Occupational Health and Safety
Understanding the Latest Developments to Ensure a Safe and Compliant Workplace
February 28 - 29, 2012 · Ramada Hotel Downtown · Calgary, AB
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CURRENT RELATED EVENTS
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Day Two Program Agenda
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
| 8:00 - 9:00 |
Continental Breakfast |
8:00 - 9:00 |
9:00 - 9:10
Opening Remarks from the Chair
Jean-Pierre (JP) Mainville, Director Safety/Security, Morningstar Air Express, Inc.
9:10 - 10:10
Case Study
Managing the Hazards of Employee Fatigue and Shift Work
Jean-Pierre (JP) Mainville, Director Safety/Security, Morningstar Air Express, Inc.
Fatigue has recently been clearly defined as a contributing or root cause of some recent aviation accidents. Due to these occurrences, there is now a push to develop Fatigue Risk Management Systems to enhance existing safety management systems. Morningstar Air Express has adopted some procedures to reduce fatigue risk exposures in scheduling and is educating flight crews to increase awareness of how personal choices and activities can affect fatigue on the job.
- Unique considerations for airlines: shift work, “resting” away from home
- Assessing the hazards of fatigue and shift work
- Confronting the challenge of profitability imperatives
- Background to our fatigue management program
- Components of the program
- Applicable lessons for all industries with worker fatigue vulnerabilities
 Jean-Pierre (JP) Mainville has been working in the aviation industry since 1980 and has been actively involved in Occupational Health and Safety in this industry since 1991. In 2004, he was appointed as the Aviation Safety Officer for Morningstar Air Express Inc. At this time he started working with the airline to implement Safety Management Systems in the airline. Today, JP is the Director of Safety and Security for the airline.
| 10:10 - 10:30 |
Networking Break |
10:10 - 10:30 |
10:30 - 11:30
Musculoskeletal Injury: Targeting the Right Intervention for the Right Time
Dr. Douglas Gross, Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Alberta
- Latest research evidence related to the prevention and management of work-related musculoskeletal injuries
- Examining the "Work Ability" prevention model that is guiding several intervention studies to improve work ability and prevent injury in healthy workers
- Alberta's continuum of care approach for the rehabilitation of workers with musculoskeletal injuries and what employers can do
- Cost-effectiveness of "integrated care" that includes the workplace and an early, appropriate return to work as key components
- Ongoing Alberta research to develop decision-support software to help target the right rehabilitation at the right time for injured workers
 In addition to his role at the University of Alberta, Dr. Douglas Gross, PhD is a a research affiliate with Millard Health, the WCB-Alberta's rehabilitation facility. His research focuses on injured workers with musculoskeletal conditions, including prediction of recovery and return to work, clinical triage, as well as investigating the effectiveness of various interventions and mass media prevention campaigns. He has given numerous national and international presentations, with invitations for keynote presentations at conferences in Canada, the United States, Hong Kong, and Australia. He has published over 60 articles and book chapters and has received over $1 million in research funding. His professional experience includes clinical work as a physical therapist in both private practice and occupational rehabilitation centers.
11:30 - 12:30
Making Workplace Violence a Watercooler Conversation
Ross Arrowsmith, Senior Security Advisor, Workers Compensation Board – Alberta
- Tabling the topic of workplace violence at your next team meeting
- The convergence of workplace violence and workplace bullying
- Violence, bullying and domestic abuse - Welcome to work!
- Identifying inappropriate workplace behaviours
- When good people resort to bad behaviour
- Coaching your employees on how to respond to aggressive behaviour
- Pre-employment screening to identify past-employment screaming
 Ross Arrowsmith was involved in the development of the WCB's workplace violence strategies which was the model for the Preventing Violence at Work program now being promoted throughout Alberta. With over 20 years of service in security and investigations, Mr. Arrowsmith has extensive experience in high-risk situations and has personally assessed and managed thousands of cases of threatening, aggressive and inappropriate behaviour. Based in Calgary, he spends much of his time delivering the Preventing Violence at Work program to companies throughout Southern Alberta.
