Sharing the goal of a safe, healthy campus

Every day, thousands of Dal faculty, staff and students come to campus to complete their work. For all their differences, one thing they share in common is an expectation of an environment that supports their health and well-being.

That’s why each year the university celebrates those who make big strides in environmental health and safety. The university’s Environmental Health and Safety Award recognizes individuals or groups who have undertaken activities that make Dalhousie a safer place in which to live, play, work or study.

The Environmental Health and Safety Committee and recognized achievements from the previous calendar year at this past February’s Board of Governors meeting. The award's recipients: WorkSAFE@Dal — a collaboration between Custodial Services and the School of Occupational Therapy — and the Killam Library’s Health and Safety Committee.

Helping Dal custodians work safer

The WorkSAFE@Dal project began last year as a partnership between Facilities Management and the School of Occupational Therapy (OT).

It is “a collaborative effort with the overall goal to reduce work-related injuries,” says Braydon Connell, a second-year OT student. To date, the project has involved more than 30 Dal custodians and 60 students in Dal’s Masters of Occupational Therapy program.

The idea initiated with Facilities Management’s Michael Campbell, who was trying to identify ways to reduce injury rates among Dal’s custodial team. Work-related injuries are very common for custodial staff, especially in the winter months.

“Most people don’t understand the ramifications of how much salt is tracked through the building, and the effects it has on the custodians both physically and mentally,” says Michael. “The repetitive nature of constantly going back [to re-clean] is extremely frustrating.”

He reached out to the School of Occupational Therapy’s director, Tanya Packer, and a partnership bridging the classroom and the workplace was started.

As part of this work, two Occupational Therapy students — Taylor Corning and Braydon Connell — spent their fieldwork placement with Custodial Services, a two-month assignment. Members of the custodial team, many of whom have experienced work-related injuries, volunteered to be shadowed by the students, who subsequently helped develop a three-part program. The parts included an analysis of job demands for custodians, a series of education sessions, and a “photo voice” poster, which Braydon describes as, “pictures of custodians doing different tasks, with small write-ups about what they are doing in the picture and how they feel about their job.”

Braydon and Taylor’s findings will enable Facilities Management to identify activities that could exacerbate previous injuries. “We want to see injuries before they happen... prevent them before they happen,” says Michael.
    
While the partnership provides tangible benefits for the safety of custodians on campus, Braydon and Taylor have the opportunity to grow and mature in their profession — working closely with custodial staff for a longer period of time while developing a rapport.

Michael sees the program as “a project that will only grow.” After Braydon and Taylor finish their placement, there are four more OT students preparing to work with custodial staff this academic year. The next placement will focus on the custodians’ work in residences, as students move out in April.

(Read a full profile of the WorkSAFE@Dal program.)  

Improving health and safety at the Killam

The second recipient of the 2014 Environmental Health and Safety Award was the Killam Library’s Health and Safety Committee.

Over the past year the committee, which consists of 12 members, launched a number of new health and safety initiatives. It completed a total ergonomic assessment of Killam staff, resulting in a number of chairs being replaced and upgraded. The committee also undertook a detailed fire and life safety audit to identify any deficiencies in the building and fire codes.

In addition, the committee’s members supported the acquisition of an automated external defibrillator through the “Mikey Network” and initiated a number of AED training sessions.

“Most of the Safety Committee members have been participating for many years in supporting measures taken at the Killam Library to protect our building occupants,” says Helen Wojcik, chair of the committee. “This award recognizes not only the committee members but also the fire wardens who are involved with evacuating the building and reporting safety issues — all with the aim of keeping our patrons safe.

“It is a pleasure to be recognized for the quiet but consistent work performed by the members of the Killam Safety Committee and [fire] wardens.”

University Librarian Donna Bourne-Tyson is particularly proud of the committee’s work.

“A great deal of attention is paid to health and safety by the Dalhousie Libraries staff and it is wonderful to see this work recognized in the Killam Library,” she says.