Work Smart Work Safe
Keep your "Heads Up" and trust your gut!

By Theresa Trant

It’s the early 1900’s. Imagine being one of 3,000 workers building a ship equal to 10 stories high and four city blocks long. Imagine doing this without the safety equipment we have today.

I just came back from vacation which included a visit to Belfast and the Titanic museum.

I’m not one for museums; in fact I usually start yawning within 10 minutes of entering one. I feared the same would happen with this experience until a comment by a museum employee caught my ear. He said the Titanic construction was considered a success even though approximately 17 workers lost their lives. I asked him how that could be considered a success. He said that with a project that size they (the shipping company) estimated lives lost would be double that amount. An interesting way to look at it; he had my attention.

Work conditions were dirty, physically hazardous, involving hard manual labour. Not much different from today with large construction projects. However today we have safety equipment, standards, and rules designed to protect our workers.

In the early 1900’s, specifically in building the Titanic, personal safety equipment did not exist. There were some lifts to take workers to the higher levels of the scaffolding but many workers feared the lifts so chose to climb the scaffolding instead. They climbed without hard hats, security ropes, gloves, etc. Falls were a reality they lived with every day.

Over 3,000,000 rivets were used in building this ship. This was a strenuous, manual process which resulted in many fingers being severely injured or lost. The foreman was known as ‘the hat’ as he wore a bowler hat to mark his seniority. The bowler hat also protected him from rivets accidentally dropped from above.

Ear protection did not exist so many workers were suffering from hearing loss by the time they were in their mid-twenties.

Tight, cramped and uncomfortable positioning lead to many musculo-skeletal injuries.

When it came time to launch the Titanic several men were in charge of knocking out the huge timber supports that held the ship upright. This was an extremely dangerous task. One of the heavy supports fell on top of a worker crushing him to death. “He’s away to the other yard” was a saying for when a man died on the job.

Heavy manual work still exists today however in today’s world we have ingenious equipment and safety protection that go a long way to keeping our workers safe. It’s hard to imagine the work conditions and risks these 3,000 men lived with for the three years it took to build the Titanic.

Have a safety history story to share? Tell us by leaving a comment or sending us a tweet @HeadsUpAB.

By Lauren Smith

No, it’s not a word, but that’s how I describe myself when people ask if I have a car. I’m almost 27 years old and I have yet to own a vehicle. To be honest, I don’t want one. I have enough bills to worry about, not to mention student loan payments. I find walking and public transportation extremely convenient in the city, and for that reason I am going to put off buying a car for the foreseeable future.

However, this doesn’t remove me from the dangers of the road. Recently, I saw a pedestrian who was hit by a truck. The pedestrian was in a crosswalk, she had the right of way, but the truck didn’t see her as he turned the corner. The pedestrian was OK, mostly just scraped up and shaken from the incident.

Stories like that definitely give me the shivers – as a pedestrian, you don’t have any protection if you collide with a vehicle. That’s why it’s so important to be a defensive walker! Whether you’re walking to work or just enjoying a relaxing stroll, here are some tips to help you stay safe while journeying on foot:

• Obey all traffic signs and signals.
• Always walk on the sidewalk. If there are no sidewalks, walk on the side of the road facing traffic.
• Wear bright or light-coloured clothing or reflective strips when walking in dark or low-light conditions.
• Cross safely at corners and crosswalks, preferably at intersections with traffic lights.
• Stop at the curb to show drivers you intend to cross the road. Hold your arm straight out, at right angle to your body, pointing across the road as a legal sign to motorists that you wish to cross the road.
• Look left, right and left again before proceeding to cross the road. Cross when traffic has come to a complete stop and make eye contact with drivers in each lane that you cross to ensure you are seen.
• Continue crossing the street if the light changes to ‘don’t walk’ while you are in the crosswalk.
• Watch for traffic turning at intersections or entering and leaving driveways.

(source: Government of Alberta Transportation)

Now that the weather is finally getting warmer, many opt to walk or even bike instead of driving. Just make sure you stay alert for vehicles. And especially be sure to be a defensive walker/biker!

By Melissa Babcock

May is Foot Health Awareness Month. I know, I had no idea that was a thing either.

