APSC team receives award for innovative safety leadership

The APSC Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) received the Innovative Safety Leadership award at this year’s UBC Safety Day, which took place on October 3, 2018, in the UBC Student Nest’s Great Hall.

The team was recognized for being proactive, embarking on new initiatives that enhance safety culture and inspiring others in their area to share similar values towards safety.

“What was already clear to us, and what was highlighted by this award, is that the strength of our JOHSC comes from the strength and innovation of our LSTs [Local Safety Teams], and the leadership of every JOHSC member in representing their liaison LSTs and the safety challenges and solutions that matter most to the people in their areas,” said Jennifer Pelletier, Manager, Facilities and Technical Administration, UBC Mechanical Engineering.

Andrew Szeri, Provost and Vice-President Academic for UBC Vancouver, praised the APSC JOHSC for the workflow they established among the JOHSC and LSTs; their practice of holding monthly presentations on best practices, enabling members from different areas to learn from each other; and their initiative to effectively identify which LST would lead an investigation when employees from one LST do work in an area normally covered by a different LST.

Over 200 JOHSC and LST members attended this year’s Safety Day, which featured an introductory speech by UBC President Santa Ono and presentations by external speakers on “Influencing Change without Authority,” “Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment” and “Save a Life Training.”

Congratulations to all APSC JOHSC members and thank you for your efforts in making APSC a safer place to work! For more information about safety at UBC, please visit UBC Safety Committees.