Workshops

Spot the Hazard: Practice Safe Stress!

Laugh and learn your way to becoming the “boss” of your stress. The opening keynote presentation will focus on our biological, predetermined bodily response to stress, highlighting the production of the stress hormone cortisol and its link to disease. We will look at a framework for reducing stressors as a method of reducing cortisol production. Research-based methods of lowering cortisol levels will be explored in the following categories: physical, emotional and cognitive.

Sylvia Yaeger
Sylvia Yaeger is an Occupational Therapist at the Wellness Institute at Seven Oaks General Hospital. She is a Wellness Specialist with the Rehabilitation and Sports Injury Clinic at the Wellness Institute. Her primary areas of practice are health promotion and injury prevention. A large part of her work is providing injury prevention and stress management
seminars to businesses in and around Winnipeg. Sylvia has spent the majority of her career in assessment and treatment settings both in physical medicine and psychiatry, and is now enjoying the opportunity to help prevent some of the conditions she has treated.

A1 Safety Leadership: The Road on the New Landscape Ahead

Organizations are looking beyond compliance and consequence to a new world of health and safety performance. Workplace culture and beliefs support the creation of management systems designed to address hazards, risks and organizational capabilities to sustain and continually improve health and safety results. In this seminar, the evolution of management systems will be explored in the context of the current business and legislative climate. Trends within the broader field of occupational health, wellness and safety will also form a part of this exploration.

Mike Waite
Mike Waite joined Safety Services Manitoba in 2002 and guided the organization to become a recognized leader in road and industrial safety training. Mike played a key role in the creation of Safety Services Canada, an association of provincial safety councils, and served as its first board president. He has forged close working relationships between Safety Services Manitoba and Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health and the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba. Together they’ve made measurable strides to improve the safety culture at high risk companies.

Mike is a member of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) and the American Association of Safety Councils (AASC). He meets regularly with these groups and others to share best practices and develop programs that have a lasting impact on health and safety in workplaces and communities throughout Manitoba and beyond.

A2 Eating for the Health of It

This presentation/workshop focuses on the fundamentals of eating well. Nutrition topics such as dietary fats, sodium, fiber and eating a balance diet and will be addressed. Participants will learn to read food labels. Practical healthy eating tips for shift work will be provided.

Vanessa Hamilton, Registered Dietitian
Vanessa Hamilton received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nutrition from the University of Saskatchewan, and completed her dietetic internship at the Brandon Regional Health Centre. Vanessa is a healthy living facilitator with the Health Promotion Unit for the Brandon Regional Health Authority. Her main role is coordinating community based, mobile wellness screens, focusing on chronic disease prevention. She also provides support and resources for community initiatives, such as Healthy Brandon Eating Well. Prior experience includes individual and group counseling in the areas of diabetes, heart health and weight management.

A3 Confined Space Overview (Certifcate Course)

Every year people die in confined spaces. In many of these cases, the result is avoidable. For confined space entry work, there is a need to spot the hazard, assess the risk and find a safer way. This session will help in recognizing confined spaces and in developing safe work practices and procedures for confined space entry that meet current requirements.

Lisa Jenkins
Lisa Jenkins is an instructor and consultant for Safety Services Manitoba. She is a graduate of the occupational health and safety program at Red River College and is currently challenging the Health and Safety Professional (HSP) designation at SSM. Lisa is passionate about her career and is dedicated to SSM’s mission of delivering the best safety and health services for Manitobans.

A4 This Training Sucks! – Putting the Boots to Bad Training

Whether training is developed and delivered by your organization or by third party groups, the challenge is the same. This session provides comprehensive information on how to develop, present and evaluate your organization’s training events and unlock the new standard in training so that you can get results you want.

Gord Gillis
Gord is an expert in OH&S and Industrial Safety who brings a wealth of experience gained from successful posts in both Canada and the United States. He holds a designation from Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (CRSP) and Certified Safety Professionals (CSP) in the U.S.

B1 Corporate Defensive Driving – Part 1 (Certifcate Course)

Reduce your insurance costs to company vehicles by training employees in defensive driving. Interactive sessions including preventing collisions, driver attitude and impairment, intersections, passing, aggressive driving, other road users, winter driving, and emergency driving situations.

