EXOS - OCE - Occupational Health & Safety

As a diverse workforce becomes increasingly prevalent in Canadian organizations, the traditional one-size-fits-all safety management is no longer sufficient. Diversity can create challenges in health and safety due to different experiences, biases, training, and attitudes. This seminar will help students recognize various diversity-related challenges and explore strategies to address them, such as effective training, protective measures, and safety communications.

Understand the essentials of business theory and practices as you explore concepts and tools useful in various organizational settings. Gain an appreciation for decision-making complexity within organizations and organizational networks and apply these skills in business case development. Build critical thinking skills in financial literacy, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and cost-benefit analyses of health and safety initiatives.

Managing health and safety requires an in-depth understanding of how to effectively coordinate safety with other business units and business priorities. Learn how OHS professionals can use their knowledge and skills to integrate health and safety throughout their organization. Gain an understanding of foundational organizational theory with a focus on practical applications of business acumen. Explore key concepts such as governance, operational and strategic planning, project management, legislative requirements, management system review, stakeholder accountabilities, and managing others.

Understand how a worker's performance is a product of their interactions with the work environment, the equipment, and the management systems within their organization. Learn about the eight elements of the human factors spectrum and how these elements can be applied in the workplace to prevent incidents and injuries. Gain an understanding of how errors and at-risk performance can be a result of external factors such as equipment and workplace design, information transfer, and work environment, as well as physiological, psychological, and risk tolerance factors.

The study of ergonomics will result in reductions of injury and increases in productivity by improving the fit between the worker and the work environment. This is achieved by matching the physiological and psychological capabilities of a person to the design of the equipment, tasks to be performed and the total workplace environment. This course will introduce the student to the need for ergonomics, methods for problem identification, solution development and effectiveness evaluation of implemented changes.

Joint Occupational Health and Safety (JOHS) Committees are mandated in many jurisdictions and are considered an essential element of any health and safety management system. This seminar will examine when and why a joint committee should be established, how these committees should be structured and the various tools available to develop short and long term action plans aligned with the operational environment of any organization. The seminar will also explore various methods to assess the effectiveness of jOHS Committees and communicate continuous improvement strategies.

Get a step-by-step overview of the investigation of unplanned events and learn the critical components of an incident investigation, including the initial response, legal reporting requirements, securing the scene, evidence-gathering, interviewing techniques, documentation collection, the role of various stakeholders, and reporting formats. Understand the primary reasons for performing an incident investigation and identify recommendations to prevent reoccurrence.

OHS professionals are often called upon to lead an organization's emergency management team. Examine case studies and post-event reviews to learn about the four pillars of emergency management--prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery--and explore the ways in which they interact in real-life scenarios. Understand how an emergency management program is structured as you work through the Canadian Standard for Emergency and Continuity Management.

Being prepared for and responding effectively to emergencies in the workplace is a key activity in the field of occupational health and safety. Learn the fundamentals of what steps and processes are used to develop emergency response plans, as you explore the legal requirements for emergency planning, the key elements required in an emergency plan, and the basics on how to train staff to execute the plan.

Stress and fatigue are hazards that can impact both the health and safety of employees. Understand how managing the risks in relation to these hazards can require unique mitigation strategies. Learn about factors that contribute to stress and fatigue in the workplace, as you explore risk assessment methods and discuss countermeasures and organizational strategies that can be used for stress and fatigue management.

Ergonomics goes beyond the use of adjustable chairs or fancy equipment; it is the science of how to work efficiently and safely, Learn the basic ergonomic principles to be considered when designing a job or setting up a workstation in an industrial or office environment. Understand how a well-designed job meets the needs of a diverse working population to enhance and maximize health, safety, and productivity in the workplace.

Examine the appropriate ethical considerations to be addressed when competing roles, rights, and responsibilities of workplace stakeholders need to be balanced. Learn to recognize the appropriate scope for your services as an OHS professional and to effectively respond to potential ethical conflicts as they arise.

The need to control costs arising from occupational injury or disease has taken a greater priority in today's financial reality. Human rights issues, individual rights, employer responsibilities and other contemporary issues further complicate these concerns. This course is designed to help students understand the relationship of these complex issues and develop a basic strategy for managing disability claims.

This introductory course examines health and safety hazards and controls in a variety of workplace settings. The focus of the course will be on conducting hazard assessments and identifying potential controls. A variety of topics will be introduced, including include fall protection, confined spaces, excavations, mobile equipment, equipment guarding, control of hazardous energy, electrical safety and hoisting and conveying equipment. Methods to evaluate hazards and determine the risk presented by the hazards will be covered. Engineering, administrative and personal protective equipment control techniques to protect worker safety and health will be emphasized throughout the course. This course is well suited for individuals new to the field of safety and looking for a high level overview of general hazards.

This introduction to theories and practices of health and safety programs in the workplace includes the recognition, evaluation, and control hazards. You will develop a basic understanding of accident control procedures as you examine the legislations related to accident investigation, work site inspection, accident causation theories, and safe-work procedure development.

Effectively developing, managing, and measuring the effectiveness of health and safety systems is a challenge for all health and safety professionals. This course will introduce students to the basic issues and provide tools to make the task easier. This course presents an overview of factors influencing the success of health and safety systems. These factors include understanding organizational safety culture, understanding effective and efficient management principles, establishing priorities, measuring program success, presenting information effectively, analyzing financial impacts of programs. This course will provide a basic overview of management skills and principles and how they apply to the development of safety systems within an organization or company. Prerequisite: EXOS 4620

Occupational Hygiene is the science devoted to the recognition, evaluation and control of workplace hazards that may result in illness or injury. This introductory course is designed to provide a basic understanding of some of the key concepts in Occupational Hygiene, including routes of entry of contaminants into the body, classification of hazards, occupational exposure limits, and methods of controlling workplace exposures. In addition, the student will be introduced to methods of evaluation including the development of sampling strategies.

