BCOHS
Promoting economically sustainable healthy and safe workplaces
MSDs made up 38% of injuries in Ontario in 2023 – and are preventable with the information available from CRE-MSD! MSDs are not just an inevitable part of the job! Mental health, productivity, substance abuse, engagement and more are related to MSD.
Read the linked article and make this a priority in your organization!
Threads of Life will hold the walk in person this year. BCOHS has a team that is open to all members. See you April 24.
Kudos to the many others who will help support families affected by workplace tragedies – every little bit helps.
Organize your own teams or participate as an individual.
Threads of Life is the Association for Workplace Tragedy Family Support, and is a national Canadian registered charity dedicated to supporting families along their journey of healing, after a workplace fatality, life-altering workplace injury or occupational disease.
As Health and Safety Professionals BCOHS members are acutely aware of the increasing recognition of the significant and wide-ranging mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. While it is normal to feel stressed and worried during uncertain times like this, it is easy to become overwhelmed so it is more important than ever to actively take care of your own mental health, reach out to support others and take advantage of excellent sources of help, such as BEACON digital therapy (iCBT) and AbilitiCBT, which have been made available for free by the Government of Ontario. CAMH also has a hub for information and resources on Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Don’t hesitate to reach out and recommend resources to others to make sure we all get through this challenging time not only surviving but thriving.
The Business Council on Occupational Health and Safety holds every life in the highest regard and upholds the fundamental principles of respect and equity in workplaces and society.
Racism and discrimination have no place in Ontario workplaces.
As health and safety professionals, we have an opportunity and an obligation to fight for a culture of safety and inclusion that respects everyone’s right to a workplace free from any form of racism or discrimination. Let your values of caring for and uplifting all people be shown in your everyday actions and decisions. Do your part. Our workplaces and society don’t change until we all do.
BCOHS member companies are considered essential businesses and have had employees working in our workplaces throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also had many employees working from home and have deferred certain projects to limit the number of workers at our worksites. Throughout the pandemic and as we have started to bring workers back to our workplaces, our members have been working extremely hard to determine the best ways to keep their employees safe and have developed guidelines for what they have determined to be important measures and protocols to prevent spread of the virus in their workplaces. It has been a great help to have the guidance provided by the Ontario government for workplaces to develop a COVID-19 workplace safety plan and for sector-specific resources to prevent COVID-19 in the workplace. As we navigate the evolving challenges of the pandemic, our members have benefitted tremendously from the sharing and discussion among our network of H&S professionals during this time. We are all in this together – leverage your network and the guidance provided by the government to make all of our workplaces safe.
The key areas of focus have been:
Prepare the Workplace
Prepare Employees
Control Workplace Access
Cleaning & Disinfection
Maintain Physical Distancing
Masks when physical distancing difficult