This course is designed for Joint OH&S Committee Members and Worker Representatives to identify stressors such as job demands, job control, lack of support, management styles, bullying and lack of work and life balance that cause workplace stress and worker burnout.  We will examine how the Joint OH&S Committee can work with the employer to develop prevention strategies to reduce worker stress. 

This is not a time management or coping strategies course.

In this course participants will:

• Discuss what stress is and how it affects you.
• Learn about the contributing organizational stressors in the workplace.
• Identify the stress hazards in your own workplace.
• Discuss how stress affects our work, our families and our communities.
• Develop prevention strategies to minimize workplace stress.

Supervisors play a critical role in the workplace because they have the authority to oversee the work of others.  As such, supervisors have considerable responsibilities under Occupational Health & Safety Legislation. The Law also obligates employers to appoint competent persons as supervisors.  A supervisor is deemed competent if they are: qualified by knowledge, training and experience in the work they oversee; familiar with the Act and Regulations that apply to their workplace; and most importantly, knowledgeable about actual or potential workplace hazards, so they can in turn advise workers about these hazards.

To help workplaces understand and fulfill their significant supervisory responsibilities, the BCFED Health & Safety Centre has developed a new one-day training program.  The Supervisor Health and Safety Training reviews the specific responsibilities of supervisors under the Act and related Regulations.  Detailed attention is paid to the supervisor's role in addressing work refusals, and working with Joint Health and Safety Committees and Worker Representatives during inspections, investigations and during WCB inspections.

This new program also reviews relevant case law and provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada to help participants better identify types of work that are supervisory in nature and their related legal duties.

• 50% of nurses and social service workers report some form of violence annually, including threats and verbal abuse.
• 25% of nurses and social service workers report physical violence.
• 21% of retail workers in BC have experienced violent acts.
• 4.5% of teachers are physically assaulted.
• In 2006, there were 200 assaults on bus drivers in BC.

The repercussions of violence for workers are devastating, affecting their physical and mental health and job satisfaction. For employers it means reduced productivity. This course assists Joint OH&S Committee Members and Worker Representatives in identifying potentially violent situations in the workplace and developing a plan for violence prevention.

In this course participants will:

• Learn what the requirements of the Violence in the Workplace Regulation are for implementing a violence prevention program.
• Learn how to identify and assess hazards of violent incidents and implement solutions for preventing violence at the workplace.
• Develop an outline of a violence prevention program for the workplace. 

This Ergonomics Course is designed for drivers and equipment operators in sectors such as:  construction, forestry, municipal, transit, ferry workers, transportation workers (delivery, long haul), railway workers, pilots, coast guards, etc.

This course is designed to provide Joint OH&S Committees and Worker Representatives with the knowledge and skills to assess all aspects of ergonomics for heavy equipment operators.  The health effects and assessments of whole body vibration are also covered.

In this course participants will:

• Learn to assess aspects of equipment ergonomics such as seating design, posture, access and egress, visibility, and design of dials and displays.
• Learn about the health effects resulting from exposure to whole body vibration, especially back pain and other disorders.
• Learn how to implement solutions to prevent and reduce exposure to ergonomic problems related to driving and equipment design.

Case studies of solutions will be used to give participants an opportunity to solve ergonomic problems related to driving and equipment operation in their workplaces.