MOL schedules its third annual blitz on sprains and strains
In Ontario, musculoskeletal disorders are the number one reason for lost-time claims

Do you know what workplace sprains and strains are costing you each year? Let's figure it out.

In the service sector, 41% of all lost-time injury claims are musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). That means four out of ten injuries in your workplace will be MSDs. What's more, each injury averages 60 days of lost time from work, and $7,310 in direct WSIB benefit costs, not including indirect costs related to lost productivity and work disruption. (Source: MSD Profile, Services Sector, 2007 WSIB EIW)

The Ministry of Labour feels your pain. To help employers eliminate sprains and strains on the job, it has once again made MSDs the focus of a targeted enforcement blitz scheduled for this September. Here's how you can get ahead of the curve.

MOL focuses four-month blitz on young and new workers
Biggest and longest blitz in recent memory


From May through August this year, Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL) inspectors will visit workplaces with a high likelihood of hiring new and young workers -- a segment of our workforce that is at greater risk of injury than other, more experienced workers. Find out how this enforcement blitz is different from traditional blitzes, two effective strategies you can implement today, and what you should focus on first.

This is the third year in a row that MOL will focus on young and new workers, and for good reason. The Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) reports that an average of 42 young Ontario workers -- aged 15 to 24 -- are injured, made ill, or killed on the job every day. That's almost two young workers every hour of every day and every night, seven days a week. Between 2004 and 2009, 27 young workers were killed. Another 466 received critical injuries.

How this blitz is different from traditional blitzes
First, this blitz is four months long and firms across all sectors are being targeted. It involves MOL inspectors from all branches, so in magnitude alone, this is the biggest and longest blitz in recent memory.

Second, unlike traditional hazard blitzes (e.g. machine guarding or falls), the new and young workers themselves are not the "hazards." They in fact are the targeting criteria for the blitz. If your business employs many new and/or young workers, and if you've had an incident regarding a new and/or young worker, then you should be expecting a visit from a Ministry of Labour inspector.

The goal of the May to August blitz is the same as previous blitzes: to prevent injuries and deaths. As in previous years, inspectors will take a "zero tolerance" approach.

Two effective strategies you can implement today: supervision and training
Rob Ellis, president of Our Youth at Work, and a former president of a business that served the food and restaurant industry, lost his 18-year-old son, David, to a preventable workplace incident over 10 years ago. It was David's second day at work, which illustrates a painful truth: new hires are four times more likely to be injured in the first month on the job.

Rob Ellis emphasizes the need for effective supervision and training, two factors that contribute to young worker safety. An Institute for Work and Health study found that only one in five employees (21%) had received safety training in their first year with a new employer (in Ontario, the rate was 28%).

Figure out what makes young workers tick
Concerned employers look past the stereotypes to find out where young workers' behaviour comes from, and use that insight to set clear expectations. According to Cam Marston, author of Motivating the "What's In It for Me?" Workforce. young workers like to be active and on the move. The lesson for employers: Engage young people by finding ways to make work and health and safety more actionable and rewarding. Ask them for help in figuring it out. Some organizations (e.g. Volkswagen) know that making something fun can be the shortest path to changing behaviour.

Ask yourself these questions
Here's what inspectors asked themselves during last year's blitz. Ask yourself the same questions, and develop an action plan based on the results.

     Is the workplace prepared for new workers?

• competent supervisors as required by the Occupational Health and Safety Act
• commitment by management to excellence in health and safety
• general compliance with the act and regulations
• following the act and regulations for minimum ages for work and being in a workplace

• employers aware of previous safety education, work experience and valid certifications/qualifications
• each new worker knows his or her rights and responsibilities

• tour of the workplace showing new workers where all required information and important instructions are posted
• emergency procedures in place; compulsory workplace safety rules
• general requirements for personal protective equipment, first aid provisions and all other essential health and safety facts

• training takes place (and is understood) before any new task is assigned
• complete training on all safety devices and protective equipment
• trainer is expert at performing the tasks and can teach adequately

• supervisors are in regular contact with workers to provide instruction and ensure that they are following safe work practices
• workers have access to the supervisor and can ask questions and report unsafe working conditions

What should employers and managers focus on?
Here's a summary of what employers and managers can expect, and how to prepare:

1. Inspectors will look at the main hazards in your workplace and for evidence that you've taken the appropriate steps to prevent the new and young worker from getting injured. That means the first thing employers and managers need to know is their workplace hazards; i.e. where people can get injured or become ill in the workplace. Work with someone who can show you how to effectively minimize the risks, in both a cost and prevention-based way. Are the controls adequate to prevent the new and young worker from injuring themselves?
   
   
2. Next, figure out how to communicate these controls in a manner that is clear, concise, and useful to your target audience. It needs to be engaging, it needs to be real, and it needs to be self-evident. Traditional training methods may not work with this non-traditional demographic, so be creative.
   
   
3. Finally, employers and managers need to ensure that the managers and supervisors who report to them follow up so that these key messages are reinforced. They need to know you mean business: that injuries and illnesses really are unacceptable. Consider non-compliance as performance issues, for both the new and/or young worker, and for your managers and supervisors.

Where you can find help
OSSA, together with Industrial Accident Prevention Association and Farm Safety Association, offer a number of resources to help your business keep new and young workers healthy and safe:

Two tales of a summer day
How the sun can raise the stakes: could a similar scenario happen to you?


Scenario 1: If you can't stand the heat...
It's around noon on a summer day, and Jack expertly transfers trays of dinner rolls out of the oven in preparation for packaging. The industrial kitchen is hot--hotter than usual, in fact. That's summer for you. Normally, a hot kitchen is manageable. But today, Jack doesn't feel so good. "Dude," a co-worker calls out. "You okay?" Jack is not okay. He stumbles a little, looks pale, spaced out. Alert to the signs of heat stress, his colleague shouts for the supervisor, who immediately takes Jack to the lunch room, gives him water, and makes him rest. Jack quickly feels better. Crisis averted.

Scenario 2: Under the sun
It had been a knockout summer storm. Lightning had brought down an old oak back of the resort, shattering the maintenance shed. Today, however, the sun is relentless. And no tree means no shade. Sally can't believe how much she's perspiring. She and Jim have at least another two days of work ahead, cutting up and moving the debris. She is determined to pull her weight, and yet...she feels dizzy, weak. She stops what she's doing and stands there, swaying slightly. "Hey, kid," Jim says, immediately turning off his power saw. "Let's get you out of this heat. Here. Drink this." And he hands Sally a bottle of water as he leads her to the resort. Later, resting in the air-conditioned staff room, Sally quickly feels better. Crisis averted.

One of the best ways employers can protect their workers is by equipping everyone with the information they need to recognize the signs of heat stress and protect one another. Learn about other easy, low or no-cost ways you can eliminate this hazard.

Heat stress is a year-round hazard for many workplaces--foundries and kitchens, for example--made more urgent in the summer months with the additional heat load of a humid sunny day. Hot environments lower works' mental alertness and physical performance. One worker suffering from heat stress can jeopardize the safety of an entire crew, and compromise organizational productivity.

Many workplaces don't track incidents or near misses related to heat stress. Part of the reason is that workers -- seasoned or otherwise -- often consider extreme heat just part of the job. The fact is, when combined with other stresses, such as hard physical work, fluid loss, fatigue or some medical conditions, heat stress may lead to heat-related illness, disability and even death.

Symptoms include excessive sweating, headache, rashes, cramping, dizziness and fainting: the body's way of signaling an urgent need to cool down.