Safety Symposium 2009, Achieving the Injury-Free Workplace
Roger Whittaker
A cross-industry education day, scheduled for February 11 at Evergreen Theatre will give the community of Powell River access to front-line fighters against attrition by injury. Keynote addresses will address the implementation of simple injury-prevention ideas, with messages from Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti, MD, an emergency room doctor from Edmonton, Alberta, and MaryAnne Arcand, Director, Forestry TruckSafe Program & Northern Initiatives.
Peter Lineen of Western Forest Products will speak about corporate commitment to safety, and representatives from WorksafeBC will discuss “human factors”. Employers’ Advisory Office will also make a presentation. Private firms Advantage Fleet and BCHazMat will offer techniques on incident investigation and a WHMIS refresher, respectively.
Financing of Safety Symposium 2009 has been underwritten by sponsorship from the Northern Initiatives office and the local business community: 3-Leaf Contracting Ltd., City Transfer, Brookfield Renewable Power, Western Forest Products, Powell River Brain Injury Society, the Regional District, First Credit Union and others have contributed to the financial success of Safety Symposium 2009. Organisers say that during these times, considered hard times by many, the support of local businesses is important testimony to the priority safety has achieved. The cost to participating companies include fixed costs, wages of the expected 275 participants, plus money unearned while they are not working their regular jobs. All this cost is put into perspective immediately if attendance at Safety Symposium 2009 prevents a single injury.
According to the World Health Organization, injury is a leading cause of death and disability in the world. Every year more than 5 million people die from injuries.
Those interested can register for Safety Symposium 2009 online at http://sites.google.com/site/2009safetysymposium/. Pre-registration through the online form on the website is appreciated