Are you ready for October 1^st? That’s when the new OHS working at heights training regulations come into effect in Ontario.

If you manage your company’s health and safety program, it is your duty to ensure that all workers who use fall protection have successfully completed the new awareness training.

Here are the top 4 things you must do to make sure you are in compliance with the new regulations:

1. Verify that your training provider is approved.
   Unlike past training, any training provided must be approved by the Ontario Chief Prevention Officer.
2. Verify that the actual training program is approved.
   Chances are that if the training provider is approved, the program is too.  But don’t assume! Make sure you ask to be on the safe side!
3. Check to make sure each workers training is up to date.
   After initial training, workers must renew their training every 3 years by taking a CPO-approved “refresher” course.
4. Keep good training records
   If Ministry of Labour inspectors ask, you must present a copy of each worker’s CPO wallet card.

Levitt-Safety is offering Chief Prevention Officer approved Working at Heights Training by an approved training provider on September 14th – just in time for the deadline!
If this day doesn’t work for you, reach out to our Training and Consulting team to arrange a time that does.  Just email TC@Levitt-Safety.com!

Not sure if this applies to you?

Workers need working at heights training only if both of these conditions are met:

1) Workplace is a Construction Project and
2) Workers are required to use fall protection.

Still not sure?  Contact us at TC@Levitt-Safety.com

Remember, October 1^st is right around the corner, so make sure you are compliant and your workers are safe!

You know that feeling when you’re so happy you want to jump on a couch and shout to the world (refer to Tom Cruise circa Oprah 2005)?  Well that’s how we’re feeling right now!

Levitt-Safety is honoured to have been selected as winner in 4 categories for the 2017 Canadian Occupational Safety Readers’ Choice Awards.

• In-Class Training
• OHS Consultants
• Emergency Showers & Eyewash
• Safety Equipment Supplier/Distributor

These awards hold special significance to us, as they highlight vendors and suppliers chosen by OHS readers and others in the health and safety industry who think that the winning companies are the best at what they do.

Put our expertise to the test….check out all of our instructor led training programs designed to help your improve your safety performance!

Thank you to everyone for showing your confidence in our products and services and for voting for Levitt-Safety!

Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered with this great Trade-in Program from Industrial Scientific.

With time, your gas monitor will start to show wear and tear, things will go wrong and not work like they once did.

But imagine if you were offered the opportunity to trade-in something old for something new?  Industrial Scientific is basically offering you just that – with their gas detector trade-in program.

Exchange all Honeywell and Rae systems for savings on the latest and greatest Industrial Scientific products – including the Ventis MX4, Pro4 or Pro5 Mult-Gas monitors, the Radius BZ1 Area monitor and DSXi Docking Station.

But act now, because this deal is for a limited time!

Get the Details – Industrial Scientific Trade-in Program

Call your local account manager or Levitt-Safety Customer Service at 1-888-453-8488 to speak to someone about the Industrial Scientific Trade in Program today!

Thank you to everyone who voted for Levitt-Safety!  This recognition means a lot, because of the integrity of the selection process.

“The Readers Choice Awards highlight HR vendors and suppliers that our readers selected as their favourites – the ones they think are the best at what they do,” says Canadian HR Reporter Publisher/Editor-In-Chief Todd Humber. “This designation isn’t decided by a handful of judges behind closed doors, it is the decision of HR professionals, who cast more than 32,000 ballots this year.”

Some facts about the 2017 Canadian HR Reporter Readers Choice Awards competition:

• Voting was conducted in February and March 2017;
• A total of 1,197 readers cast nearly 32,000 ballots in total;
• Hundreds of companies were nominated in a total of 51 categories;
• Most categories had 10 to 20 nominations; and
• Top 3 vote-getters chosen in each category were selected as the winners.

I’d like to believe this award is a testament to the commitment and hard work our Training division has made to deliver excellent quality courses and content. So a big “thank you” to them and all our associates across the country who promote our training offering day-to-day – not because they have to, but because we all have been trained (ironically), on how important training is in Health and Safety.

Of course thank you to HR Reporter for putting a spotlight on safety and well-being in the workplace. Cheers. Be safe.

