June
18,
2013
Centre
for
Health
and
Safety
Innovation,
Mississauga
We are in the process of creating accessible versions of the materials for this event. Please check back soon for presentations and videos.
Presentations and videos
- Welcome and Introduction (video)
- Ontario Musculoskeletal Disorders guidelines today (video)
- Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standards (video)
- CSA workplace ergonomic standard (video)
Presentations coming soon!
Summary
A
highly
interactive
and
participative
workshop,
The
Potential
Role
of
Standards
and
Guidelines
in
the
Musculoskeletal Disorder
(MSD)
Prevention
Approach
for
Ontario,
was
hosted
by
the
Center
of
Research
Expertise
for
Prevention
of
Musculoskeletal
Disorders
(CRE-MSD)
on
June
18,
2013
and
held
at
the
Centre
of
Health
and
Safety
Innovation
in
Mississauga.
The
workshop
was
well
attended
with
participants
that
included
representatives
from
employers,
labour,
workers,
health
and
safety
associations,
the
Ministry
of
Labour,
private
consultants,
and
the
Chief
Prevention
Office.
Dr.
Richard
Wells,
director
of
CRE-MSD,
opened
the
workshop
and
set
the
stage
for
the
day’s
agenda.
He
introduced
Mr.
Brian
Lewis,
director
of
Strategy
and
Integration
from
the
Ministry
of
Labour’s
Prevention
Office,
who
provided
opening
remarks.
Mr.
Lewis
expressed
his
support
of
the
workshop
and
the
conversation
around
the
importance
of
considering
standards
in
MSD
prevention.
He
mentioned
that
we
must
maintain
focus
on
the
health
and
safety
priorities
of
Ontario
including
the
prevention
of
MSDs
which
represent
45%
of
all
lost
time
injuries
in
Ontario.
He
stressed
the
importance
of
research
in
this
endeavour
and
the
strength
that
the
partnerships
between
CRE-MSD,
our
health
and
safety
system
partners,
employers
and
labour
play
in
prevention
efforts.
He
noted
that
the
Prevention
Office
is
excited
about
the
prevention
transformation
occurring
in
Ontario
and
believes
strongly
that
working
with
health
and
safety
professionals
and
organizations
such
as
CRE-MSD
have
us
on
the
right
path
to
addressing
the
priorities
identified
in
the
Expert
Advisory
Panel
on
Occupational
Health
and
Safety:
The
Tony
Dean
Report.
Jonathan
Tyson,
relationship
manager,
Workers'
Compensation
Board
(WCB)
Nova
Scotia,
then
led
the
group
through
an
historical
perspective
of
the
MSD
Prevention
Guideline
for
Ontario
that
was
produced
by
the
former
Occupational
Health
and
Safety
Council
of
Ontario
(OHSCO)
with
support
from
CRE-MSD.
This
series
of
MSD
prevention
materials
have
been
widely
used
in
Ontario
workplaces
for
a
number
of
years
and
continue
to
represent
the
prevention
approach
to
MSDs.
Anecdotal
evidence
indicates
that
the
Guideline
has
been
successful
in
increasing
awareness
and
MSD
prevention
activities,
and
is
widely
promoted
and
used
by
ergonomics
consultants
and
system
partners
working
with
Ontario
workplaces.
The
Guideline
is
now
due
for
a
review
which
provides
us
with
an
ideal
opportunity
to
discuss
this
approach
in
a
wider
context
of
standards
and
guidelines
for
Ontario.
Mr. Tyson’s presentation was followed by an overview of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Z1000 Series, led by Mr. Ron Meyers. Mr. Meyers indicated that 70% of CSA Standards are directly or indirectly referenced in Occupational Health and Safety Law in Canada. The Z1000, System Model, has been widely accepted and adopted as a standard on which to create a health and safety management system approach to prevention. Each Standard is developed through the expertise of Technical Committees consisting of industry and knowledge subject matter experts. Every Standard must be reviewed at least every five years which keeps the Standards current and in a cycle of continual improvement. Mr. Meyers explained that the feedback obtained at this workshop will help CSA to understand the perspectives on the Standards, specifically Z1004 and will inform them how best to improve them and make them more acceptable and useful.
Following Mr. Meyers’ presentation, Dr. Richard Wells described in detail the CSA Z1004 Workplace Ergonomics Standard. Dr. Wells’ presentation was designed to introduce the workshop participants to Z1004-12, to summarize the Standard, Guidance, and the Reference tools and to show the relationship of Z1004-12 to the other MSD prevention approaches. Dr. Wells explained that a major goal of the workshop was to have the attendees complete a comparison of the Z1004-12 Standard and related MSD prevention approaches.
Group work then began at each of the tables to complete a comparative chart of the Standard and the Guideline to the elements within a Health and Safety Management System. The results of the groups’ work were aggregated and presented following the lunch break.
The afternoon portion of the workshop was devoted to group work to collectively address the following questions:
- What are the different features (new value) CSA Standards might bring to MSD prevention?
- What might be missing?
- What are the implications of having multiple sets of standards or guidelines?
- What are the implications of adopting CSA Z1004 as a Standard for MSD prevention in Ontario?
- What else do we need to be thinking about to advance MSD prevention in Ontario?
At
a
very
high
level,
there
were
commonalities
in
the
table
group
responses
which
indicated
that
the
CSA
Standard
provides
structure
and
credibility
and
is
recognized
as
a
sound
framework
to
address
MSD
hazards
within
the
Occupational
Health
and
Safety
Management
System.
Similarly,
there
were
commonalities
in
identifying
the
need
for
the
Standard
to
be
more
user-friendly
to
translate
into
practical
application,
and
to
provide
more
evaluation
and
implementation
tools.
There
was
universal
agreement
across
all
groups
that
having
multiple
sets
of
standards
or
guidelines
would
lead
to
confusion
and
a
lack
of
consistency.
There
was
less
concurrence
in
the
responses
around
specifically
adopting
the
CSA
Z1004
for
MSD
Prevention.
Although
there
appeared
to
be
general
support
of
the
Standard,
there
were
some
concerns
expressed
related
to
the
lack
of
legislated
enforcement,
the
limited
implementation
guidance,
and
the
ease
of
use,
particularly
for
small
businesses.
However,
it
was
agreed
that
it
is
important
to
consider
a
single
approach
to
advance
MSD
prevention
in
Ontario
and
there
was
interest
in
exploring
the
possibility
of
using
the
CSA
Z1004
Standard
as
a
foundation.
Following
the
excellent
participation
and
input
throughout
the
day,
Dr.
Wells
closed
the
workshop
with
his
observations
and
a
commitment
to
the
next
steps.
A
detailed
report
will
be
developed
by
CRE-MSD,
with
input
from
the
Steering
Group,
based
on
the
information
provided
throughout
the
workshop.
This
report
will
be
available
on
the
CRE-MSD
website
upon
its
completion,
along
with
a
video
of
the
day’s
live
presentations.