Sandi Kania
Sandi Kania is a certified Class 4 & 5 Driving Instructor with a life long commitment for teaching and educating in the Road Safety Industry in Manitoba. With over fifteen years of experience, Sandi has her Certification in Car Safety and has worked with Transport Canada on a National Level. She also holds her Certification as a Can Bike II Cycling Instructor for Manitoba. Sandi has also provided assistance with Fire Fighters in the communities on Air Brake Endorsement and in-car driving lessons through her company A-Rite Turn Driving School in southern Manitoba, and in- class instruction for the Manitoba Public Insurance Driver Education Program.

Sandi joined Safety Services Manitoba in 2006 as a Road Safety Instructor. She presently instructs Corporate/Defensive Driving, Professional Driver Course, Responsible Driver Workshop, Novice Driver and Mature Driver Programs.

B2 Emergency Preparedness Planning: Is Your Business Ready?

This session will outline the basics necessary to get you started in developing your workplace emergency plan. Topics covered will include understanding the hazards that you may face, learning about the risks that hazards can present, discovering how you may be alerted to a developing incident, understanding how you are likely to react to a new and stressful situation. This session will help you see that there is a way to develop an organized and useable plan to meet the challenges these situations can present.

Brian Kayes
Brian Kayes began his career in occupational health and safety and emergency planning in the health sector in 1988. He joined the City of Brandon in 1995 and is presently the Director of Emergency Management.

Brian has a certificate in Occupational Health and Safety from the University of Manitoba, a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Rural Development degree from Brandon University and is an Associate Business Continuity Professional. He is also a sessional professor at Brandon University. Brian believes everyone has a role to play in creating organizations that operate effectively and safely.

B3 Work Life Balance

There is no single formula for attaining a balanced life. It is a personal decision how one combines all aspects of life into an integrated whole. The key is to develop creative solutions for balancing the responsibilities in your multiple roles. This workshop demonstrates how some of the same skills and strategies you use at work such as planning, organizing, communicating, setting limits and delegating can be used effectively on the home-front for achieving a satisfying, fulfilling well-balanced life both personally and professionally.

Julia Senchuk, Assiniboine Community College
Julia Senchuk is the Applied Counseling Program Coordinator and an Instructor at Assiniboine Community College. She is also employed with the Government of Manitoba, within the department of Family Conciliation. Julia holds a Master of Arts (Counselling) degree from the University of North Dakota, and a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) degree from Brandon University.

Julia has twelve years experience in counseling, and related educational fields. She resides within the Brandon area, with her husband, two children and black lab. Julia, like other working parents faces the challenge of the juggling act!

B4 Another Pandemic: What happens when health & wellness are NOT core values?

A healthy bottom line starts with a healthy and fit workforce and a healthy workforce is created through the identification of risks and the prevention of illness and injury. This session focuses on how worker health and wellness contributes to an organization's success. In addition to understanding the current landscape, this session will offer suggestions for improving your organization’s health and wellness efforts.

Dianne Kornell
Diane Kornell has been a leader in health and wellness for over a decade, recruiting individuals and organizations working with them to obtain their goals. Diane has a proven track record in retaining clients on a long-term basis with solid results. She has experience in managing individual and organizational behaviour. She is passionate about health and wellness and approaches her clients with a high level of initiative, reliability, empathy and determination. Diane has a BA (Sociology and Psychology) and a BSW. Some of her qualifications include:

STOTT PILATES™ Instructor
Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Fitness Instructor
Pre and Post Natal Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Wellness Specialist

C1 Corporate Defensive Driving – Part 2 (Certifcate Course)

C2 Drugs and Alcohol – Not in My Workplace!

Participants will be given a brief overview of some of the main substances of abuse as well as review current issues related to substance abuse in the workplace. Participants also will explore current models of intervention related to substance abuse in the workplace.

