CRE-MSD is pleased to be partnering with the Work Wellness and Disability Prevention Institute (WWDPI) to present educational webinars on various construction work health topics, as part of the Construction Work Health Series Webinars.
In this webinar
Work in the construction industry is much different than in traditional workplaces as workers most often behave as independent operators, work at different locations where the conditions change on a daily basis, are employed on a contingent basis on specific projects, and self-determine how the work is to be done. The industry itself has been described as “chaordic", a term which refers to organizational systems that blend chaos and order. Implementing health and safety programs in construction is challenging as the solutions and learnings from research and practice in traditional workplaces are typically ineffective. This webinar presents findings and experiences emanating from over six years of effort by CRE-MSD researchers to reduce MSD in the construction sector in Ontario.
You will learn:
- How the unique characteristics of work in construction are similar to modern transitional workplaces in which work is increasingly project based and insecure
- How a system of complex networks operates in the construction sector and how effective dissemination of information relies on these networks
- How open and closed networks operate
- How to share knowledge with non-literal learners
- That experiential knowledge is important in improving work practices and can be a powerful force in influencing change
- About potentially novel approaches of implementing change to impact the burden of MSD and musculoskeletal pain in construction workers
About the presenters
Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Health Systems
University of Waterloo
Dr. Phil Bigelow is an associate professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo and has a background in occupational epidemiology. He teaches epidemiology in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program and provides research mentorship in the Collaborative PhD Program in Work and Health, an inter-departmental program within the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences.
Dr. Bigelow holds an appointment at the Institute for Work and Health where he was a specialist in program evaluation and intervention studies prior to joining the University of Waterloo. He was a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Health at Colorado State University for over 10 years where he conducted research in exposure assessment, occupational epidemiology, and construction health and safety. He held a NIOSH Mentored Research Scientist Development Award in which he studied exposures and health effects in construction painters. He led a NIOSH research project that evaluated “HomeSafe” which is a novel, residential construction safety program involving a partnership of the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Denver.
His current research interests include gaining an understanding of factors that improve the safety performance of firms and improve the implementation and uptake of health and safety interventions. He also has a passion for the prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and is a CRE-MSD researcher.
Project Coordinator, University of Waterloo
Nicolette Carlan is a PhD candidate and Project Coordinator at the University of Waterloo, completing her dissertation on the path from science to workplace change. She holds an MES from York University and an MA in Sociology from the University of Windsor. She has published with the research team and independently about the relationship between work organization, specifically lean production and occupational health. Previously, she chaired the Ontario Occupational Disease Panel, was a vice-chair at the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Tribunal, and was the executive director of the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW).
Registration
This is a free educational webinar. Please register through the WWDPI website.
Disclaimer: CRE-MSD receives
funding
through
a
grant
provided
by
the
Ontario
Ministry
of
Labour.
The
views
expressed
are
those
of
the
presenters and
do
not
necessarily
reflect those
of
the
Centre
nor
of
the
Province.