Keynote Presentation

Part of the Leo Gerard Lecture Series on Workplace and Labour Studies

Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) assessment and management

Presented by Dr. Aaron Thompson, MD, MPH, FRCPC

Dr. Thompson’s keynote address is both a primer and update on current best HAVS practice. He reviews the pathophysiology of HAVS and how the condition is diagnosed and managed.

Dr. Thompson is an occupational medicine specialist and Associate Professor of Medicine at University of Toronto. Dr. Thompson also serves as the Chief Medical Officer of the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). He is former director of the Occupational Medicine Residency Training Program at the University of Toronto. His clinical practice is based at St. Michael’s Hospital, where he is a staff physician in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health.

Dr. Thompson conducts research in both clinical occupational medicine and disability management, with a focus on improving return-to-work (RTW) programs. He brings specialized expertise by providing a clinical perspective on the needs/gaps in existing communication and accommodation tools, and by providing input on how to optimize tools to facilitate effective and sustained work/RTW through effective accommodations that minimize and prevent disability. Dr. Thompson has published extensively on the topic of hand-arm vibration syndrome including publication on its assessment, disability experience and its prevention, and co-authored the 2018 International consensus criteria for diagnosing and staging hand–arm vibration syndrome. 

Foot Transmitted Vibration exposure: Cognitive, biomechanical, and neurosensorial effects

Presented by Flavia Marrone , PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano 

Flavia’s talk focusses on the effects of foot-transmitted vibrations on the whole body (while walking and during cognitive tasks) and localized in the toes (neurosensory response).

About Flavia: Flavia graduated in Biomedical Engineering with a specialization in Biomechanics at the Politecnico di Milano. In 2022, she started a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, focusing on the study of the effect of foot-transmitted vibrations on humans at the workplace.

Instrumented insole to measure Foot Transmitted Vibration

Presented by Dawson O’Hara, Master’s Student, Mechanical Engineering, Laurentian University

Dawson discusses the application of MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) accelerometers in shoe insoles to better measure foot-transmitted vibration inside of worker footwear. Using an instrumented insole can allow for more accurate measurements of vibration exposure at the foot and the transmissibility of vibration through footwear can be evaluated.

About Dawson: Dawson is a Masters student under the supervision of Dr. Katie Goggins and Dr. Markus Timusk. He did his undergrad in Mechanical Engineering at Laurentian University.

Citizen Science and a low cost carbon dioxide monitor for Indoor Air Quality awareness

Presented by Kailey Beggs, Undergraduate Student, Kinesiology, Laurentian University

Poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) poses a significant risk to health and productivity in homes and workplaces. Yet, awareness and understanding of IAQ remains limited. This presentation describes a citizen science project using a library lending program to distribute carbon dioxide monitors and an online learning experiment. The findings reveal the intervention’s impact on IAQ awareness and discuss cost as a barrier to wider adoption of monitoring technology. 

About Kailey: Kailey is a third year BSc. Kinesiology student at Laurentian University. She was an NSERC funded undergraduate research assistant in the summer of 2024, working on various projects. Her work with CROSH has mainly focused on air quality awareness.

Evaluating seat adjustment training for heavy equipment operators based on knowledge, behaviours, and self-efficacy

Presented by Melanie Cloutier, Masters of Human Kinetics Student, Laurentian University

Prolonged sitting in non-neutral postures increases heavy equipment operators’ risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This research addresses the lack of standardized seat adjustment training in the mining industry by developing a program to enhance operators’ knowledge, proactive behaviours, and confidence in ergonomic adjustments. Grounded in ergonomic principles, the training focuses on reducing vibration exposure and promoting neutral postures. Ultimately, the training aims to improve safety and comfort while helping prevent injuries and long-term discomfort associated with prolonged sitting. 

About Melanie: Melanie is a second year Masters in Human Kinetics student at Laurentian University. In 2023, she graduated from Western University with a BA in Kinesiology and joined CROSH. Under the co-supervision of Dr. Alison Godwin and Dr. Katie Goggins, she has been piloting the seat adjustment training project.

Enhancing occupational health and safety in the field of mineral exploration:Creating toolbox talks in partnership with the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC)

Presented by Alexandra Bertrim, Undergraduate Student, Human Kinetics, University of Guelph

This project builds on Rebecca Bond’s (a previous CROSH student member) Master’s thesis. Using an extensive database of incident reports, Rebecca’s research identified the specific nature of injuries in order to address the unique safety challenges in the field of exploration mining. This project builds on these findings by developing Toolbox Talks. These talks provide accessible information and strategies tailored to navigate the specific risks of mineral exploration in order to enhance worker health and safety. 

