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| From the President |
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| Dr. Axel Meisen |
This
issue of The Communicator is dedicated to highlighting safety in the workplace.
This is appropriate given the size of our university, and given our wide
range of work and types of workplaces. Reflecting the importance of safety,
there have been changes to the province’s Occupational Health and
Safety Act that introduced mandatory occupational health and safety monitoring
procedures. This kind of legislation has a primary purpose: to identify
potential risks and record injuries.
Memorial, with more than 2,500 employees, is one of the largest employers
in the province and we have a comparatively good safety record. This is
largely the result of the dedication and attention of our employees. But
that doesn’t mean we have become complacent. In my view, one accident
is one accident too many. Accidents can create enormous hardships, not
just pain and disability, but also enormous emotional hardships for families.
While
continuing to assist those who have suffered accidents and injuries, we
must focus on accident prevention. Statistical data on accidents and near-accidents
can provide a good guide to accident prevention and we will therefore
continue to gather and disseminate them. Please study the data since they
will give you insights into the most accident-prone activities.
Our safety office is working hard to develop ever better safety systems
and procedures. It offers a variety of safety training and education seminars
and courses, including topics such as Workplace Hazardous Materials Information
System training, First Aid, CPR, Lifting and Materials Handling, Fire
Warden Orientation, Fire Safety, Use of Fire Extinguishers, Radiation
Safety, Biohazards, Laboratory Safety, among others. They would welcome
your comments about additional topics.
I would like the university to have a “culture of safety,”
a culture where we succeed fully in preventing accidents from happening.
Please help in this effort.
Axel Meisen
PRESIDENT AND VICE-CHANCELLOR