When the industrial workplace is safe and healthful, injuries and
absenteeism go down, products are made better and more efficiently, and
the consumer enjoys higher quality at a better price. These underlying
truths are at the core of the woodworking industry's annual health and
safety conference, set for the Woodworking Centre of Ontario at the Doon
campus of Conestoga College in Kitchener.
The all-day event, which will attract more than 100 industry
representatives, takes place on Thursday, May 8.
Hosting the conference are the woodworkers sector of the Industrial
Accident Prevention Association and the IAPA itself.
The day begins at 8:45 a.m. with opening remarks by Mike McClements,
Conestoga's Dean of Engineering Technology, and David Hall, Chair of the
IAPA woodworking sector.
Workshop sessions feature both classroom instruction and discussion, as
well as shop demonstrations, all around procedural, sectoral and
legislative topics associated with health and safety. Among the topics are
understanding and implementing the sector's Woodworking Industry Health
and Safety Guide, industry obligations under the Environmental Protection
Act, shop-floor ergonomics, the sectoral standards of Ontario's Ministry
of Labour, the role of workplace safety teams and best-practice examples
of integrating a health and safety orientation into an organization's
culture.
The event concludes at 3:30 p.m.
Partner organizations in presenting this conference include the Workplace
Safety and Insurance Board (Ontario), the Ontario Furniture Manufacturers
Association, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (Ontario Division), the
Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association and the Architectural Woodwork
Manufacturers Association of Canada.
Conestoga College was chosen as conference site both because of the
Woodworking Centre of Ontario facility and the College's reputation as
Ontario's outstanding institution for woodworking education.
CONTACT: Mike McClements, 519-748-5220, ext. 3251, mmcclements@conestogac.on.ca