CCOHS has an established history of collaborating with many Canadian and international partners. Projects with leading workplace health and safety organizations in Canada have expanded the quality and quantity of resources and programs available to workers and employers across the country.
Work with international partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union, has helped to advance health and safety in the workplace on a global level. These partnerships, in addition to its position as one of the Collaborating Centres of the International Labour Organziation (ILO) and WHO, allow CCOHS to provide Canadians with information from international sources and to share our own knowledge and expertise in return.
In partnership, we've created websites, developed e-courses, managed projects, written publications and conducted research. Together, we can work to prevent injuries and illnesses, and ultimately make all workplaces healthy and safe for everyone.
Here are just some of the many projects and agencies that we've been involved with:
This smartphone application (app) allows users to complete the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) of approximately 40 questions related to work demands, organizational factors, relationships, workplace values, health and safety concerns, stress symptoms and offensive behaviours. Responses are scored and results are provided along with ideas and an action plan to help the user make positive changes. MORE ABOUT >
Partners: This app is the result of a valuable and productive professional collaboration, combining the technological knowledge and communication skills of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) with the clinical expertise and ergonomic content of the Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers (OHCOW).
This smartphone application (app) delivers a basic ergonomic assessment by stepping the user through a series of diagrams and questions to pinpoint musculoskeletal pain, identify possible sources, and discover practical solutions. The results are presented on a body map, with recommendations to address work-related MSD hazards that could be contributing to their discomfort. MORE ABOUT >
Partners: This app is the result of a valuable and productive professional collaboration, combining the technological knowledge and communication skills of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) with the clinical expertise and ergonomic content of the Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers (OHCOW).
New Brunswick's Occupational Health and Safety Act and regulations contain legal requirements that must be met by all New Brunswick workplaces. Many sections of the legislation have associated guidelines and publications to help workplaces meet these requirements. This OHS Guide, delivered as a web-based tool or smart device app, provides information on key topics in a summarized format to assist New Brunswick's employers and employees in understanding your legislative obligations within your workplaces. MORE ABOUT >
Partner: WorkSafe New Brunswick
This course teaches primary health care providers how to recognize occupational and environmental cancers and how to respond to this finding. Insights are provided into how the recognition of occupational and environmental cancer risks can lead to prevention.
Partners: National Committee on Environmental and Occupational Exposures (NCEOE), Primary Prevention Action Group (PP-AG) of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) MORE ABOUT >
This two-part course provides a general introduction to occupational health and safety for new agricultural workers. Participants gain knowledge of workers' rights that are protected by health and safety legislation, understand the role of health and safety programs within a workplace, and learn how to identify job-related hazards and how to work safely. MORE ABOUT >
Partner: Canadian Agricultural Safety Association
The WHMIS for Saskatchewan Workers, Saskatchewan Workplace Inspections, and Incident Investigations in Saskatchewan Workplaces e-courses are designed to enhance accessibility to health and safety learning opportunities for Saskatchewan workers.
Partner: Saskatchewan Labour Relations and Workplace Safety
This program provides small and medium-sized businesses training on how to keep workplaces safe from potential workplace hazards and undesirable work environments. MORE ABOUT >
Partners: E-Learning for Business Coalition, which includes The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), Scotiabank, Society of Management Accountants of Canada (CMA), and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA)
Through three e-courses and a webinar, all free of charge, participants are introduced to the expected changes to WHMIS after the anticipated implementation of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). Suppliers, employers, and workers can learn how they can start preparing now to ensure as smooth a transition as possible.
Partner: Workplace Hazardous Materials Bureau of Health Canada
This publication aimed to help workers understand the health risks associated with working in extreme heat and cold situations, and to suggest reasonable solutions for the workplace.
Partner: Work Safe Alberta, Alberta Employment and Immigration
This tool kit was developed as a practical resource for Alberta office and other workers. The publication provides an introduction to indoor air quality (IAQ), identifies key workplace problems, provides survey tools and a primer on HVAC systems, helps in assessing and resolving a wide range of IAQ issues, and gives current standards and guidelines that are of Canadian interest.
Partner: Alberta Employment and Immigration
CCOHS developed a series of WHMIS Quick Facts posters for Health Canada, in English and French, with information on labels, hazard classes/symbols, MSDSs, education and training requirements, and more.
Partner: Workplace Hazardous Materials Bureau of Health Canada MORE ABOUT >
CCOHS researched and developed an inventory of best practices for healthcare work settings. These best practices include governmental advisory reports and guidelines, industry recommended practices, case studies, research interventions and systematic reviews.
Partner: Alberta Employment and Immigration
CCOHS is the official Knowledge Translation (KT) Partner, responsible for advancing the program's objective of translating research into gender- and sex-sensitive policies, practices, commercialization and other areas of impact that can preserve and improve the health of working Canadians. MORE ABOUT >
Partner: Canadian Institutes of Health Research
This study evaluated the accuracy of hazard information disclosed on MSDSs for products containing lead compounds that are intended for use in Canadian workplaces. The study provided results that support WHMIS enforcement at the federal, provincial and territorial levels.