Curious about our most popular course this year? Check it out here: 

Gloves are one of those topics that appears easy on the surface but they aren’t! Tons of options out there. Tons of marketing about the greatest performing glove since someone strapped a leaf to their hand.

Click to enlarge

So what’s to believe?

Let’s start off by addressing the biggest myths out there in the hand protection world.

Myth – Leather is cut resistant

Let’s think about this one. Leather is dried skin. Why should cow or goat skin perform any better stopping a knife than your own?
For leather gloves to be cut resistant, they need to have something like a Kevlar cut resistant liner.

Myth – Cut gloves are cut proof

I hear this one a lot. Anything can be cut if you try hard enough.
This is why gloves are tested and use the ANSI rating system from A1 to A9. The higher the number, the more it will resist a razor blade. Click here for more detail on the rating system and choosing a cut glove.

Myth – Gloves last forever

Even Everlasting Gobstoppers don’t last forever. Gloves are the same. As the glove wears away, so does the protection. Chemicals permeate through chemical resistant gloves over time. Cut resistance is reduced as the outer layer wears away so they cannot protect against the same cutting force. Even gloves that were once waterproof may start to leak.
Inspect and replace them before these issues pop up. Indicators to replace gloves vary. Nitrile or latex disposables should have no wear signs, cut gloves should be replaced when 1/3 of the thickness has worn away, and chemical gloves should have no discoloration, cuts or scratches.

Myth – Chemical gloves protect against all chemicals

Chemicals do weird things. Want proof? Pure sodium in water creates a fireball. Seriously. YouTube link here.
There are a lot of nasty chemicals out there and there are two concerns with chemical gloves. Either they can eat away and break down the glove material or the chemical molecules work their way through the material (called permeation).
We are most concerned with permeation when it comes to chemical gloves and each material type performs differently. Look at the ASTM test data which will show permeation times for different chemicals to ensure you’re protected.

Myth – Higher protection ratings mean better gloves

Congrats, your metal gauntlet can take a hit from a steel broadsword… Great! Now pass me that needle… Oh, you can’t?

High cut, puncture, or chemical protective gloves tend to be much thicker than their lower protection rated siblings. Some jobs demand dexterity and feel so defaulting to a higher rating glove will sacrifice job performance and comfort.
Match the protection level to the task which has the bonus of not having workers take off gloves to perform them.

If you were stumped by any of these, you aren’t alone. The good news is we are here to help. You can register for our live webinar Hand Protection 101 on July 18th for more info.
Or you can skip it and go straight into scheduling a Glove Review at your facility to ensure you have the proper hand protection. Click here or email me at Eric.Huard@Levitt-Safety.com for more info.

Recently I wrote about wearing the proper clothing or base layer as an important part of staying comfortable in the workplace and avoiding feeling like a sticky, hot mess. No matter how you look at it, no one wants to feel that way.

What I didn’t touch on was heat stroke, an even more important topic that can have deadly consequences.

Hot, humid weather mixed in with physical exertion is extremely stressful on our bodies. We sweat to regulate our body temperature – but if we overexert ourselves in the heat, our bodies build more heat than they can lose. The World Health Organization recommends that your body’s temperature should remain below 38 degrees Celsius, which is only one degree higher than normal.

What are the signs of heat stroke? You’ll start feeling exhausted. Dizziness, mental confusion, headaches, and general weakness will set in next. If your core body temperature isn’t cooled down, then unconsciousness, organ failure, and even death will result.

Instead of boring everyone, click here if you want more information on body temperatures and setting up a monitoring program.

So what can be done? Hydration is an often overlooked piece (recent blog post). Proper clothing goes a long way. There are many lightweight fabrics now that are available like in Hi-Viz that will help. Cooling towels, headbands, or vest are great pieces of tech that can provide up to four hours of cooling.

Monitoring weather conditions (temperature, wind, and humidity) can also give us insight into when it might be too hot. And no, I don’t mean the weather app on your phone! Use a WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature) monitor and the associated index to provide you with work/rest guidelines. Click here to learn more about setting up a heat stress program.

And as always, if you’ve got any burning hot questions, don’t hesitate to let me know.