Taken Out by a Speck of Dust

  For Jim Hobbs and his daughter Janice Martell   Taken Out by a Speck of Dust When I heard her say “When you watch a man like that, get Taken Out by a Speck of Dust, You Fight” after describing who her father was, my emotions were very evident. Feeling both sad and mad caused my heart to drop, my throat swelled and wouldn’t […]

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10 Benefits of an OHS Manual

10 Benefits of an OHS Manual   Accidents Happen in Construction 10 Benefits of an OHS Manual, especially when you’re responsible for workers, are detailed here. Because  Accidents Happen in Construction, it’s a dangerous profession, an inhouse company specific OHS manual protects everybody.  If you are in any way responsible for the health and safety of your workers, it is important that you have an occupational health […]

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6 Reasons for the Importance of Safety Training

6 Reasons for the Importance of Safety Training   These 6 Reasons for the Importance of Safety Training are crucial for all workers. Every occupation requires a unique set of skills to do the job. However, additional training is always required above and beyond the talents needed for the jobs. Workers require safety training for every profession. Starting with the New and Young Worker, a […]

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How to get my workers to be safe?

How to get my workers to be safe? I received an email today with the question “How to get my workers to be safe?” It came from somebody who I don’t know. Yet she’s a safety professional who needs advice. I’m no expert, but let’s see what I come up with.     How to get my workers to be safe? Ya I sure know what […]

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Uneducated Facebook Policy For 1 Of My Services

Uneducated Facebook Policy /Complete Ignorance Regarding Safety  Complete Ignorance Regarding Safety The Uneducated Facebook Policy is the result of a Complete Ignorance Regarding Safety. An absolute lack of knowledge, dictated the decision to delete content based on their Woke Misinformation. With the truth now coming out about Twitter and how they manipulated posts to their own illogical thinking, the time has come to force Facebook […]

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How Respirator Fit Tests are Done N95

How Respirator Fit Tests are Done N95 How to conduct a Respirator Fit Test For N95 and Respirators, when searching the question “How Respirator Fit Tests are Done N95” or similar How to conduct a Respirator Fit Test? , it seems every answer on Google starts the same way. They jump right into the actual procedures and miss the entire front end of the process. The […]

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Hard Hats, New WorkSafe BC Regulations

Hard Hats and the New WorkSafe BC Regulations   Hard Hats and the New WorkSafe BC Regulations Hard Hats and the New WorkSafe BC Regulations came into effect on September 1st 2021 and has created a lot of talk and chatter in the construction world and safety community as a whole. Looking into the amendment within Part 8 and the PPE Regulations, hopefully some clarity […]

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100s of Fake Safety Certifications Stolen Safety Tickets

Fake Safety Certifications Fake Safety Certifications, Stolen Safety Tickets, and Forged Training Records are circling around construction sites across Western Canada. For some, it’s easier and cheaper to pay half price and not spend the time in a classroom or online. However, in a lot of circumstances that act could get the person killed on the job. Or even worse, be the cause of somebody […]

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8 Reasons VeriFit Tops Sweet or Bitters

8 Reasons VeriFit Tops Sweet or Bitters 8 Reasons VeriFit Tops Sweet or Bitters. When conducting a Qualitative Respirator Fit Test, there are several advantages when using VeriFit Irritant Smoke Generators rather then using Sweet and Bitter Solution. From time in conducting the tests, cost to the tester associated with each, medical concerns and cost to test subject of company. However, first a little background […]

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Do you need to Wear a Harness in a Scissor Lift in BC?

Do you need to Wear a Harness in a Scissor Lift in BC? Do you need to Wear a Harness in a Scissor Lift in BC? The short answer is NO. Here’s the rule as per the BC Legislation. WorkSafe BC Regulation 13.33(1.1) states: “Despite subsection (1), a person on a scissor lift, or on an elevating work platform with similar characteristics to a scissor lift, that […]

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10 FAQ on Respirators Masks Fit Testing

10 FAQ on Respirators Masks Fit Testing 10 FAQ on Respirators Masks Fit Testing These are the 10 FAQ on Respirators Masks Fit Testing asked over the past several months during COVID-19. I have been asked as a professional respirator fit tester with over 2000 people protected in early 2020 alone, hundreds of questions. I choose these 10, however if there’s other questions people wish […]

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PROTEKT Premium Safety Eyewear Review

P R O T E K T   Premium Safety Eyewear   P R O T E K T  Premium Safety Eyewear There’s a new player in the eye protection safety glasses ring. Introducing PROTEKT Premium Safety Eyewear. Having been on the market for 3 years now, they have been only distributed to a certain number of clients. PROTEKT is not the run-of-the-mill safety glasses […]

