Safe Workplace and Safety News

This is the safety news blog for the Safe Workplace web site. We cover workplace safety related news with a focus on how safety, or a lack of safety, impacts employers, employees and their families. We also cover topics such as safety training, safety tools, and legal issues related to safety. For regular safety news and information enter your email address in the box above the Subscribe button to the right (then click on the button).

Friday, November 07, 2008

Some Days Are Bloodier Than Others

The Alberta Employment and Immigration department has released a series of web-based safety videos targeted at teen workers. They are graphic (bloody) but they get their point across. At the end of each video a set of buttons provides additional information. The six buttons are:

Prevent This - how the incident in the video could have been prevented.

Real Stories - a real-life story about someone who experienced what was shown in the video.

Real Stats - statistics about the frequency of workplace injuries

Play Again - view the video again

Play Another - view another of the six videos

Send To A Friend - send an email

Here is their press release:

A new public awareness campaign has been launched to remind young working Albertans that injuries and fatalities can be only moments away.

“Anybody who loses focus for a moment is at risk of making a mistake on the job, and our young workers heading into the work force are the most vulnerable,” said Hector Goudreau, Minister of Employment and Immigration.

The campaign focuses on specific questions young workers should ask their employers to avoid a workplace injury or death. Based on extensive research and testing, the campaign focuses on 15 to 19-year-olds and emphasises that workplace incidents can be very real with lasting consequences. It includes transit ads, video productions for movie theatres, posters, Internet banner ads - all of which encourage young workers to visit www.bloodylucky.ca.

“We find that every workplace incident uncovers several unfortunate choices that were made that led to the tragedy; there are no accidents,” says Dr. Michael Alpern of the Job Safety Skills Society, a member of the Young Worker Provincial Advisory Committee. “Research shows that young workers have a higher injury rate than their workplace peers. We see it first hand and we endorse any program that might save a life or limb.”

The campaign is part of Work Safe Alberta, a unique partnership between industry, labour and government. An integral part of the initiative is promoting workplace safety by increasing public awareness.

Labels: safety statistics, Safety Training, safety videos