far back as the First World War, The senior health and safety where it was recognized as a concept advisor at Ontario Power Generation for American crews in military air(OPG) remembers when three craft. Pilots were trained to observe workers went out to a worksite to the enemy's current behaviour and repair a broken fan. anticipate the next move. "They planned the job, they had As pilots returned home from war, the tools," he the concept says. "They had began to be "Situational awareness work protection adopted in aviaand did every- is a state of mind where you're tion, according to thing they Rich Gasaway, constantly reviewing needed to." founder of the and keeping in mind As the group Center for the what's happening worked together Advancement of to fix the fan, a Situational around you at work." four foot icicle Awareness and came crashing Decision-making, down from above, nearly hitting the based in St. Paul, Minn. workers. "It doesn't surprise me because a The workers did a good job of lot of pilots come from a military preparing to complete a job safely, background, so they got introduced but they failed to assess how their to situational awareness in the milienvironment could change while tary and then transitioned into aviacompleting the job. tion," he says. "We were focusing on the fan," he Gasaway, a former fire chief, now says. "We didn't consider that there trains first responders on the were other hazards around there." concept. What the workers were lacking "First responders are not being was situational awareness, Chenard trained to the levels that they need to says. continued on page 6 "In a nutshell, situational aware- MAY 2013 INSIDE THIS ISSUE CALLS FOR FARM SAFETY SPROUT IN ALBERTA Farm workers not covered by OHS laws, something 1 MLA wants to change........3 NEWS BRIEFS New CSA standard targets workplace safety • Nova Scotia continues 8-year injury decline • Workplace deaths hit 30-year high in Saskatchewan • Quebec study identifies tools, jobs with high risk of silica exposure....................................4 ASK AN EXPERT Random drug and alcohol testing: Balancing OHS, human rights ..............11 Emergency exit Many Ontario firms missed deadline to comply with emergency plans for employees with disabilities | BY MELISSA MANCINI | ONTARIO COMPANIES are required to develop a process to provide individualized workplace emergency response plans to employees with disabilities, but many firms are behind on the requirement. The requirement is part of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation and the deadline for compliance with the provision was Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2013 continued on page 2

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