Hot off the presses! CROSH student member Pranil G C and faculty research member Dr. Ratvinder Grewal recently presented on the usability and perception of VR and video safety training for working at heights.

Click here to read the proceedings for free.

McIntyre Powder exposure linked to cardiovascular disease in a new study by CROSH research members Dr. Andrew Zarnke and Dr. Sandra Dorman and their co-authors.

Read the full research publication for free at: https://ow.ly/yavJ50T9NER

Read the CBC article at: https://ow.ly/I9GY50T9NEJ

Our members have accomplished a lot this year! Read about their contributions to health and safety in research in our 2023-2024 Annual Report.

• 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM ET on Oct 3^rd
• Executive Learning Centre (Fraser Building, FA-386) at Laurentian University

Click here to register. 

Designing safe, healthy, and productive mining work requires taking human abilities, limitations, and other characteristics into account. This workshop will draw on the presenter’s 25 years of research and consulting experience to illustrate how smart design improves mining work.

The topics to be addressed are: 

1. Physical workstation design for safety and health; including access, control and display location, seating and whole-body vibration, and maintainability.
2. Manual tasks risk management. 
3. Control and display design for error prevention. 
4. Mining Automation: lessons learned during implementation. 

Three related approaches to design will be explored through these topics:

i) participatory ergonomics, ii) human centred design, and iii) human systems integration. 

The workshop will conclude by engaging participants with a current research topic: “How to increase the attractiveness of mining work to improve recruitment and retention.”

Presented by Robin Burgess-Limerick, Professor of Human Factors at the Mining Industry Safety and Health Centre, in the Sustainable Minerals Institute, at the University of Queensland.

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET on Oct 4^th

Online via Zoom (click here to register to attend online)

In person at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario in the Executive Learning Centre (Fraser Building, FA-386) (click here to register to attend in person)

This lecture:

1) Reviews the evidence and lessons-learned from implementing participatory ergonomics to improve workplace health and safety. Participatory ergonomics means actively involving workers in developing and implementing workplace changes;

2) Introduces an appreciative inquiry framework for workplace change; and

3) Discusses preliminary results from a project conducted in Australia and Sweden that utilises such an approach to identify opportunities to increase the attractiveness of mining work for both current and future employees.

Presented by Robin Burgess-Limerick, Professor of Human Factors at the Mining Industry Safety and Health Centre, in the Sustainable Minerals Institute, at the University of Queensland.

Check it out! CROSH Faculty Researcher and Student members have an abstract published at the World Congress of Virtual Rehabilitation. “Cognitive load and game preferences in the gamification of neurorehabilitation-centric hand exercises in chronic stroke.” Authors: Amy Doan, Eric Dumais, Sophie Beauchamp, Sara Prefetto (former CROSH student member), Margot Shima (former CROSH student member), Sandra Dorman, Ratvinder Singh, Vineet B.K. Johnson, Ratvinder Grewal.

Download the abstract book and read it here (page 78, #P2-7) .

Pranil‘s thesis was on “Evaluating the effectiveness of VR in a working at height training program: A crossover design experiment.” Pranil’s research could ultimately help Ontario workers be more safe when working at heights.

Pranil’s supervisor is Dr. Ratvinder Grewal and his research is supported by Dr. Alison Godwin.

Well done, Pranil!

On May 11th, the CROSH Crew walked in support of Steps for Life. Our team raised $411 for families affected by life-altering workplace injuries, illnesses and death. Thank you to everyone who donated! Learn more about Steps for Life.

We are very proud to have partnered with OHCOW to produce the Heat Stress Toolkit. The toolkit includes guidebooks, calculator tools, infographics, videos, and other resources to help everyone: understand the heat conditions in their workplace, assess the risk of heat stress, and take action to protect yourself or your workers. Visit https://www.ohcow.on.ca/heat-stress-toolkit/ to access the free toolkit.

A fun day of learning at Canada’s Mining University – Laurentian University! On May 1, 2024, hundreds of local high school students participated in the MineOpportunity Games, learning about modern technologies and career possibilities in the mineral resources industry. At the CROSH table, the students got hands-on insight into research on line-of-sight and musculoskeletal disorders. The CROSH activities, run by Melanie Cloutier and McKinley Broomhead, included health and safety takeaways for the high school students’ everyday lives!