Gas Safety Work Methods

Meet the Gas Safety Work Methods PDT. Learn more about the Safety Summit.

All session times are listed in Pacific time.

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Physical Mobility Home + Office
Speaker: Kevin Rindal, CEO and Co-Founder, Vimocity
Over the past year, social distancing profoundly impacted how members of the workforce incorporated physical mobility into their day. While some of these changes were temporary, there are some takeaways that will have a positive impact on the future workforce and help make “movement health” a lifestyle.

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Mental Health Now and in the Future
Speaker: Jenan Nasserdeen, Director, Catalyst
The suicide rate for the utility industry is 26 percent higher than the suicide rate for the average civilian working population. (According to a study by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.) These figures are troubling and leave us wondering one simple question: Why? It’s difficult to pinpoint a single cause. But one thing is for certain— working in the utility industry comes with many challenges. Rotational schedules can keep you away from your family for long periods of time. Night shifts drastically limit sunlight exposure. Grueling hours can take their toll physically and mentally as time goes by. The list goes on and on. This is why it’s so important for utility companies to understand mental health and to make communicating about it a top priority.

In this presentation, attendees will learn:
• WHAT mental health is
• WHY mental health stigma is dangerous
• HOW mental health problems impact oil and gas workers/companies
• WHEN to act And, most importantly…
• WHERE to turn when facing difficult times

12:05 PM – 1:00 PM
Post Incident Testing What & How?
Speakers: Shane Goodwin, Manager, Safety Programs, ATCO
Jaret Fry, In-house Construction Manager, ATCO Natural Gas

1:30 PM – 2:10 PM
Tools Committee – How do you pick?
Speakers: Adam Thomas, Change Analyst, ATCO Natural Gas
Sandra Horon, Advisor, Occupational Health & Wellness, ATCO Natural Gas
Join us as we elaborate on how we get the tools of tomorrow in our employee’s hands today and the impact the right tool can make.

2:15 PM – 3:00 PM
Using VR for Safety Training and Pre-job Planning
Speaker: Brian Doubinin, CEO, 3DInternet
Simulation and virtual reality (VR) technology has started to make waves in the way companies operate. In this session, we’ll demonstrate and discuss how utilities can use this visualization technology in training, safe work procedures, accident investigation, work planning, and applying Safety by Design concepts during project design collaboration and communication.

Thursday, September 2, 2021

8:00 AM – 8:45 AM
What Does the New “Workstation” look like?
Speaker: Michael Parham, Specialist/Occupational H&S, Risk Management & Safety, Southwest Gas Corporation
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented changes in our lives, including the transition to the new normal workstation. The shift to a home office workstation has prompted employers to take measures to optimize safety, ergonomics, and productivity in the telework setting. In addition, the new normal workstation has created new considerations and challenges for the investigation of occupational injuries reported in the telework setting. This presentation will address how injury incidents are reported and investigated in the new normal workstation.
Questions to be considered by participants include:
• Does your organization have a process/procedure for investigating injuries reported in-home office (telework) workstations? If so, how does it differ from pre-pandemic incident investigation procedures?
• Does your organization have a specific process for reporting occupational injuries in-home office (telework) workstations? If so, how does this process differ from your pre-pandemic incident reporting procedure?
• How does your organization determine the “work-relatedness” of a home office (telework) injury? Have you experienced any unique challenges resulting from employees who were multi-tasking with personal chores, etc. at the time of the incident?
• Beyond the pandemic, will your organization continue to allow employees to work remotely? If so, do you anticipate that the determination of “work-relatedness” will be an ongoing challenge?

8:45 AM – 9:30 AM
Investigating the New “Workstation” Injuries
Speaker: Michael Parham Specialist/Occupational H&S, Risk Management & Safety, Southwest Gas Corporation
The shift to a home office workstation has prompted employers to take measures to optimize safety, ergonomics, and productivity in the telework setting. In addition, the new normal workstation has created new considerations and challenges for the investigation of occupational injuries reported in the telework setting. This presentation will address how injury incidents are reported and investigated in the new normal workstation.
Questions to be considered by participants include:
• Does your organization have a process/procedure for investigating injuries reported in-home office (telework) workstations? If so, how does it differ from pre-pandemic incident investigation procedures?
• Does your organization have a specific process for reporting occupational injuries in-home office (telework) workstations? If so, how does this process differ from your pre-pandemic incident reporting procedure?
• How does your organization determine the “work-relatedness” of a home office (telework) injury? Have you experienced any unique challenges resulting from employees who were multi-tasking with personal chores, etc. at the time of the incident?
• Beyond the pandemic, will your organization continue to allow employees to work remotely? If so, do you anticipate that the determination of “work-relatedness” will be an ongoing challenge?

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Covid Roundtable – What Did We Learn and How to be Prepared for the Next
Facilitator: Kevin Rindal, CEO and Co-Founder, Vimocity
Speakers: Rebecca Brown, Safety Consultant, Puget Sound Energy
Ryan Truair, Sr. Manager Code Compliance, NW Natural
Tanya Verbyla, Occupational Nurse, Portland General Electric
This Roundtable session will focus on lessons learned from the impact of COVID-19 on day-to-day work activities and how this will shape the future of working going forward.