IHSA Safety Podcast

Disclaimer: This episode discusses a sensitive topic that may be challenging for some listeners.

On this episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast, we remember and honour Dean Maguire, a devoted father, brother, and husband who tragically lost his life during a construction project in Toronto on March 27th, 2018. The Maguire family—Heather, Connor, Mae, and Tim—joins this episode to share their personal experiences of the grief of losing Dean, describing him as a kind, gentle, and loving man. Dean’s passing has had a profound impact on the family, and is a poignant reminder of the importance of prioritizing workplace safety.

Threads of Life, a Canadian charity that supports families affected by work-related injuries and fatalities, has been a lifeline for the Maguire family, providing information, support, and understanding during their difficult time of loss and grief. They have attended the Threads of Life convention and been involved in fundraising walks to help spread awareness about workplace safety.

The Maguire family also discusses the importance of having conversations about complacency in the workplace and breaking down cultural barriers, especially around the trades industry. Safety needs to be prioritized because it saves lives. Workplace safety is everybody's responsibility.

Dean contributed to building the Rogers Centre, Toronto’s skyline, and many other structures across Ontario. Dean’s legacy lives on and continues to inspire and impact the lives of many.

Free Resources

Fall Prevention and Working at Heights

Safety Talks

IHSA - YouTube Safety Talks videos

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On this episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast, three members of IHSA's management team discuss women in construction health and safety. Maren Gamble, manager of Strategic Programs, Deb Moskal, manager of Regional Operations North and East, and Jennifer McKenzie, director of Stakeholder and Client Engagement, address the long-standing gender disparity in the construction industry.

Maren shares her experiences as a female in a largely male-dominated workplace, specifically in construction health and safety spaces. Jennifer acknowledges the progress made in breaking down barriers in the construction industry and discusses the roles leadership and management play in encouraging gender equality in the workplace. Deb emphasizes the immense value female workers bring to the industry and the need for more inclusivity.

Maren, Deb, and Jennifer further highlight the importance of addressing gender diversity in the workplace. Maren applies the hierarchy of controls formula to tackle the issue of gender bias and stereotypes about women in construction, one of which includes fostering a gender-inclusive culture. While the skilled trades and construction industry continues to evolve and there has been remarkable progress in attracting more women to the industry, workers, employers, and the construction industry as a whole can do more collectively to create a more equitable future.

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Workplace health promotion

Challenging stigma and preventing mental harm

Safety talk: Toxic masculinity

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This episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast discusses the Utility Work Protection Code (UWPC), a set of rules and regulations that play a crucial role in worker safety across Ontario, and features Sandy Morrison, Utility Work Protection Code coordinator at IHSA. The UWPC, owned by Hydro One and updated every five years, ensures that rules, tags, forms, and communication are consistent. The UWPC helps create an environment where hazards are reduced or eliminated by providing rules for workers working on or above 750 volts. It is based on the understanding that the safest way to work is to isolate an area and work around it using different permits and tags to create a safe work environment.

Sandy addresses the importance of training in the UWPC for crews working around high voltage. Training is only valid for 27 months and must be retaken after two years. This ongoing training process allows workers to learn new skills and address new questions or scenarios. IHSA offers four training courses in the UWPC: Overview, Core, Recertification, and Train the Trainer.

Sandy also discusses the UWPC’s significant changes in 2024, which include new code changes that match the Electrical Utility Safety Rules (EUSR), implementation of a signature rule, an annual management review, creation of a new PC3 tag, and more.

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Utility Work Protection Code Overview

Electrical Utilities Safety Rules (EUSR)

Electrical Hazards

Electrical Safety Awareness (eLearning)

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Employers often provide training to ensure workers are equipped for a job, with formal training requirements and courses being especially important. However, there are differences between training and competency, and it is essential to explore the distinction between the two terms when building an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS). This episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast discusses training and competency and features Maren Gamble, Manager of Strategic Programs at IHSA.