Partner: National WHMIS Office (NOW), Health Canada
When any party raises concerns about WHMIS classifications, the issues can be discussed and resolved through the collaborative efforts of this group – providing an authoritative resource for all Canadians. Through its efforts to harmonize WHMIS classifications and to respond to classification questions submitted by stakeholders, CCOHS' involvement is vital to supporting Canadian WHMIS activities and harmonization.
Partners: Quebec Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST), National WHMIS Office (NOW) of Health Canada
In January 2013, Canada launched the world's first National Standard on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. This voluntary Standard is commissioned by the Mental Health Commission of Canada which sets a new, higher standard of care for employers and conduct for everyone in the workplace. CCOHS has adopted the standard, with the goal of sharing both the successes and challenges learned along the journey, to help other Canadian workplaces with implementing their own programs.
Partner: Mental Health Commission of Canada
The Marine Inspectors' Bookshelf CD-ROM illustrates CCOHS' commitment to working with its Marine Safety partners. Now in its 21st release, the Bookshelf provides hundreds of Transport Canada marine inspectors with a convenient means of accessing accurate information aboard ships, even when in remote areas without Internet access.
Partner: Transport Canada
Chongqing is a city in the southwestern interior part of China with approximately 6 million migrant workers. Their health and safety is frequently at risk. Key legal and governmental organizations in Chongqing have teamed up with CCOHS in a Policy Options Project to learn about Canada's experience of workplace health and safety and insurance of new and migrant workers in order to help develop local legislation.
Partners: Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Chongqing Bureau of Labor and Social Security (CQBLSS), the Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL), the Office of Arbitration of the Labor and Social Security Bureau of Chongqing
In this annual contest, secondary students from across Canada are encouraged to submit social media-friendly videos that illustrate the importance of workplace safety, with provincial winners moving onto the national stage to vie for cash prizes and recognition.
Partners: Work Safe Alberta, WorkSafeBC, SAFE Work Manitoba, WorkSafeNB, SAFEWork NL, Nova Scotia Labour and Advanced Education, Workers Compensation Board of PEI, Ontario Ministry of Labour, La Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail du Québec, WorkSafe Saskatchewan MORE ABOUT >
Viewers of this on-demand webinar gain a better understanding of what radiation is, the health effects of exposure, and some of the principles and practical methods of radiation protection, so that they can make informed decisions and opinions about radiation safety related issues in any industry. MORE ABOUT >
Partner: Radiation Safety Institute of Canada
To help organizations addressing stress in the workplace, this free on-demand webinar looks at ways to identify and measure psychosocial hazards, and outlines mental injury prevention tools and resources. MORE ABOUT >
Partner: Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers
To help reduce the high financial and human health costs of work-related asthma, this three-hour webinar series provides workers, employers and primary care healthcare providers with up-to-date guideline-based education on work-related asthma. MORE ABOUT >
Partners: Ontario Lung Association in collaboration with Ontario Thoracic Society Provider Education Program, McMaster University, the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, and Health & Safety Ontario
The CanOSH website makes it easy for anyone to locate Canadian workplace health and safety information, by bringing together federal, provincial and territorial resources all in one place. Information is used to ensure legal compliance, improve workplace health and safety practices, and reduce workplace injuries and illnesses.
Partners: Employment and Social Development Canada – Labour Program, Government of Alberta, Manitoba Labour and Immigration, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario Ministry of Labour, Yukon Workers' Compensation Health & Safety Board, WorkSafeBC, WorkSafeNB, Nova Scotia Labour and Advanced Education, Government of Saskatchewan
Mental health disorders place a heavy burden on the health and productivity in Canadian workplaces, and there is an enormous potential for using the workplace to address mental health problems, to promote psychological health and to provide solutions for referral and rehabilitation. The Guarding Minds at Work website helps employers promote psychological safety and health in their workplace.
Partner: Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA), Great-West Life
Canada, the United States and Mexico agreed that together, they would organize NAOSH Week to make their respective populations aware of the importance of preventing workplace accidents and illnesses. First launched in 1997, CCOHS developed the NAOSH Week website since its inception as part of its promotional support efforts.
Partners: Canadian Society of Safety Engineers (CSSE), Threads of Life, Employment and Social Development Canada - Labour Program, American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)
WHMIS.org is an online resource that allows users to stay current on the status of new and existing WHMIS requirements and to learn how the changes will affect them. Information specific to each jurisdiction and audience is provided along with access to helpful resources. MORE ABOUT >
Partners: WHMIS.org is provided through the collaboration of Health Canada, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) and all the federal, provincial and territorial occupational health and safety regulatory jurisdictions across Canada. CCOHS is the site Administrator.