A group service for joint health and safety committees and groups of workers.

The OHCOW team can do a walkthrough tour of the workplace. They will point out any health and safety problems and present them to the joint health and safety committee. They can also suggest that someone investigate the problems further.

During a walkthrough tour, the OHCOW occupational hygienist will

>> watch how the work is done
>> question workers about their symptoms
>> take limited measurements (for example, noise and air flow)
>> make recommendations to improve workplace conditions

The occupational hygienist will help you understand occupational hygiene sampling reports. They can also help you design sampling strategies.

During a walkthrough tour, an OHCOW ergonomist will

>> watch how the work is done
>> interview workers to understand their concerns and their discomfort
>> measure the dimensions, forces, repetitions and postures of a workstation
>> make recommendations to improve conditions

In some cases, doctors and nurses can do medical exams on several people from one workplace. They will look for a connection between the health problems and the workplace conditions.

OHCOW staff can work with the joint health and safety committee to help it understand very technical reports it must deal with. The OHCOW team can also design health questionnaires and administer surveys.

Examples of Group services that OHCOW has provided:

PREVENTING REPETITIVE STRAIN INJURIES

A repetitive strain injury is an injury that happens because you repeat the same type of movement over and over again at your job. This type of injury is very common now because so many people use computers.

Workers at a public library came to OHCOW for help because the new equipment at their workplace seemed to be causing injuries. OHCOW's ergonomist assessed the conditions at the library. Then the ergonomist held a workshop for workers from every branch of the library.

Because of the ergonomist's report, managers changed the way the library work was done. They also bought proper chairs, footrests and adjustable arms for the computer monitors to make the work safer. When a new library was built, they used OHCOW's report to design a safer workplace. The library workers now understand how to avoid repetitive strain injuries.

Most important, in the first year after these changes were made, no workers lost time from work because of new repetitive strain injuries.

IMPROVED VENTILATION IN A COPPER REFINERY

Workers in a copper refinery were concerned about the quality of the air in their workplace and their fatigue. They came to OHCOW for help. Workers and managers formed a committee to look at these concerns. OHCOW's occupational hygienist worked with the committee and gave advice about

• how to assess ventilation
• chemical hazards
• physical hazards
• ergonomics

The employer used the results of the ventilation assessment to prevent future problems with the ventilation system. The employer trained certain workers and managers to monitor the ventilation system on an ongoing basis to prevent future problems.

OHCOW also helped identify problems with workers being exposed to magnetic fields and heat stress. As a result, the employer developed better policies and put them to work.