Alberta, Canada: Workplace Injury Rates at Record Low

Alberta, Canada: Workplace Injury Rates at Record Low - Occupational Hazards
The Occupational Injuries and Diseases in Alberta 2004 Summary includes information on the Work Safe Alberta initiative; a provincial summary of LTC rates by industry sector; demographics of injured workers and the nature of their injuries or disease; and occupational fatalities accepted by WCB. It is available online at http://www.gov.ab.ca/hre/whs/publications/statistics.asp

3 Intake Pictures - 27 Aug 2005

3 more Intake Pictures - 27 Aug 2005

Securing Hole Openings

BRILLIANT EXPANSION PROJECT
Safety Program
9.0 Securing Hole Openings

Scope:
Hole openings are common in the construction of buildings and are considered one of the most dangerous situations a worker can be exposed to due to the fact they are often covered up without proper securement leading to a fall through these openings. The following procedure will eliminate this hazard when properly implemented.

(WCB Regulation Part 4.59)
(1) A pit or other opening in a floor, walkway, roof or other area accessible to workers, which is a danger to workers, must be securely covered with a cover of adequate size and strength or guarded by fixed or movable guardrails, which must be identified as such and kept in place except when necessarily removed to work in the opening or pit.

Procedure:
1. Hole Openings to be covered with minimum of _ inch plywood, which is then secured by nailing down.
2. If not able to nail down plywood, affix 2x2 inch minimum, wood pieces to the plywood as such to match the inside dimensions of the hole opening.
3. All covers to be well marked and the word “HOLE” clearly visible on the cover.

Ensure all hole covers are properly maintained on a regular basis so the word hole is visible and the covers are secured.

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Preventing Falls of Workers through Skylights and Roof and Floor Openings - NIOSH Publication No. 2004-156

Memo - Brilliant Expansion Blog/Website

DATE: August 17, 2005

TO: All Personnel

FROM: Peter Walton

SUBJECT: Brilliant Expansion Blog/Website
__________________________________

All personnel are invited to log into the Brilliant Expansion Blog, which was built by Dave Livingston (Carpenter in Carpenter Shop) and is maintained by Dave and Myself. Please feel free to comment on current issues and see some cool pictures, which will be updated almost daily. Keep it light and have fun with it.

http://plywood-pete.blogspot.com

Heat Stress is main topic at site-wide quarterly safety meeting

Source: CCOHS (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety)
Heat Stroke
Cause: If a person's body has used up all its water and salt, it will stop sweating. This can cause body temperature to rise.
Symptoms: High body temperature (over 41 deg C) and any one of the following: the person is weak, confused, upset or acting strangely; has hot, dry, red skin; a fast pulse; a headache or dizziness. In later stages, a person may pass out and have convulsions.
Treatment: CALL AMBULANCE. This condition can kill a person quickly. Remove excess clothing; fan and spray the person with cool water; offer sips of cool water if the person is conscious.
Prevention: Reduce activity levels and/or heat exposure. Drink fluids regularly. Workers should check on each other to help spot the symptoms which often precede heat stroke.
read more
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Cal/OSHA Submits Heat Stress Regulations to State
Occupational Hazards - 08/01/2005
'With 2 months left in the heat season, it is imperative that action be taken immediately to protect those who work outside,' California Department of Industrial Relations Director John Rea said. 'Among the provisions of the regulations the real key is education for both employees and supervisors. The best way to battle heat illness is to avoid it in the first place, and proper education helps achieve that goal.'

The regulations will apply equally to all who work outdoors in conditions that induce heat stress -- from the farm worker to the roofer to the laborer paving the highway.
read more

The Brilliant Expansion Project

Skanska website
For the first time, Skanska builds a water power plant in Canada. The expansion of the Brilliant Dam is a project that involves extreme environmental and socio-economic care.

Skanska was awarded the project due to an innovative suggestion of design change. Originally, the intention was to construct the Brilliant Dam Expansion as an open channel, but Skanska proposed a tunnel instead, with the advantages of minimizing the environmental disturbance and better management of the construction risks. Furthermore, the tunnel reduces the visual impact and the volumes of excavated rock.

Skanska Memo # 404 (revised): the lunchroom should be on site within 2 weeks ...

click here for afternoon shift rodbusters working in scrollcase back in April

Mats Alexanderson proudly announces that bygget följer tidsplans ... er, kanske

happy workers are shown doing a little chipping in the intakes on Saturday

Ed Cunningham finds a way to move rebar when the blue crane goes down

Skanska Memo # 392: Breaks will now be taken at the work station

welcome and night pour photo

Hi, welcome to the online forum for discussing issues of health and safety at the Brilliant Dam. Use the comment links to let us know your thoughts about the project and share your ideas on how to improve safety on the jobsite. You may post anonymously if so inclined but feel free to indicate your trade and/or shift.

I set this weblog up for Pete Walton, the Skanska safety rep, not knowing if his sense of humour and dedication are compatible with blogging. If all goes as planned he will co-edit this site and answer your questions and address your safety concerns here. Or he could fire me, a thought that must have crossed his mind on numerous occasions. For the record, Plywood Pete was not my creation and has no resemblance to anyone who wears red cruiser vests on the Brilliant expansion project.

Here is a link to a night pour photo from March 2005.
fraternally, dave "doc" livingston, carpenter