About Alexandra: Alexandra is a third-year Human Kinetics student at the University of Guelph. She worked as an undergraduate research assistant over the course of the summer (2024) with CROSH, where she gained insightful experience and interests in occupational health and safety.

Integrating Virtual Reality in a working at heights training program

Presented by Pranil G C, Recent Graduate, Masters of Computational Sciences, Laurentian University

This talk explores how virtual reality (VR) can enhance safety training for working at height. Pranil discusses the design and integration of a VR interface into a training program. User testing on this system evaluated usability, knowledge acquisition, and self-efficacy, revealing insights into VR’s effectiveness as an immersive training tool to strengthen safety skills in high-risk environments.

About Pranil: Pranil’s research delves into human-centered design principles applied to immersive technologies, with a particular focus on Virtual Reality (VR). Through his thesis, he aimed to identify effective methods for integrating VR into existing standard training programs, with an emphasis on enhancing human factors. By leveraging immersive technology, Pranil seeks to supplement training experiences to enhance the efficacies of learners.

Predicting injury severity in Canada’s mineral exploration industry using machine learning techniques

Presented by Elmira Saffarvarkiani, Business Data Analyst

Canada’s mineral exploration industry is vital but carries significant injury risks. This research leverages machine learning to enhance worker safety by predicting injury severity, using extensive data from the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). Machine learning’s ability to process large datasets and detect hidden patterns makes it essential across sectors. By applying advanced techniques, this research uncovers injury trends, supporting the development of improved safety protocols to reduce injury rates and promote a safer work environment. 

About Elmira: Elmira is Business Intelligence professional with over ten years of experience across various industries, including finance, manufacturing, and mining. She specializes in analyzing business challenges and implementing effective BI solutions, including CRM systems. Proficient in SQL, ETL processes, and data visualization with Power BI, she also has programming experience in Python and a strong understanding of diverse data landscapes.

Heat stress in underground mine workers

Presented by Taylor Lloyd, Laboratory Technologist and Masters of Human Kinetics Student, Laurentian University

Taylor describes the physiological effects of heat stress in underground mine workers. Her talk focusses on heart rate, core temperature, skin temperature and energy expenditure. 

About Taylor: Taylor is the CROSH Laboratory Technologist and a Masters in Human Kinetics student at Laurentian University. She’s a registered Kinesiologist who did her undergraduate degree in kinesiology with the University of Guelph. Her current research focusses on heat stress in mine workers. Taylor’s upcoming research is on heat stress and air quality for wildland firefighters in Ontario.

Identifying the mental health burden in a composite fire service: An integrated knowledge translation approach

Presented by Christopher Brescacin, Doctoral Student, Physical Therapy, Bond University

Firefighters are repeatedly exposed to cumulative critical incidents, which are work-related traumatic events, and non-work-related traumas that increase their risk of developing posttraumatic stress injury (PTSI) and alcohol use disorders. The purpose of this research study was to examine and identify mental health burden among firefighters serving at the Niagara West Fire and Emergency Service, a composite fire service located in Lincoln, Ontario. The primary research objective was to characterize and identify impacts of mental health for volunteer firefighters. 

About Christopher: Christopher Brescacin is a first-year DPT candidate at Bond University. He graduated from the undergraduate kinesiology program at the University of Toronto in 2022 and has been a CROSH student member since 2022. The presented work is from his MSc. in Kinesiology thesis project obtained from Lakehead University in 2024. Christopher’s work has focused on ergonomics and human factors in occupational settings, specifically firefighter mental health burden in public safety personnel populations.

Field challenges in data acquisition from different sensors

Presented by Camden Babin, Undergraduate Student, Computer Engineering – Software, University of Alberta

Camden covers how being aware of the challenges associated with using sensors in the field is essential for improving health and safety through research, as well is the applications of sensors in the field beyond research. He goes in depth into some of those challenges, and talks about actionable solutions and best practices to deal with them. 

About Camden: Camden is an undergraduate student in the software engineering program at the University of Alberta. His interest in occupational health and safety stemmed from the use of various technologies used in research to improve the well being and work lives of the people in the labor force.