But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Our feet are built to support our entire weight as we walk, run, dance, skip and of course, work. They are strong and flexible and yet can cause incredible pain to your whole body if you don’t take care of them. Have you ever tried walking more than a few steps with a blister on your heel from ill-fitting shoes? Now imagine trying to work through that kind of pain.

Foot comfort and foot safety is so important and yet it’s not something that people necessarily think about. What can you do to ensure that your feet are protected on the job?

• Professions that require standing for long periods of time (that brings me back to my days of working retail!) can be damaging as feet are meant to be mobile. So try not to stand in one spot for too long and as often as you can, take a break and get some weight off your feet.
• The type of flooring that you have to walk or stand on at work can cause serious, irreversible pain. My mom spent 10 years working on concrete floors and now has to deal with arthritis in her feet and ankles. Shoes that fit properly and have inserts that provide cushioning are key to preventing injuries and future problems.
• Wear proper safety equipment! If you are working in a warehouse or on a construction site, get yourself some sturdy, well-soled, steel-toed boots to protect your feet from being crushed, punctured or cut.
• Watch for hazards. Be aware of your surroundings and keep an eye out for slippery floors and anything that could trip you up.

The Canadian Centre for Health & Safety has even more information on how you can protect your feet at work. By taking just a few precautions (and maybe treating yourself to a pedicure once in a while), your feet will stay strong and healthy for as long as you need them. It’s a good leg up to have!

Have you ever injured your feet at work? How did it happen? Tell us by leaving a comment or sending us a tweet @HeadsUpAB.

By Lauren Smith

April 28 is the National Day of Mourning. A day when we commemorate the Canadians who were injured, killed, or suffered illness as a result of work.

In 2012, Alberta lost 145 workers. Four of those workers were under 25 – two cases of trauma and two motor vehicle accidents, all resulting in death. The other 141 deaths? They were mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, even grandparents. That’s 145 Albertan families who suffered loss because of a workplace illness and injury.

Our Heads Up team member, Melissa, recently sat down with Bruce Stanley, who lost his father in 2002. Below is his story of loss.

Not an ordinary day

As Bruce Stanley prepared for the day, a reporter on the news mentioned something about an accident involving a school bus, but Stanley didn’t pay much attention – until later that morning, when he received a devastating phone call.

“A police officer told me that my father had been injured in a bus accident, the same accident I had seen on the news,” recalls Bruce. “It wasn’t until later, when the detectives came to my dad’s house that we learned he had passed away.”

Bruce’s father, Robert Stanley, spent over 15 years working as a school bus driver and was on his way back to the garage that morning after dropping off some charter passengers. Suddenly, as Robert drove under an overpass, a boulder crashed through the bus’s windshield, striking Robert in the chest and causing fatal injuries.  

“I was angry, shocked and upset. When I saw the school bus on the news that morning, I never imagined that my dad was the driver,” states Stanley.

From tragedy to change

At the time of his father’s death, Stanley was working as a safety representative in the trucking industry. However, the loss of his father inspired him to dedicate his career to workplace safety, specifically with drivers.

“Four years ago, I began working for my dad’s old employer as a part-time driver on the weekends and a year later, I was asked to take over the safety position for the company,” acknowledges Stanley.

As a Safety & Risk Manager, Stanley looks after the safety of over 500 bus drivers spread out over four different areas: Edmonton, Spruce Grove, Edson and Fort McKay. He ensures that buses meet all required safety standards and he enforces safety compliance among all drivers. He also oversees safety training to ensure that best practices are being followed by the entire company.

Under Stanley’s leadership, his employer received their Certificate of Recognition (COR) last year, awarded by the Government of Alberta to companies with health and safety programs that meet established industry standards.

Stanley has also made big changes to how the organization handles workplace injuries, working closely with WCB – Alberta regarding claims management procedures and signing up for their Occupational Injury Services (OIS) program.

In dad’s memory

For Bruce, losing his father as he did inspires him to do all that he can to improve and enforce safety in the workplace. He’s seen the ramifications of not doing so first hand.

“My dad’s death is what drives me, what sets my destiny as far as my career. Every day, I go to work with a purpose – to try and educate and protect as many workers as possible,” he explains.

We can all make a difference by working to keep each other safe every day. You have the right to ask your supervisor questions about safety and to refuse work that you think is unsafe.