Your Safety — Our Expertise! Until the 1920s there were few rules regulating workplace safety and workers had no rights. Only after many worksite tragedies were the forerunners of labour departments and safety councils established. Today, every level of government pays more attention to health and safety enforcement while the media frequently highlight and report on safety violations. Workplace incidents and accidents are now considered unacceptable, unnecessary and intolerable at any level. Bill C-45, passed into legislation in 2004, amends the Criminal Code of Canada to allow criminal charges to be laid against employers for failure to provide a safe work environment for employees. This amendment has encouraged employers to develop preventive health and safety programs. The professional team at Workplace Safety Group expertly guides companies in the management of health and safety practices through consultation, education and the application of due-diligence compliance. Corporate beginningsWorkplace Safety Group incorporated in 2004 and set out initially to fill the need for health and safety education for businesses in the Niagara region. Today, the company has expanded beyond its regional beginnings across Canada but still maintains its corporate headquarters in St. Catharines, Ontario. Company president Kenneth J. (Ken) Hicks is a 15-year veteran of the RCAF and Canadian Armed Forces as an Airframe Technician and Flight Engineer, 408 Squadron. He worked as a licensed “A” category aircraft maintenance engineer with turbine and helicopter endorsements, and has numerous Armed Forces safety courses to his credit, experience on health and safety committees, and taught safety training at the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace and Ordnance Engineering (now CFSATE). Ken has a sound understanding of the business of health and safety. He was part of the original working committee to establish regulations for a Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), now recognised as Canada's national hazard communication standard. As an active member of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, Ken continues to acquire knowledge, and share his expertise, in health and safety. Why comply?Workplace Safety Group understands that the reality inherent to every successful business is that healthy workers are productive ones. Company executives must keep up with current safety issues, practices and trends, be familiar with due-diligence requirements, and participate actively in safety initiatives. Proving due diligence as a legal defence is not only advisable but imperative because, contrary to the conventional approach of ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ employers are considered ‘guilty until proven innocent’ when a workplace accident occurs. There are three justifications for obtaining customized health and safety educational solutions from Workplace Safety Group:1. The Moral Justification: Protecting people is the right thing to do.2. The Compliance Justification: Safety measures are required by law.3. The Business Justification: Keeping the workplace healthy and safe improves the bottom line. Company aimsThe mission and goals of Workplace Safety Group are as follows:• to help clients prevent workplace incidents, accidents, injuries and/or deaths;• to help clients reduce the severity of accidents and injuries;• to save clients time and money by offering comprehensive and easily
implemented Health and Safety (H&S) programs;• to enable workers to return home safely to their families at the end of each work shift;• to educate employers, supervisors and workers about their rights and responsibilities; and• to become Canada’s most respected H&S resource, renowned for excellence, leadership and unsurpassed value to clients.The better a company’s health and safety record, the higher the regard of its clients. Other benefits are gaining worker respect for the employer, and increasing worker satisfaction and, consequently, company productivity. Aside from doing the right thing, a company may, incidentally, increase its bottom line. Best in the BusinessA complimentary tagline, “the to-go-to company for every health and safety need”, was a gift from a satisfied client! It is this kind of response that distinguishes Workplace Safety Group’s ability to look after its clients. The company’s notable client list attests to the quality of its training programs and to its ability to bridge the gap between a client‘s concerns and needs and the expected outcomes. By doing extraordinary work, Workplace Safety Group has amassed a group of satisfied clients who keep coming back and make a point of telling others.Workplace Safety Group continues to align itself with large associations and provides expert resources for the creation of prevention programs that can be implemented and maintained for a healthier, safer workforce. Because Workplace Safety Group aligns itself with large associations, we are able to provide preferred pricing. Training programs are significantly discounted for members of CAMC. The full WebWSIT suite of 20 Health & Safety courses is available to CAMC members for $80 per person per year; a saving of $65 off the regular price, and stand-alone WHMIS online courses are $30 per person per year, a saving of $10 off the regular price. Carola Hicks is CEO of Workplace Safety Group, the next-generation health and safety provider, specializing in enterprising Corporate and Association partnerships. She may be contacted at carola@workplacesafetygroup.com.More information on health and safety training may be found on-line at www.workplacesafetygroup.com. Workplace Safety Group
71 King Street, Suite 206
St. Catharines, ON L2R 3H7
Tel.: 905-688-9429; Toll Free: 1-866-347-7707
Fax: 905-688-9097Note: Ken Hicks will be presenting a Due Diligence Workshop at CAMC’s Forum & AGM in Halifax on October 22, 2009. |