Ontario funds health and safety research in Sudbury – by Staff (Sudbury Star – January 18, 2018)

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Laurentian University’s Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health will receive more than $300,000 in new research funding from the Ontario government. Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault, who is also Ontario’s minister of Energy, made the announcement at the CROSH lab Tuesday.

“Addressing high hazards associated with the operation of mobile equipment was a priority identified in the 2015 Mining Health Safety and Prevention review,” Thibeault said in a release. “Furthermore, addressing indigenous workplace issues will begin a conversation about what is needed to improve occupational health and safety of Indigenous peoples in the workplace.”

In all, Ontario is awarding $310,000 to support innovative research projects and top talent. The funding will assist CROSH researchers as they carry out three projects aimed at addressing mobile equipment hazards, advancing Indigenous occupational health and safety in Northern Ontario, and improving safety for people who work around heavy equipment.

The awards include:

$182,000 through the MOL Occupational Health and Safety Prevention Innovation Program to support the project, Development of Knowledge Transfer Kits to Address Mobile Equipment Hazards. The project lead is Tammy Eger.

Researchers will develop three knowledge transfer kits to address hazards related to the operation of mobile equipment, including line-of-sight and situational awareness, exposure to vibration, and fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders. Occupational health and safety trainers in the workplace will use the kids.

$68,000 through the MOL Research Opportunities Program, to support the project, Mino-nokiiwin: Advancing an Understanding of Indigenous Occupational Health and Safety in Northeastern Ontario. Nancy Lightfoot and Darrel Manitowabi will lead the project.

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