There was an active exchange of ideas and help between EMC Human Resource professionals at the February 17 SIG/Safety Group meeting  held at Mahle (thanks, Lisa Granger; Mahle did themselves proud as always).

The main agenda item was a presentation and discussion of WSIB's New Service Delivery Model (NSDM) led by Jim Cullen, Manager, Service Delivery, Windsor. Jim fleshed out the points in his PowerPoint presentation with background information and anecdotal information (anonymous) based on local cases. Underlying his discussion was a continued emphasis on de-medicalizing some cases to get at the root cause of some return to work efforts. As an example, reluctance on the part of an injured worker to return to work may be supported by a medical note based only on the workers statement to his doctor that he's not ready. The root cause may not be the injury, but rather a feeling that the worker might meet an unsympathetic reception from either other workers or supervision. That's an issue that can be facilitated by the company or a WSIB Return to Work Specialist (or both). Jim told us that the Return to Work Specialists are trained to listen, ask a lot of questions and to dig for the underlying causes so the workers can get back to work as soon as possible.

Jim also indicated that WSIB is moving to get its doctors to discus cases directly with the worker's doctor in order to gain more meaningful information for WSIB. WSIB feels that doctors will consult more thoroughly with each other rather than a Case Manager talking to a Doctor and having confidentiality concerns coming between the sharing of information. Overall, Jim referred to WSIB personnel as resources available to manufacturers in working to get injured workers back on the job, as appropriate.

Other topics that invoked interest before, during and after the WSIB presentation included Bill 168 (Violence in the Workplace), hiring of workers, workers returning too soon and the use of regular inspections in the workplace as an opportunity to get feedback on training and worker concerns.

Bill 168 - there is a general concern about the requirements in Bill 168 to notify all personnel of any potentially violent persons, including company personnel, spouses, etc. and the conflict with rights to privacy under human rights legislation. A number of opinions and interpretations were shared during the discussion, however there is no clear "right" answer. Ministry of Labour inspectors share concerns on the issue as expressed in other venues.

Hiring - one member indicated difficulty in finding suitable candidates for a fabrication position. I offered to do a local Member Needs Help covering Chatham-Kent, London and possibly Brantford if that would help.

Returning too soon - One specific case concerned an employee returning from an illness before it was clear that it was safe to do so and there was general agreement that many employees try and come back as quickly as possible, sometimes against medical advice. Some firms present have policies in place that require an employee absent for a set number of days to provide a medical note indicating they are fit to resume their duties (as opposed to a note justifying their absence).

Feedback from inspections - Shari Blackburn of Batory passed along a best practice regarding inspections. Batory has a monthly Joint Health & Safety inspection (which is reviewed at the next JHSC meeting) plus a bi-monthly management inspection. As part of the inspections, specific questions are asked to get feedback on the uptake of training (where is the nearest eyewash station? Who is your employee/management rep? Etc.) Other topics may be regarding the adequacy of lighting in the parking lot (which goes to concerns re violence), health and safety concerns or issues that management wants informal information on. The questions help to close the loop in Plan, Do, Check, Act for training, and give feedback on issues that are current. Only some employees are asked the questions and they are informal in nature.

On a side note, one or our attendees, Rob Van Alphen of Nu-Co Plastics was just back from Haiti, where he was assisting in relief efforts. It's amazing  how many Canadians are heading to Haiti to help. Congratulations and thanks to Rob.

At the end of the discussions, we were given a tour of the Mahle Plant. The plant injection molds and assembles air filters for a number of Chrysler and GM vehicles and is a great demonstration of LEAN thinking in action.

Thanks again to Mahle.

For information on upcoming Chatham-Kent events, please give Michael Hill a call at 289-259-2798 or email at mhill@emccanada.org.