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Respirator Fit Testing 2000 Medical & Dental People COVID 19

The Respirator * The Medical and Dental People, and COVID-19     A Construction Site Safety company with Occupational First Aid III. Having been involved directly with the OH&S profession, I’ve Developed, and Coordinator safety Programs and Safety Manuals for various sized companies. All to a COR standard.  In addition, as an Instructor in Personal Fall Protection Training Systems, with my own course I developed, […]

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3D Printed Respirator

When the N95 Masks Run Out 3D Printed Respirator The making of a 3D Printed Respirator is now a reality. When I first heard about this and the doctor who created one, I was more than sceptical. Yet all it takes is an emergency of epic proportions to force the human mind and drive for survival to seek a solution. That’s exactly what an Orthodontists named […]

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Surgical Mask vs N95 Respirators

Surgical Mask vs N95 Respirators Surgical Mask vs N95 Respirators Surgical Mask vs N95 Respirators are complete opposites of each other. Respirators are worn to protect you from what ever substance or material you’re working with that has the capability of being inhaled and causing you injury or worse. Surgical masks have gaps and offer little to no protection at all. They’re for others protection […]

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Best Innovation 2019 Nomination

Best Innovation 2019 Nomination For the SEEME-NOW LED Hard Hat Lighting System Not Often, but once in awhile something happens that can be a turning point for a new product on the market.  FreeBird Safety Services has been nominated for an award. My product, the SEEME-NOW LED Hard Hat Lighting System has been nominated for The Small Business BC Awards category of Best Innovation for […]

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Hard Hat Directly Attached LED Tape Lights

Hard Hat Directly Attached LED Tape Lights Are They Allowed? Notwithstanding, the question “Hard Hat Directly Attached LED Tape Lights, Are They Allowed?” has come to light. Research into hard hat regulations and from the language used, I would say “YES”. In the first place, in ALL Occupational Health and Safety, first and foremost is the worker’s safety. Moreover, workers must conduct their work activities in […]

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Best Safety Lights for Hard Hats

Best Safety Lights for Hard Hats? What are the Best Safety Lights for Hard Hats? For the answer to this, one must first determine for what application. Is it for Flaggers, Tow Truck Driver Safety? Or ow about Graveyard Shift Workers? Is task-specific lighting required? Do you need to be visible at night to vehicles and mobile equipment? For visibility at night, then the SEEME-NOW […]

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Honeywell UVEX AVATAR S2850HS Safety Glasses

Honeywell UVEX AVATAR S2850HS Safety Glasses Product Review UVEX AVATAR S2850HS In the light of protecting your eyes on the job site, Honeywell has introduced the UVEX AVATAR Safety Glasses. With 14 different varieties in this series, the S2850HS Clear glasses are the ones examined here. First off, these are not your standard $3 safety glasses bought by the hundreds for a construction site.  At […]

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Fall Arrest vs Fall Restraint, What’s Better at 10 Feet High

Fall Arrest vs Fall Restraint, What’s Better at 10 Feet High Fall Arrest vs Fall Restraint, What’s Better at 10 Feet High There has been lots of discussion on this question. Fall Arrest vs Fall Restraint, What’s Better at 10 Feet High? What is your first choice? The numbers are fairly even. However, they are both wrong. You need to look at the Fall Protection […]

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Construction Worker Safety

Construction Worker Safety 8 Best Items What New and Young Workers Need to Know Construction Worker Safety is the most important thing on any job site. What New and Young Workers need to know before starting work can be overwhelming for some. Becoming frustrated, nervous, or even scared, are emotions that are best to be cast out of your mind right away. You’re not expected […]

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Knowledge vs a Whatever Attitude

Knowledge vs. a Whatever Attitude The Conflict  In contrast, the conflict of Knowledge vs. a Whatever Attitude can result in attitude defeated knowledge by using luck. Yet today it was in full swing right outside my office door cause by a tow truck driver. Due to what I witnessed, I felt like saying to this person “you need to shake your head; your eyes are […]

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Before You Go Buying Boots, STOP and understand this

Before you go Buying Boots Published in the online magazine SOS Safety Magazine September 10th, 2019   What The New and Young Worker / Greenhand needs to learn about Construction Safety Before You Go Buying Boots Does the phrase “The World Needs Ditch Diggers To” sound familiar? Embrace it. Construction has some very high-paying jobs. But, Before You Go Buying Boots, there are some things you […]