As a health and safety practitioner your practice is governed by an array of Federal and Provincial legislation and policy. This course, which is based on current legislation, will guide students through the key elements of the regulatory environment governing workplace safety including: the framework of occupational health and safety in Alberta, organizational obligations, jurisdictional considerations, and an overview of ethical and legal responsibilities as a safety professional.

Effective Risk Management, including the ability to communicate risk with the community, is necessary for success in today's business world. Today risk management and communication are often a regulated activity. Learn what is required to implement an effective risk management system; including the tools, people and systems for identification of hazards, evaluating the associated risks, and if acceptable what needs to be done to manage those risks effectively. Human factor issues have been at the root of ~80% of incidents, therefore the course will also focus on these human factor issues.

This course will introduce you to a training development process in which you will learn designing successful workshops, delivering presentations, and evaluating training effectiveness. This course builds upon the topics covered in the core course: Organizational Behaviour.

Accident causation theory is the art and science that seeks to understand the deeper roots of why accidents happen. Understanding accident causation theory is essential in determining why workplace incidents occur and so that we can prevent re-occurrences. Through examples and case studies, students will gain an overview of the most important theories, strengths and weaknesses of each, and learn how to select the best theories and models to better understand why accidents occur.

Human Rights Legislation and Safety Legislation do not always work harmoniously together. When conflict occurs, one must be careful to achieve the safety objective with a minimal impact to fundamental human rights. This seminar will discuss the major areas of conflict including: pre-employment medical testing and medical information, duty to accommodate disabilities, provision of programs in different languages, drug and alcohol testing, and PPE and religious practices. Also, this seminar will acquaint you with the Human Rights Process and discuss strategies to ensure that you and your company are complying with the legislation.

This seminar will provide participants an overview of business continuity planning (BCP) methodology and best practices that can be applied to any organizations' business continuity program and subsequent plans that support continuity activities. Linkages between the application and integration of establishing needs, ideas, governance and processes for an effective BCP will be discussed, as well as crisis communication, exercises and BCP auditing. This seminar will be beneficial for individuals with an indirect of supplementary role in the development and maintenance of BCP's for anyone involved in an organizations' emergency management function.

Workplace violence and harassment legislation does not simply involve responding to incidents; it also requires an understanding of the hazardous conditions that may lead to violence or harassment and ensuring that such hazards are properly controlled. This seminar will acquaint you with the law surrounding workplace violence and harassment (including the recent changes to the OHS Act and OHS Code) and discuss strategies to ensure that you and your organization are complying with the law.

Psychological health and safety (PH&S) is becoming an integral part of Canadian workplaces as employers begin to recognize its financial, legal, and social benefits. This seminar will provide an understanding of the conceptual framework, the business case, resources, strategic approaches and practical tools available. Managers, HR, and OHS professionals will learn to assess, design and implement effective PH&S strategies. Topics may include psychosocial factors, stress, mental illness, harassment, and bullying in the workplace.

Explore the benefits and challenges associated with the design and implementation of health and wellness initiatives and programs in the workplace. Learn evidence-based strategies to assess wellness needs, as well as to design, plan, implement, and strategically position wellness initiatives and programs. Measurement, evaluation, reporting, and sustainability are also reviewed, including benchmarking and using resources and tools to apply knowledge and skills in an integrated approach to health and wellness in the workplace.

Leadership and organizational culture greatly influence the success of health and wellness initiatives and programs. Explore relevant characteristics of workplace culture and learn strategies to assess organizational receptivity to health and wellness. Review the main leadership styles in the workplace, with a focus on how health and wellness professionals can apply to lead wellness initiatives and programs. You will also be introduced to topics such as communication and facilitation strategies, resource tools, industry benchmarking, and employee engagement.

Ethics and professional practice covers management ethical issues within the legal, regulatory, and social context, ethical issues of communication and consultation facing OHS Professionals, and ethical decision-making in the context of corporate and personal responsibilities. The course provides students with theoretical background (models and frameworks), practical skills (assessment, deliberation and communication), and professional tools (codes of conduct and legal frameworks). Theses outcomes enable the OHS Professional to understand analyze, negotiate, and act in accordance with international, national, corporate, and personal standards.

This course will introduce students to statistics and data management, through a Health and Safety professional's perspective. The focus of the course includes an introduction to basic units of measure, statistical analysis, and how to present and interpret data visually. Topics include: basic arithmetic and algebraic operations; units of measurement, basic statistical measures; probability, sampling distribution and confidence levels; examples of performance measures; and data display and reporting. The course includes specific and practical examples of how each topic may be applied to occupational health and safety management.

This overview will provide participants with an understanding of the essentials that will set you apart as a leader in Disability Management. A study of legislative requirements and current best practices will help you attract and retain diverse employees and provide support for your organizational goals and objectives. This seminar will offer you the practical tools and knowledge on how to manage the human and financial impacts of both workplace and non-workplace injuries and illness that can be applied immediately.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is understood to be essential for thriving, healthy, and innovative workplaces. Changes to the OHS act and Alberta Human Rights legislation underscore its importance. This overview will provide you with foundational knowledge regarding the importance of EDI and as well as the language and framework for implementing elements of EDI in your workplace. You will learn the meaning of equity, diversity, and inclusion and their relationship to one another. Further, this course will provide you with the tools to identify gaps and success in relating to EDI.