| 12:30 - 1:30 |
Luncheon Break |
12:30 - 1:30 |
1:30 - 2:30
Waking Employers Up to Substance Abuse
Dr. Charles Els, Psychiatrist and Addiction Specialist; Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta
Dr. Harold E. Hoffman, Occupation Medicine Specialist, Harold Hoffman Professional Corporation; Adjunct Professor, Occupational Health Program, University of Alberta
Clinical Update on Substance Abuse
- New evidence
- Common myths of addiction
- Lifetime prevalence rates
- How does Alberta compare with other provinces
- Why do people take drugs
- Predictors of substance abuse
- General principles of psychiatric management and treatments
- Screening for substance abuse
- What is effective treatment
- Challenges
Implications for the Employer: OH&S Update on Substance Abuse
- What is being seen in the field: mining industry and health care industry
- A big problem: substance abuse impacts 40% of certain industries' employee populations
- Substance abuse as workplace hazard
- How and why supervisors are enablers: the personal relationship
- How and why employers are enablers: the positive productivity impacts
- Daunting problem: what can employers do?
 Dr. Charles Els is a psychiatrist, addiction specialist, and a medical review officer (MRO). He qualified as a physician and completed post-graduate training in psychiatry in South Africa, and completed two fellowships in Addiction Medicine and Addiction Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine and a consultant at the LifeMark Health Institute in Edmonton. Since 1999, he has regularly acted in the capacity of clinical service delivery, research, teaching, policy work, volunteering and has provided testimony before the Court of Queen’s Bench (for both the Crown and for defendants), the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, Alberta Justice, the Canadian Medical Protective Association, as well as Human Rights Tribunals.
Dr. Harold E. Hoffman has extensive clinical experience with industry, workers’ compensation, insurance companies, medical-legal assessments, and physician-referred consultations. He has been a practicing physician since 1976. Prior to his current role, he was previously Medical Advisor for Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board, Occupational Physician for Dow Chemical Company, and Occupational Physician for the Gross Rehabilitation Center.
| 2:30 - 2:45 |
Networking Break |
2:30 - 2:45 |
2:45 - 3:30
Stakeholders, Case Management, and Return to Work: A Clinical Perspective
Dr. Harold E. Hoffman, Occupation Medicine Specialist, Harold Hoffman Professional Corporation; Adjunct Professor, Occupational Health Program, University of Alberta
- Questions that physicians are asked in disability claims
- What employers can ascertain by looking in the physician’s report
- Case management: duration of disability, recovery patterns, SPICE model for prevention
- Assessment, investigation, diagnosis, treatments, and administration
- Dealing with chronic pain
- Dealing with absenteeism
- Fitness to work evidence in the eyes of the doctor
- Rehabilitation and return to work: challenges, coordination of stakeholders, early planning, disability prevention
Dr. Harold E. Hoffman has extensive clinical experience with industry, workers’ compensation, insurance companies, medical-legal assessments, and physician-referred consultations. He has been a practicing physician since 1976. Prior to his current role, he was previously Medical Advisor for Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board, Occupational Physician for Dow Chemical Company, and Occupational Physician for the Gross Rehabilitation Center.
3:30 – 4:30
Understanding Disability Management and Employer Obligations
Daniel C. P. Stachnik, Partner, Miller Thomson LLP
- What is reasonable accommodation
- What can you ask your physicians?
- How do you manage absenteeism...recognizing innocence versus performance
- What to do when an employee reports or exhibits mental health concerns
- Approaches to short and long term disability
Daniel CP Stachnik, QC, has been practicing law for over 30 years and has been with Miller Thomson throughout his legal career. He practices in the areas of law relating to civil litigation in commercial, construction, occupational health and safety, personal injury and employer-employee matters including human rights. He is retained to assist in OH&S matters relating to all aspects of the investigation and defense of charges under the relevant legislation.
4:30 – 5:00
Q&A Open Discusson
Leverage Clinical and Legal Perspectives for Your OHS Challenges
Dr. Harold E. Hoffman, Occupation Medicine Specialist, Harold Hoffman Professional Corporation; Adjunct Professor, Occupational Health Program, University of Alberta
Daniel C. P. Stachnik, Partner, Miller Thomson LLP
Come prepared with your specific questions and get answers from a lawyer and a physician to your most pressing OH&S questions.
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