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Behavioral Based Safety

Behavioral Based Safety Posted on May 11, 2018 Behavioral Based Safety Behavioral Based Safety was the topic of a discussion from a group on LinkedIn that lead to this blog.   I’ve been formally in the OH&S profession since 2011. I started my 30 plus years in construction as a mason’s helper. I have seen a lot of head shaking questionable things in construction. The first time […]

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2018 Day of Mourning

2018 Day of Mourning  Posted on April 27, 2018 Why doesn’t the general population know the meaning 2018 Day of Mourning 2018 Day of Mourning, As flowers were laid at the foot of the Workers Memorial Cenotaph at Thunderbird Plaza in Abbotsford BC, I felt a tear roll down my face. Yet I was even more saddened in the knowledge that the vast majority of […]

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Time to Regulate

Time to Regulate Occupational Health and Safety Professionals Time to Regulate, Give us your opinion. Contact us here   Posted on September 12, 2017   Courtesy of The Toronto Star Newspaper Ltd.  Lack of regulation poses a public safety danger to Canadian workers Workplace accidents, like this one at a downtown Toronto construction site in March, took the lives of 852 people in 2015. Improving Canada’s occupational […]

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Is OHS Cheap in Construction

Is OHS Cheap in Construction Is OHS Cheap in Construction Is OHS Cheap in Construction? When the number of Injuries and Fatalities are announced in April ahead of Day of Mourning, I am bewildered as to why. When a construction company still doesn’t want to comply.  Is OHS Cheap in Construction? It is when those numbers are reduced. Just having the appearance of safety is […]

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High Level Noise

High Level Noise and The Effect It Had On Me Posted on March 6, 2017 High Level Noise High Level Noise and The Effect It Had On Me was the reason and  cause for the mood swings I was feeling. Ever think to yourself while at work, “Why am I in such a bad mood? I wasn’t when I showed up. But I sure am […]

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Caught in the in BITE

When It’s Your Child That Gets Caught in the BITE Posted on February 16, 2017 Caught in the in BITE The Phone Call When It’s Your Child That Gets Caught in the in BITE, what do you do? I just received a call that NO safety professional ever wants to receive. My son who is 20 years old, is in the trades, learning concrete forming, […]

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Speed Takes Another Life

Speed Takes Another Life, And He Was My Friend  How many times have you heard or even said “A life can be snuffed out in a blink of an eye”.  I myself have used it a number of times over the years to stress on a point in a toolbox or full-out safety meeting. But did I really understand what I was saying. I never […]

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Remembrance Day

Posted on November 11, 2016 Lest We Forget Remembrance Day Flanders Fields In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place: and in the sky The larks still bravely singing fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead: Short days ago, We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved: and now we […]

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Construction Safety * What Is It

 Construction Safety * What Is It Written on October 27, 2016    What is Construction Safety? I ask you this because I wonder if it really exists or is it just doing the song and dance so legislative principles don’t order and impose fines on the ones who do the developing and hold the purse strings. The numbers and my own personal experiences might suggest […]

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Infrastructure Design of a Bottleneck

Infrastructure Design of a Bottleneck Revised April 2, 2019 Written on September 26, 2016 Infrastructure Design of a Bottleneck First of all, the Infrastructure Design of a Bottleneck is what’s astonishing from the number I just heard. The Greater Vancouver and the George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project is estimated at 3.5 Billion Dollars. Yet this will not elevate the congestion of rush hour traffic. To fully […]

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Painter Dies After Falling

Painter Dies after Falling at Saanich Work SiteWritten on September 17, 2016 Painter dies after falling at Saanich work site by Cindy E. Harnett , Jeff Bell of the Times Colonist * Another senseless death of a Construction Worker WHY by Mike WinbowFrom Times Colonist by Times ColonistCindy E. Harnett , Jeff BellSEPTEMBER 15, 2016 10:23 PMUPDATED: SEPTEMBER 17, 2016 12:23 AM Painter dies after falling at Saanich work […]

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The Day I Almost Died

The Day I Almost Died Written on September 17, 2016 The Day I Almost Died The Need The Day I Almost Died, was a day I’ll never forget. That’s why I am very passionate about April 28 because of what almost happened to me. As a safety professional, I have a very unique understanding of why we need to do more.  Always sourcing better ways […]

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Right to Refuse Unsafe Work

Right to Refuse Unsafe Work The Lie The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work is more than just a Right. It is your responsibility, or so we were led to believe. Practice Directive 1-1-3(A) flies in the face of WorkSafe BC 3.12 and 3.13 which is supposed to protect you. “A worker must not be subject to discriminatory action as defined in section 150 of Part […]

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