seven-o-seven seven-o-seven REPORTER - CAW Local 707

Health And Safety Report
...continued from Page 16
not fully appreciative of all the risks involved with walking or
working around PMHVs.
WHMIS Audit
In the last issue of the 707 Reporter, we discussed the need
to clear out cabinets and shelves of old and unused chemicals,
many of which were no longer compliant to WHMIS legislation.
Thus far, the reaction has been less than stellar. If you have
old chemicals, have them removed. Every chemical that you
work with should be accompanied by a Material Safety Data
Sheet (MSDS) and if it is dispensed, it needs to be labeled with
a workplace label. A WHMIS safety talk was given in June,
which everyone should have read and understood. We will audit
employee WHMIS knowledge in the next couple of months to
gauge understanding and the need for additional training.
Ministry of Labour
And Other Government Agency Visits
The MOL was in the plant as a result of phoned in complaints
regarding ventilation concerns in the finalizing area. During the
visit, a number of orders were also issued related to physical
concerns found on the roof of the plant. There have been additional
calls put into the MOL from our office in relation to the
same ventilation issue as well as concerns with the plant’s heat
stress program and critical injuries already mentioned above.
We expect their visits to occur by the end of August.
The plant was also visited by the Halton Health Department,
which issued orders related to hot water usage in the cafeterias
as well as the TSSA, which issued orders related to the elevators
in the plant.
Heat Stress And Water Testing
In our last report, we briefly discussed the need to look to
negotiations in 2012 to try and improve the heat stress program.
July was a real pressure cooker and illustrated many gaps in the
company’s heat stress program. There were numerous issues
related to delays in bottled water distribution, where sometimes
it took hours for water to be delivered, especially in trim. Disagreements
about when to implement job specific controls (including
additional relief time) were argued before the extreme
heat arrived and resulted in calls to the MOL which have still
(at the time of writing) not been resolved. The heat stress cards,
which were handed out as part of the monthly safety talk in
May provided good information used by many in order to get
some help when suffering physical effects from the stifling heat
and humidity. There were numerous first aid visits as a result
for the heat resulting in one loss of consciousness, as reported
above. There have also been gaps in ice delivery, air conditioning
in canteens not working, water fountains not functioning,
exhaust ventilation not working and personal fans not working.
On the issue of water fountains, the company has again delayed
the testing of the water fountains at a corporate level as
corporate hygiene seeks to revise its global water quality standards.
The fountains have not been tested since 2008. (Cross
connection surveys and back flow prevention testing as mandated
by local authorities has been done.)
Shutdown 2011
The shutdown period was only one week long and its short
duration hampered the plant’s ability to do very many large
improvements. A number of critical items were done, including
the replacement of the roof over the doorline in final and some
workstation reallocation changes and preparatory work for the
launching of the 2012 and 2013 models. A systematic reliance
on pre-task analysis and good communication resulted in no
injuries reported. Adherence to the protag buyoff process also
helped with new tooling implementation. Projects that were not
reviewed by the JH&SC did not launch quite so well.
Ongoing Concerns
There are many open issues that we are constantly pressuring
the company to resolve. One item gets fixed and five more pop
up and everyone knows how difficult it can be to get movement
on certain issues. We do believe that on many frontiers
however, reaction time is improving. It is only thorough our
combined efforts that pressure can continuously be applied to
resolve issues. Open items include Bigfoot collar replacements,
gasoline leaks at Gate 12, demolition hygiene concerns, flooding
and roof leaks, ergonomic issues, reductions and training.
There is never a shortage of work.
We hope that you enjoy the rest of the summer and stay safe
whether at work, rest or play.
Fraternally,
Emil Mesic, Mike Gibson and todd caird and John Mullin
July – September 2011 – Page 17