Webinar - Addressing Ladder Safety and Supporting Injury Prevention

Wednesday, June 24, 2020 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

CRE-MSD and ACE launch webinar series

This free webinar is the first in a series of webinars offered through the collaboration of CRE-MSD and the Association of Canadian Ergonomists (ACE).

In this webinar

Ladder-related falls are common across many workplace industries and result in high rates of injury. Within Canada, ladder related falls account for 66 emergency room visits per 100,000 workers[1]. In the event of a ladder-related fall, proper use of a fall-arrest system is critical for worker injury prevention. This webinar will focus on a recent research partnership between the Infrastructure Health & Safety Association (IHSA), Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) and the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD). The research aimed to establish safety criteria for ladder stability in the event of an operator fall with a fall-arrest system attached to the ladder rather than a fixed anchor point external to the ladder. Dr. Fewster will address results from this investigation as well as considerations for field-to-laboratory research involving potential violent workplace injury events.

[1] Groff, P., Farmer, P., 2009. Falls from ladders. Ontario Inj. Compass 6 12.

About the presenter

Dr. Kayla Fewster

Dr. Kayla Fewster is currently working for the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) as a Research Associate on the Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) Prevention Guideline. In the fall, she will be starting a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Guelph, where she will train with Dr. Steve Brown and Dr. John Srbely in the areas of lumbar spine facet joint osteoarthritis and neurogenic inflammation. Dr. Fewster completed her Masters Degree at McMaster University, under the supervision of Dr. Jim Potvin, with a focus in occupational biomechanics and proactive ergonomics. She then completed her Doctoral degree, at the University of Waterloo, under the supervision of Dr. Jack Callaghan, where she specialized in lumbar spine biomechanics. Her doctoral work explored low to moderate speed motor vehicle accidents as a viable injury mechanism in the lumbar spine. While working under the supervision of Dr. Callaghan, Dr. Fewster has had the opportunity to collaborate with industrial partners and pursue many different research topics relating to ergonomics and occupational biomechanics, including, prolonged driving and lumbar support usage in automotive seating, low back pain development during prolonged standing and alternative standing options (such as foot rests and sloped surfaces), sit-stand workstations and office seating.

Webinar resources

Webinar recording (WebEx)
Password: Ladder2020

Webinar slide presentation (PDF)

For assistance, please contact Betina Butler at bbutler@uwaterloo.ca.


Disclaimer: CRE-MSD receives funding through a grant provided by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. The views expressed are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre nor of the Province of Ontario.