Joel Gervais
Joel Gervais has been with Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM) for over 10 years. Originally hired as a Rehabilitation Counsellor Joel has spent the last 5 years working as a Prevention and Education Consultant with AFM's Community Prevention Programs unit. Joel recently completed a 2 year secondment with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA). The main focus of his work with the CCSA was the creation of a National Drug Strategy as well as the development of partnerships between government and non-government organizations in Manitoba working in the area of substance abuse.

Joel's current area of focus is Workplace Services and he spends a great deal of his time providing training and consultation to all levels of government and business in the area of alcohol and other drugs. Joel's education includes an Advanced Degree in Psychology and graduate work in the area of Family Studies. He also has extensive training and clinical experience in the areas of Mental Health, Domestic Violence and Suicide Prevention.

C3 Workplace Inspections

This presentation will introduce participants to the different types of inspections, how to conduct an effective inspection and what to do with the inspection results. We will discuss why workplace inspections are important tools to help prevent incidents and injuries. This course is useful for committee members, supervisors and employers.

Debra Draper, P.GSC, Workplace Safety & Health Officer
Deb is the Prevention Services officer for Western Manitoba. She has been a safety and health officer with the Department of Labour and Immigration since 2007 and brought with her a background in construction safety. Prior to that she operated her own business for 12 years. Deb holds CSO and Gold Seal designations.

C4 Overview of Lift Truck Safety: the Truth About Forklift Training

Lisa Jenkins
There is a need for an approach to forklift training that reflects the latest thinking on lift truck and operator safety in order to reduce the risk of injury to workers.

This approach must be shared by Safety Services Manitoba and stakeholders, including regulators, employers, manufacturers, and labourers. The purpose of this session is to promote lift truck safety and minimize the risk of injury to workers by raising awareness of Manitoba’s Code of Practice for the Safe Operation of Powered Lift Trucks and the CSA Safety Standard for Lift Trucks (B335-04).

D1 Speeding and the Consequences

Speeding is a serious contributing factor to injuries and deaths on Manitoba roads every year. Many people agree that speeding is a problem but there still exists a degree of social acceptance for this highly dangerous driving behaviour. In a short presentation, Adam Cheadle, an MPI Road Safety Issues Specialist, will discuss the dangers associated with speeding and go over some practical ways that drivers can help reduce the risk to themselves and others connected with the ever present threat on the roadways.

Adam Cheadle, MPI
Adam holds an Honours Bachelor's degree in education from the University of Manitoba. He has 10 years of instructional experience along with a comprehensive knowledge of program development.

In his role as a Road Safety Issues Specialist with Manitoba Public Insurance, Adam works to reduce the human and economic costs of collisions related to speeding, aggressive driving and driving too fast for conditions on Manitoba roadways.

D2 Return to Work Basics – Part 1

The objective of the Return to Work Basics workshop is to gain an understanding of the basic components and best practices required to develop or enhance a workplace Return to Work program. A well functioning RTW program will support injured workers in their safe and timely return to work and assist employers in managing their Workers Compensation Board rates.

Lisa Mendella
Lisa Mendella has several years experience working with injured workers and with SAFE Work Services at the Workers Compensation Board. Lisa has extensive knowledge of return to work programming and disability management.

D3 Safety for Workers with Disabilities

The major barriers to achievement by people with disabilities in our society continue to be attitudinal barriers, stereotypical thinking, and assumptions about what people can and can't do. The truth is that the range of ability of persons within any disability group is enormous. We need to get rid of our stereotypical images and view each individual as just that: "an individual."

This session will provide tips on safety for workers with disabilities and ways to modify the training processes. We will provide a brief overview of workplace safety and health laws in Manitoba. We will discuss the rights and responsibilities of both the employer and employee.

Sharon Grindey & Tracy Williams
Tracy Williams is the Project Coordinator for the Westman Coalition for Employment Opportunities Inc., a Supported Employment Agency for adults with disabilities. Tracy has an ongoing interest in safety which has proved a valuable resource in her current position.

Sharon Grindey is the Executive Director at COR Enterprises Inc, a day program for adults with disabilities. Sharon brings many years experience working with individuals with disabilities.

