Collaborative, forward-thinking health and safety on campus
For the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) unit at Concordia, the well-being of all faculty, staff and students is paramount. In 2023-24, priority measures ranged from office ergonomic training to the expansion of the Construction and Facilities Safety team and far beyond.
Uptake from the university community for the My Workplace Health and Safety tile in UNITY also grew, allowing EHS to flag a record number of near-misses, which helped to prevent future workplace injuries.
Additionally, the university’s proactive approach to elevator mechanical room safety, which has made major strides in the past few years, was recognized in October 2023 by a major prize from the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).
Office ergonomics: ‘it’s all about prevention’
EHS director Pietro Gasparrini considers office ergonomics one of the workplace safety concerns that touches on the broadest cross-section of faculty and staff on campus. Since 2020, ergonomic assessment requests have increased by 21 per cent, largely due to remote and hybrid work, so Gasparrini and his team developed a self-directed office ergonomics online training course, with live sessions also available.
Employees can find the online training on the Learning Management System in UNITY. It consists of a presentation about basic concepts and best practices followed by special stretching videos featuring Concordia athletic therapists.
Also available for departments are 45-minute in-person presentations for a group of participants, followed by the individuals returning to their workstations and adjusting their equipment wherever possible. Then the instructor performs a quick check of their workspace and makes further recommendations if needed.
“These sessions are all about prevention, and it’s available for everybody, anytime,” Gasparrini shares, noting that participant feedback has been extremely positive.
Online injury and near-miss reporting
EHS launched a campaign to promote the My Workplace Health and Safety tile on UNITY and specifically the mechanism for reporting injuries and near-misses through the online system.
In 2023, users reported 91 near-misses to Gasparrini’s team, which is the most since tracking started in 2015.
“With this tool, we are proactively identifying and addressing potential hazards and fostering a culture of safety. Safety is a shared responsibility and by reporting near-misses, employees help drive continuous improvement to health and safety, making our campuses safer for everyone,” he emphasizes.
Gasparrini adds that the theory states that for every workplace injury, there are 600 near-misses, which is why making reporting more accessible and efficient for everyone is so important.
Safe work procedures for managing hazardous building material
The Construction and Facilities Safety team in EHS oversees an array of safety programs, including control of hazardous energy and management of hazardous building materials, working at heights and roof access, confined space entry, electrical safety, machine safety, and construction safety.
Gasparrini says he is proud of the work the team has been able to accomplish, notably on the hazardous material management program.
In 2023-24 they developed safe work procedures to support colleagues in other service sectors — Facilities Management, for example — when they must complete tasks involving hazardous building materials.
“We’re able to increase the level of service we provide to the university community by having this internal team in place,” Gasparrini explains, noting that this approach is much more efficient and economical than having to seek external expertise when these needs arise.
Grand Prix d’Innovation from CNESST
Over the past couple years, EHS and Facilities Management have also been collaborating on a project to improve safety around elevator machinery.
Elevator mechanical rooms are high-risk work environments, and with 42 rooms on campus, it is a major undertaking to ensure they all meet current safety standards. While the project is ongoing, Gasparrini acknowledges the significant progress team members have made so far — work that also caught the attention of Quebec’s workplace health and safety board.
Fixed barriers in machine rooms are usually placed on equipment to prevent workers from accidentally contacting the machinery and risking injury. They are often heavy to maneuver, which can cause workers to reposition them incorrectly after servicing or to remove them altogether.
To eliminate these risks, the project team installed several access doors, hinges, slides and handles on their guards, as well as a simple and quick locking structure. The result is a lightweight system that is easy to remove and replace.
“Everything was installed at operationally strategic points. Access to hazardous areas has been limited and the new guards require less effort from the elevator technicians,” Gasparrini explains. He also shares that it was EHS who proactively established yearly targets and action plans for this project rather than waiting for CNESST to initiate the process.
“It was that approach that we highlighted when we submitted for the award.”
Beyond special projects this year, EHS day-to-day operations continued to help Concordia thrive as an environmentally responsible, safe and healthy work, research and study environment — through safety programs, training, waste disposal procedures and more.
