Virtual Breakfast Forum – EHSCBC Welcomes New Member
Today’s Virtual Breakfast Meeting had the privilege of welcoming our newest member: Kate Baillie, VP Marketing & Communications at Technical Safety BC. Kate shared that one of Technical Safety BC’s key pillars is education: getting out into the field and talking about how to help organizations make better decisions and finding out what this most important to each organization when it comes to safety. To Technical Safety BC, “safety-minded” decision making is key, being more about people than it is about equipment. The decisions that people make for maintenance, decommissioning or upgrading equipment are the first line of defence to avoid any safety issues. We are looking forward to Kate sharing more information and case studies with our members in the coming months.
Discussions around COVID-19 revealed potential issues with communication to staff regarding a case of potential contact. Should you have a case of staff having had potential contact, how you communicate the information is crucial to avoid panic within your team. Be clear and concise (was it a case of a person in the building having tested positive for COVID-19, or was it a case where someone came into contact 2nd or 3rd party with someone who tested positive?) Staff needs to understand when/how the contact occurred while being cognizant of privacy of the individual in question.
We are all reminded about the issue of complacency both in our personal lives as well as in our organizations. With our bubbles expanding due to kids going to school and others, we are in contact with opening up their own bubbles, we need to be extra vigilant to maintain proper distancing and sanitizing protocols. We are all concerned about how we’ll survive the winter. It won’t be so easy to social distance outside socially or for meetings when the days get shorter and the weather turns. Remember that some individuals might struggle with mental health and wellbeing over this period. Please remember to address this in your communications with your team regularly and be sensitive to these issues as we head into the winter months.