D4 Lock Out – Part 1 (Certifcate Course)

Lisa Jenkins
This session give employees, supervisors and mangers who work on live equipment an understanding of when and how to use lock-out procedures. This includes energy sources and types of isolating devices, responsibilities and legislation affecting work on live equipment and the implementation and communication of an effective lock-out program

E1 Immigrant Workers at Risk

Mike Waite
Projections indicate that in the next few decades, Canada’s labour force will be increasingly dependent upon immigration to support its economy. Because of different cultural beliefs and backgrounds, new Canadians entering the workplace may have an increased risk of injury. Keeping immigrant workers safe and healthy at work will benefit workers, employers and all community stakeholders.

E2 Return to Work Basics – Part 2

Lisa Mendella
The objective of the Return to Work Basics workshop is to gain an understanding of the basic components and best practices required to develop or enhance a workplace Return to Work program. A well functioning RTW program will support injured workers in their safe and timely return to work and assist employers in managing their Workers Compensation Board rates.

E3 Transportation of Dangerous Goods (Certifcate Course)

This session will provide the necessary tools to guarantee all drivers, shippers and receivers learn appropriate handling and ensure legal responsibilities are understood and fulfilled.

Tyler Chivers
Tyler Chivers is an instructor and consultant with Safety Services Manitoba. Tyler’s expertise is in the field of Occupational Health and Safety and he teaches variety of OH&S programs at SSM.

Tyler graduated from Red River College with a certificate in Occupational Health and Safety and holds a Health and Safety Professional (HSP) designation from Safety Services Canada.

E4 Lock Out – Part 2 (Certifcate Course)

This session give employees, supervisors and mangers who work on live equipment an understanding of when and how to use lock-out procedures. This includes energy sources and types of isolating devices, responsibilities and legislation affecting work on live equipment and the implementation and communication of an effective lock-out program
Lisa Jenkins

F1 Disability Management

This presentation will include a discussion and review of factors that contribute to prolonged disability and workplace absence. Managing these absences is also discussed.

Victor Andres, RN BN
As President of Independence Incorporated, Victor maintains an active and varied caseload, assisting clients with the management of complex medical, rehabilitation and return to work issues. Over the past 12 years, Victor has become well known in the rehabilitation community for his comprehensive, client-focused approach to disability case management.

F2 Job Task Analysis (Certifcate Course)

Tyler Chivers
Employees, supervisors and managers learn to identify areas with greater potential for an incident and specific improvements that reduce risk. This includes recognizing incident-causing tasks and providing practical solutions, who to involve in the development process and how to document analysis.

F3 Safe Work Procedures

Workplace Safety & Health Legislation requires all employers to develop safe work procedures for work that is done at the workplace, train their workers in the safe procedures and ensure worker compliance. This session will assist all levels of an organization’s employees to recognize when a written procedure is required, conduct an analysis on a particular work task to identify the steps, hazards and controls and write the final step-by-step procedure.

Barry Cowan, CRSP, Regional Manager for WS&H Division
Barry has been performing various safety and health activities with the Department of Labour and Immigration since 1987 after spending 14 years with the Environmental Management Division. He transferred to Brandon in 1989 as an occupational hygienist and was appointed Regional Manager in 1992. Barry is responsible for managing the work activities for the Western/Northern Regions from the Brandon office. He was successful in writing his Canadian Registered Safety Professional exam in 2000 and has attained the CRSP designation.

F4 Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security

It is important for Canadians to prepare for times when their income might be reduced, such as when they retire or if death or disability touches their family. Knowledge of Canada's public pensions plays an important role in these preparations.

Lorraine Hopkins
Lorraine Hopkins has worked for Service Canada since 2000. Currently she is working as a Citizen Service Specialist conducting community educational activities to provide information on the services and programs offered by Service Canada. She has worked extensively with the public in administering the Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan.

Born to Move: How to Make the Rest of Your Life, the Best of Your Life

Sylvia Yaeger
The closing keynote address will help you understand the power of the body-mind connection. Learn how to produce your own "Miracle Grow" to prevent depression, diabetes, dementia and the effects of aging. Explore your own potential to make the rest of your life, the best of your life. Your health is your wealth and YOU are the Boss!

Conference