-Consumer Choice Awards
Consumer Choice Award has chosen Mentor Safety Consultants as the winner in the Workplace Safety Training category for London, Ontario. This is the fourth time that the company has won the coveted award. Using independently procured data, Consumer Choice Award recognizes and promotes business excellence. As the only winners in the category, each Award winner is the undisputed customer favorite in their region.

Mentor Safety Consultants was founded by Jamie Wright, CRSP, CMSE, CHSC. As the Director and Senior Consultant, Jamie has successfully built a company based on his passion for safety in the workplace and his 30+ years of experience in the safety world. The company today implements safety solutions that are functional and in sync with the demands of its clients.

The team at Mentor provides industry-specific hands-on training. This domain-focused expertise is customized to the real-world needs of the company’s clients. More than mere safety protocols, the objective of the company is to foster a culture of safety in the organizations they work with. It is recognized that Mentor Safety Consultants do this at an award-winning level and have cemented themselves as high-quality providers of workplace safety training.

The business has training programs including Chief Prevention Officer Approved Working at Heights and Joint Health and Safety Committee Certification, as well as Forklift Operator, Elevated Work Platform Operator, Confined Space Entry, and many more. Mentor Safety Consultants can deliver training at their clients’ sites or, they can host the training at their 2,200 sq. ft. training facility in London which features many visual and hands-on learning aids. Learners can get practical experience with vertical and horizontal lifelines, different fall protection systems, operations of a forklift and elevated work platform as well as other industry-leading safety equipment.

The business doesn’t just deliver safety training. Mentor Safety Consultants specializes in providing practical, on-site safety support. They don’t just develop safety programs, and expect the clients to take care of their implementation. They’re with their clients and their employees throughout the process to make sure that all aspects of safety are implemented and ingrained in the system.

The company’s consulting services include on-site workplace inspections and audits, assistance with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) Audits, hazard and risk assessments, machine guarding, lock-out programs, technical interpretation of safety standards, safety policy and culture development, conflict resolution, workplace violence, and harassment management, and 24/7 technical safety support.

For Mentor Safety Consultants, the goal has always been to create, nurture, and sustain safer working conditions. As the Consumer Choice Award shows, that’s a mission its clients have come to believe in.

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How do you describe pain? I’ve done a little reading online to establish what kind of pain this is and have come to the conclusion that it is Somatic. Somatic pain results from stimulation of the pain receptors in your tissues, rather than your internal organs. This includes your skin, muscles, joints, connective tissues, and bones. It’s often easier to pinpoint the location of somatic pain rather than visceral pain (damage to your internal organs).

Somatic pain usually feels like a constant aching or gnawing sensation. I can attest to this.

However, I don’t want to dwell on my pain as there is a lesson in this that I would like to share. Once again I must thank Robert Fulghum for his inspiration and insights.

His latest composition is entitled MAINTENANCE. There is a great deal of wisdom in what he shares in this piece. Synonyms for the word maintenance include preservation, conservation, continuation, carrying on, prolongation, perpetuation, extension, protection. This list is almost infinite.

In Roberts words (with some editing on my part):

Wanting

“We grow up wanting.
Wanting stuff. A bike. A cell phone. Computer. Clothes. Money. And then a job, a car, a love relationship, a spouse, a house, a child, and on and on and on.”

Having

“Next comes Having.
And nobody ever tells you during your education that the consequence of Having is Maintenance. Having requires responsibility. Because you must actively take care of what you have or else. Maintenance is necessary.”

“Most of what we have comes with a manual.
A set of instructions on how to assemble, use, and take care of.
And most of the sorrow Having brings, comes from not reading and studying the manual.”

“We have a body – we are the occupying user.
But we don’t pay much attention to a user’s manual until our body is wearing out or broken or damaged. Then we turn ourselves into a medical repair shop, when reading a manual in advance would have kept us healthy.

Mostly we Get and Have and then wing-it from there until the consequences of poor maintenance intervene. Only then do we look for the user’s manuals – but what’s required by then may be damaged beyond repair.

Active Maintenance along the way would make a difference. Preventive Maintenance. Attention is required.”

“There are lots of manuals – almost everything you Want and Get and Have comes with user’s instructions. [sic]Sooner or later, we’ll wish we had paid attention to the manuals and user instructions. If we don’t the next step is “Damage Control.”

Personally, the lesson is to exercise more to build muscle strength and eat better for better overall health.

And here – you knew it was coming – I will relate this to health and safety. Whether better-written health and safety policies, better-trained employees or an improved workplace safety culture, all fall under active, preventive maintenance. These remove the need for “damage control”.