Maren highlights that training involves learning new skills to properly perform a specific job or activity, but may not cover all the necessary knowledge for the specific task. Competency, on the other hand, encompasses knowledge, experience, and training, ensuring a person is ready to safely perform tasks. It involves having accurate, current information, the right training, and applicable experience to organize and perform work, know the laws associated with it, and understand potential dangers or hazards.

Maren further discusses the layers involved in developing competency, including both internal and external factors such as licensing or certifications. Maren also stresses the need to verify competency—in addition to verifying training—through evaluation, interview, or observation of work to help identify any gaps in understanding.

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The Role of a Supervisor

Basics of Health and Safety for Small Businesses (eLearning)

NCSO Health and Safety, Policies, Practices, and Procedures Webinar

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This episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast discusses the Electrical Utility Safety Rules (EUSR), which have been the foundation of health and safety education in the electrical utilities industry since 1914, and features Jeff Ellery, a member of IHSA's Power Line Apprenticeship and training team. The EUSR, initially created by the Electrical Employers Association of Ontario, laid down a set of rules for safe work for electrical workers who work on or near electrical distribution or transmission systems in Ontario. These workers include power line technicians, utility arborists, and high-voltage electrical workers.

Jeff explains that the EUSR was established in 1914 because of the critical need for a documented set of safety rules due to the high number of incidents and workplace fatalities in the electrical utility sector. The EUSR can be credited with contributing to the foundational elementsfound in the current Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act, such as workers' rights, competent supervision, requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE), and worker resuscitation and first aid. The EUSR is regarded as a best practice within the electrical utilitiessector. 

The EUSR has undergone significant revisions since its formation, and Jeff discusses the parties involved in its evolution, as well as the recent changes that went into effect on January 1, 2024. 

The 2024 edition of the EUSR is now available in print and online at IHSA.ca.

Free Resources

Electrical Utilities Safety Rules (EUSR)

Electrical Hazards

Electrical Safety Awareness (eLearning)

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During the winter months in Canada, the weather can get extremely cold, and workers in industries such as construction, transportation, and electrical utilities face the risk of experiencing cold stress. On this episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast, Jasmine Kalsi, IHSA’s Occupational Hygienist, discusses cold stress, which occurs when the human body's core temperature drops below 37 degrees Celsius. Cold stress can result in cold-related illnesses, tissue damage, and even death.

Jasmine explains that extended exposures to cold can occur in locations such as roofs, unheated cabs, bridges, projects near large bodies of water, high buildings open to the wind, and working in refrigerated rooms, vessels, and containers. Cold stress can result in two major illnesses: hypothermia and frostbite. Hypothermia occurs when the body cannot maintain its core temperature due to constricting blood vessels, while frostbite is caused by exposure to severe cold or contact with extremely cold surfaces.

Jasmine further discusses the responsibilities of employers to take reasonable precautions to protect workers from cold stress. Controls that can be implemented include training, safety talks, providing appropriate protective clothing, providing hot beverages and heated shelters or breakrooms, and creating a cold stress prevention plan.

Free Resources

OHCOW Cold Stress Calculator

WorkSafe Saskatchewan - Working in Cold Conditions

CCOHS Cold Environments – ACGIH Wind Chill Temperature Index  

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To build an effective occupational health and safety management system, it is crucial to adopt a proactive approach to risk prevention rather than a reactive one. This episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast discusses the basics of hazards, risks, assessment, and controls within an occupational health and safety management system and features Maren Gamble, Manager of Strategic Programs at IHSA.

Maren discusses the proactive approach in depth, which focuses on predicting and foreseeing potential risks before the job starts. Maren compares this to baby-proofing or pet-proofing a house by identifying potential hazards to an infant or a new pet and putting control measures in place.

Maren further emphasizes the importance of understanding the distinction between hazard, risk, assessment, and control. The hazard in a workplace is what causes harm, while the risk is the type of harm it can cause. It’s important to consider the hazard that existed to cause that risk, as this helps identify other risks associated with the same hazard.

