Alberta Health and Safety Conference 2020

The MHSA team would like to send a huge THANK YOU to the Alberta Health and Safety Conference for another year of amazing hospitality. Everyone who attended had a great time meeting and mingling with others working in the Health and Safety field.

At the conference we held a draw for one Registration into our new Workplace Violence and Harassment Course - the winner of that draw was Jude Groves, from Rosenau Transport Ltd. Congratulations!

Respiratory Viruses and the Workplace

OHS has released a bulletin regarding Respiratory Viruses and the Workplace. This bulletin contains information and links including:

• viral transmission

• where to gain more information about new viruses

• controls and best practices that can be implemented

• what to do in case of an outbreak, etc.

This bulletin can be found on the OHS Online Resource Portal here.

Insurance Requirements for Farms and Ranches

The Alberta government recently introduced new legislation that impacts workplace insurance requirements for farms and ranches. These changes will take effect January 31, 2020

You can access more information here, through the WCB Alberta website.

Right to Refuse Dangerous Work - Resource

Alberta Labour and Immigration has provided a new information bulletin about the Right to Refuse Dangerous Work.

A few keys points from the bulletin include:

• Workers have a right to refuse work that creates a dangerous condition.

• Dangerous conditions involves health and safety hazards not normal to the job.

• Employers and workers are required to work together to remedy the dangerous condition.

• A work refusal does not entitle the worker to abandon the work site unless necessary for health and safety reasons.

For more information on the employer and worker obligations, as well as the work refusal process, please view the information bulletin. It can also be found on the OHS Resource Portal.

WCB-Alberta Annual Return Deadline

The deadline to file your WCB-Alberta annual return is Feb. 29, 2020

Are you an employer with workers? If so, you’re required to fill out an annual return reporting your workers’ assessable earnings paid in the last year along with what earnings you expect to pay in the upcoming year. This is important information to ensure you’re paying the correct premium amount.

Filing your return online is quick and easy. Built-in calculations, error checking, and simple navigation makes the process easier than ever. All you need is your PIN letter containing your account number and password which will be mailed out starting at the end of December.

The deadline to file your annual return is February 29, 2020. If you are enrolled in the Partnerships in Injury Reduction (PIR) program, it is important you submit your return on time as late filing may prevent you from receiving your 2019 PIR refund.

Need help filling out your return? Check out the online demo located in the Insurance and premiums>Annual returns section of the WCB website at wcb.ab.ca.

For more information on your 2019 annual return and 2020 premium rates, please see the December 2019 issue of the WCB-Alberta Worksight newsletter.

Requirements for Health and Safety Committees and Representatives have CHANGED

On Friday December 13th, the Alberta Government announced the changes that would be taking place to the requirements for Health and Safety Committee (HSC) and Representatives (HSR).

The key changes include:

• Employer-based rather than site-based requirements for HSCs and HS representatives. Employers have until January 31, 2020 to comply.

• Eliminating the Part 1 prerequisite HSC/HS representative training. This change is effective immediately.

The following links contain all of the information you will need regarding these changes:

Health and safety committees and representatives

Mandatory health and safety committee and representative training

WCB Alberta - WorkSight November Newsletter

The November issue of the WCB WorkSight Newsletter is full of great information and resources regarding the benefits of working with a Safety Association or Certifying Partner (CP).

MHSA is both a Safety Association as well as carries the designation of Certifying Partner. You are automatically a member of the MHSA if you are employed with an organization that pays premiums to the Alberta WCB in one of the following rate groups:

30100- Steel/Metal Fabrication

62500- Steel Service

Companies who don’t belong to one of these WCB codes can join the MHSA for a small fee and receive all of the benefits of membership.

You can find more information on the types of Safety Training we offer, as well as information regarding COR, and our MSO Program on our website.

November is Family Violence Awareness Month

Alberta Labour and Immigration has a new information bulletin about domestic violence as a workplace hazard.

Did you know?

• Domestic Violence is included in the definition of violence in the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act.

• If an employer knows that a domestic violence incident might come into the workplace, they must take steps to protect workers.

• Workers must report to their employer or supervisor if they think domestic violence might be, or is, occurring at the work site.

For more information on domestic violence in the workplace please see the information bulletin provided by Alberta Labour and Immigration.

MHSA’s new Workplace Violence and Harassment course is designed to assist participants in developing effective violence and harassment prevention plans for their workplace. Our available upcoming courses can be seen on our Course Calendar.

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Testimonial from participants:

“I would definitely encourage all companies to send all Supervisors, Managers & Committee Members to this course. Really Great!” - Ashley Corcoran - Nexus Energy Technologies Inc.

Guidelines for Safety Training of Overhead Crane Operators and Supervisors

Here is a link to Guidelines for Safety Training of Overhead Crane Operators and Supervisors - OHS information for workers, supervisors and employers.

These guidelines present minimum recommended operator training requirements for ensuring the safe and efficient operation of overhead cranes. 

The MHSA Overhead Crane Operator training program helps employers meet their legislative obligations with up-to-date training materials and a hands-on approach to classroom and practical training of your workers and supervisors. The program can be delivered at MHSA locations in Rocky View, Red Deer and Edmonton or at employer sites anywhere in Alberta. We also offer a Train the Trainer program. More information is available under the “Courses” tab on our website. You can also view our Course Calendar for upcoming course dates.

WCB Policy Consultation - Feedback Required!

WCB is currently heading into the second phase of their employer services policy review - and they require some input from our members! Here you will find more information about the policies being reviewed and how you can provide your feedback and suggestions.

The feedback from the last consultation is also posted online, here. This posting will be open for consultation until December 2nd. After that, they will use the feedback to draft the revised policies, which will be sent to the Board of Directors for approval early in 2020.