At the beginning of this Blog, I listed synonyms for the word maintenance including preservation, conservation, continuation, carrying on, prolongation, perpetuation, extension, protection.

Each of these words describes our ultimate goal: to preserve our own life so that we may enjoy time with our family and friends and continue to do the things that bring us enjoyment.

I’m off to find the hot water bottle now and take the rest of the day to nurse my back.

Watch for next month’s Blog published in the first week of December.

Sincerely,

Carola Mittag

Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.

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Happy April, the harbinger of Spring. I love using uncommon words, reading catchy phrases and spinning them into meaningful thoughts and messages. While I have personal and unique reflections, I come across many thought-provoking quotes that make me pause and think about what they really mean.

This morning I read this: The Invisible Obvious. Credit goes to Robert Fulgham, one of my favourite writers.

What could I possibly make of this statement? How could I relate the invisible obvious to health and safety?

But, before I begin my rumination, here is how Mr. Fulgham explained what he was thinking in his own words. “Imagine that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are far out in the English countryside in pursuit of a unique case involving an agricultural mystery. They have settled down in their sleeping bags in a small tent for the night. Just before dawn, Sherlock nudges Dr. Watson awake, and says, “Watson – look up and tell me what you notice.” Dr. Watson tells him that he sees the stars – that the clear sky means the weather will be good in the coming day – that the very faint light in the east says it is almost dawn. “What do you notice, Holmes?”
Holmes sits up. “I notice that someone has stolen our tent during the night.”

When I read this for the first time, I saw only what Watson saw when looking up, the sky, the stars and signs of good weather to come. It took the good detective Holmes to see the invisible obvious first, that the tent was gone making it possible for Watson to see the sky and the stars.

And that brings me to the importance of thorough and detail-rich investigations of accidents and incidents.

It is obvious that accidents must be investigated for several reasons; firstly, to discover the cause and secondly, to report to the Ministry of Labour and the WSIB as required by law.

Why should we investigate incidents, after all, nothing happened; but isn’t an incident an “almost accident”, something that could have had a totally different and catastrophic outcome? And that is why we also investigate incidents thoroughly!

Let’s investigate a plausible accident scenario.

Because there is an injury, a full and thorough investigation is required.

The investigation reveals the following details:

• Employee had worked seven, 12-hour shifts in a row.
• Accident happened at end of shift.
• Employee was standing on the top step of the ladder (an unsafe action).
• The employee was approximately 10 feet above floor level.
• No fall arrest or restraint system was used.
• A ladder inspection policy is in place, but there is no evidence that the ladder hds ever been inspected.
• Investigation reveals the ladder was damaged and did not provide a stable working platform in any environment.
• Interview with facility manager reveals that he did not inspect the ladder when it was due for inspection. He was aware that ladder needed to be inspected.

Factors and Possible Causes Affecting Incident

• Extended work hours may have caused employee to be tired and not clear-headed.
• Employee violated safety rule (standing on top step).
• No fall arrest system in place (required at 6 feet above floor level).
• Ladder was defective and unusable.
• Ladder had not been inspected.
• Facility manager was aware that ladder needed to be inspected but did not adhere to the existing policies and procedures for ladder inspections.

What is the Root Cause?

Which factor, if not present, could have prevented the accident?

If the facility manager had inspected the ladder and discovered the defect, the ladder would not have been used, and this accident would have been prevented.
Failure to follow established ladder inspection procedures is the root cause.

What about the Other Factors?

• Extended work hours might contribute, but there is no statistical evidence available that indicates extended work hours increase the risk of accidents.
• The safety rule violation could be a contributory cause in this accident, but not the root cause. However, if the ladder had been used properly, it is possible that the incident might have been prevented.
• The existence of a fall arrest system may have prevented or reduced injury. This could be a contributory cause.
• The fact that the ladder was defective is certainly a contributory cause. But if the facility manager had followed procedures and removed the ladder from service, the accident would have been prevented.

The root cause of this accident could even be tracked deeper than just finding the facility manager’s failure to inspect the ladder. With more in-depth analysis, it might be found that the real cause (invisible obvious) was a failure in the system itself. Perhaps the safety system in place had no means of ensuring the facility manager actually carried out these inspections.

It is for reasons like this that accident investigations are best conducted by a team. This can ensure that as many possibilities are explored until all causes are discovered.

When an accident or even an incident occurs, we cannot depend on obvious causes, it is the invisible root causes that must be uncovered so that future tragic events can be prevented.

Watch for next month’s Blog published in the first week of May.

Sincerely,

Carola Mittag

Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.

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