Maren also discusses the best way to address risks, which is to implement controls. Some types of controls are better than others, leading to the control hierarchy as follows: Elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Free Resources

Hazard Identification and Control Awareness in Construction (eLearning)

Intro to Hazard and Risk Management (eLearning)

Hierarchy of Controls (YouTube)

Hazard Assessment, Analysis, and Control (COR® Podcast – Episode 6)

Trauma Management in the Workplace (IHSA Podcast – Episode 70)

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On this episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast, we celebrate the career of an occupational health and safety professional, Tom Nicolls. Tom started his career in the Electrical Utility industry 38 years ago with Hydro One, and has been a significant contributor to occupational health and safety in Ontario through various channels and roles.

Tom shares his experiences over the length of his extensive career, including his inspiration to pursue a career in health and safety after witnessing severe accidents as a lineman at Ontario Hydro and recognizing the critical need for safety protocols. He went on to become an Occupational Health and Safety Specialist with the Power Workers Union, which represents 90% of electrical workers in distribution, transmission, and generation of power across Ontario.

One memorable moment from Tom’s career was his involvement in standardizing the Utility Work Protection Code across the province after an ice storm in Toronto. The code ensures the safety of workers in distribution and transmission systems in Ontario, and its standardization has had a long-lasting effect across the province.

Tom has dedicated a lot of his time to volunteer activities, committees, and boards, including serving as chair of Section 21 Utility Provincial Labour Management Committee, as well as co-chair on the Board of IHSA.

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Learn about the dangers of working around electrical hazards (ihsa.ca)

Occupational Health and Safety: The Physical Work Environment

IHSA COR® Podcast

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Worker misclassification can have ramifications for all parties involved. When a worker is misclassified, it prevents them from receiving the full benefits and protections they are entitled to under the Canada Labour Code. This episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast (the final in a three-part series) discusses worker misclassification in transportation and features Liz Tavares, Occupational Health and Safety Officer, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)—Labour Program/Government of Canada, and Michelle Roberts, Vice President, Stakeholder and Public Relations at IHSA.

Worker misclassification, as explained by Liz, is the improper designation of an employee and occurs when an employer intentionally treats a worker who meets the criteria to be an employee as someone other than an employee. As a result, the worker or driver is not afforded the same rights and protections as other employees in the industry.

Liz and Michelle further highlight the risks associated with misclassification for both workers and employers, as well as the steps by which misclassification can be addressed. The first is through guidance and counselling, followed by other compliance measures such as Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC), Compliance Order, and more.

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Reporting requirements for federally regulated firms

Legislative Requirements and Best Practices

Transportation: Links & Resources

What supervisors need to know

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A federally regulated small business must have an occupational health and safety (OHS) program with components that promote a workplace safety culture. This episode of the IHSA Safety Podcast (the second in a three-part series) discusses the first steps a federally regulated business should consider when building their OHS system and features Liz Tavares, Occupational Health and Safety Officer, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)—Labour Program/Government of Canada, and Michelle Roberts, Vice President, Stakeholder and Public Relations at IHSA.

Liz explains the necessary steps to establish a federal occupational health and safety program, which include finding a health and safety expert who is well-versed in the Canada Labour Code Part II, developing a comprehensive OHS program that incorporates a hazard prevention program, and reviewing the program every three years or whenever necessary.

Liz and Michelle also emphasize the importance of training as another necessary step. Employers have the duty to train managers and supervisors in health and safety, while employees must be informed and trained on workplace hazards, the use of personal protective equipment, and reporting hazards.

IHSA offers customized training programs and a number of free resources for federally regulated small businesses to assist them in identifying and addressing their most critical workplace hazards, developing a successful OHS program, and ensuring a healthy and safe working environment.

Free Resources

Reporting requirements for federally regulated firms

Legislative Requirements and Best Practices

Road Safety Solutions (ihsa.ca)

What supervisors need to know

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