Wishing you the best of the Season

I just want to take this opportunity to wish you all the best for this holiday season and to tell you that I hope that the new year will bring you adventure, laughter,... and give you fuel for your passion for health and safety.

As a year ends and a new one begins, we look at where we have been and into the year ahead. This last year as President has brought with it wonderful opportunities, and challenges. I thought someone said it would be easy. We have made decisions that will take this organization into the future on solid ground. Some members have been supportive of these decisions and some have challenged us back. We have solidified our strategic directions and focuses to ensure the stability of the organization as well as provide our members value for their membership. We have explored new opportunities for the organization. We have improved on services that we already provide. The education portfolio is exploring competencies and working to advance the CHSC designation and professional standards. NAOSH Week is growing. Our PDC is stronger than it ever was. With the growth that we have been experiencing, we have had challenges. As with any business or organization there are times when we go three steps forward and one back. Thanks for being patient with us as we make decisions as a Board to lead the Society today and into the future.

We are working towards being the intellegent organization that I spoke about when I first became President (refer to an earlier blog). We are putting in place the foundation pieces and processes, at the same time staying flexible enough as a learning organization to react to opportunity quickly.

I am excited about the year to come and I am sure that there will be many more exciting opportunities for the Society and more adventures to go on. This is the year that Art Nordholm will move into the President's role and I will move into the Past President position to support him and the organization in what will be a new role for me.

Have a safe and happy holiday.
I wish each one of you all the best in the New Year!

Eldeen

CSO Symposium in BC

I was asked by the local BC mainland chapter executive, the Regional VP of BC & Yukon and Worksafe BC to speak to approximately 300 CSO's in British Columbia at the Worksafe BC CSO Symposium. It was a wonderful opportunity to speak to the CSSE members who attended as I stood in the CSSE booth, but it also gave me a chance to address potential new members. I was the Conference's opening speaker and I used the opportunity to challenge the audience on how they approach safety and to discuss options for professional development and also to fly the CSSE banner. It was great to be able to work with the local chapters and Regional VP to spread the message of what the CSSE is and what we can do to assist individuals within their career paths. I hope that the presidential role can expand into this area, as our organization grows. By the way, the membership applications and CSSE information were flying off of the booth's display table.

The National PDC Committee

Since the conference and over the past two months I have been catching up on work and balancing that with CSSE activities. What does the President do after the conference? Sleep! Besides that, I have been involved in high level discussions on future conferences. CSSE has a National focus on how we plan our conference. This has been an evolving process that started a few years ago. Up until five years ago, we use to pick a city, let the local chapters run with the conference and cross our fingers. You all know what happens when "cross your fingers" is how you handle safety... so we changed our process following the 2003 Conference in Saskatoon to a National Conference committee that has representation from across the country. Thus far it has been working well. As we are growing and taking the conference into new dimensions, there are challenges, but we are ironing them out. The National PDC Committee's success is built upon the wonderful volunteers that are so actively involved. Thanks to each one of them.

CSSE - A Global Organization

As I travel around the world, I get to represent the CSSE on the world stage and I often get into discussions that have the opportunity to benefit CSSE. As most of you know, I work for an International Safety Consulting Company and it can take me to interesting places. The last couple of weeks I have been in Dubai, UAE. I have had the honor to represent my consulting firm at the World Dubai projects EH&S awards and had the opportunity to introduce and discuss the CSSE and its initatives with some of the UAE leaders.

I also had the opportunity to meet with some of the CSSE's Middle East members and we discussed the possibility of forming a chapter in their region. Some of the CSSE members have no chapter to belong to for they are in the international membership category and some of the members I talked to have a home chapter in Canada, but it is a long way to go for the monthly luncheon meeting. They feel that they have little support or activities to go to while working their regular jobs - where is the value of membership?

Both myself and your next President - Art Nordholm (VP / Tres) are very active in promoting both membership within our organization, but also value within that membership. Just like we have supported new chapters being formed in Canada, we have also been working with some of our international members and members who are working abroad to see what we can do to continue to meet their needs. As I am assisting the Middle East in chapter formation, Art is actively working with Nigeria and China. Both Art and I are fortunate that we work for organizations that understand and support our CSSE activities and allow us to sneak in some CSSE time in on their dollar.

What is your opinion on having CSSE members and chapters in other countries?

Offensive or Effective?

Across Canada Safety Professionals and organizations that promote safety awarness often question how they can get the people of our nation interested and invested in safety. Why is it that cigarette smoke can be banned from workplaces and public areas because it affects so many, yet we hardly get a peep out of society when a report is released that we kill 5 people per day and hurt many others in our Canadian workplaces?

We as Safety Professionals utilize all types of techiques to grab the attention of the people in our workplaces. So when an article written in the Hamilton Spectator , the other day, included an article about the City of Hamilton's decision to change their minds about running the WSIB's newest ads in its bus shelters, I was intrigued. It was a prominently-placed article and the Spectator has started an online discussion about the article and the WSIB's ads. Please have a look at the online version of the story here: Graphic ads coming to city bus stops Hamilton had initially turned down controversial WSIB campaign as too gory and click here to view the article as it appeared in the paper (look at those pictures: nothing beats free advertising!)
To join the online discussions, please visit the Spec's Nicole Macintyre's blog site: Offensive or effective?

I encourage each of you to send in your opinion as well as post it to this blog... what do you think - offensive or effective?

CSSE's 2007 Fall Member-Get-A-Member Campaign

Membership Campaigns have been a part of the CSSE's marketing plan and have been very successful in increasing our membership. To-date 37 CSSE members have participated in the 2007 Member-Get-A-Member Campaign and have earned discounts on their 2008 memberships.

There is still a couple of days left of this initiative. Here is how it works.

Convince a friend or colleague to join before November 1st, and you will be eligible for a discount on your next CSSE renewal fees. In addition, the CSSE's membership fees are increasing on November 1st, which is another great reason to persuade potential members to join before the end of the campaign -- Savings for Everyone!

Encourage non-members to join the Society and ask them to include your name in the "Referred By" field on the application form*. Potential new members can apply using the online application form or by downloading a PDF version of the membership application from the CSSE website at the following location: Become a Member. At the close of the campaign you will receive a letter from the CSSE office outlining your renewal discount.

*It is important that you encourage interested people to list your name down on the application form, otherwise, you will not be credited with the membership.

Remember -- the more members you refer, the greater your discount.

Discounts will be awarded as follows:

Refer 1 - 4 new members to the CSSE and receive a 25% discount off you next annual membership fee
Refer 5 - 9 new members to the CSSE and receive a 50% discount off your next annual membership fee
Refer 10 - 14 new members to the CSSE and receive a FREE one-year membership
Refer more than 15 or more new members to the CSSE and receive a FREE one-year membership AND complimentary registration for the CSSE's 2008 Professional Development Conference in Quebec City

Questions about this campaign should be directed to CSSE National office at 416.646.1600

Thank you to everyone for your continued support of the CSSE!

Taking “Partnerships in Practice” home with us.

Victoria was a wonderful location in which to have a conference and a number of us planned to spend an extra day or so in the area to experience the city and spend some time to exploring.

On Wednesday evening I went out with new and old friends and safety peers. The conference was over, most of us were tired from the various sessions and activities and it was nice to relax with people that have a common passion for safety. Many times I looked around the various venues we visited that evening and at the dinner table and listened to the variety of safety related conversations that were on the go… the sharing of information and business cards, the promises of keeping in contact, etc. I have been very blessed within my professional life to be able to bring different professionals from different places in the world, or in the profession, together. I truly believe in partnering to ensure our profession, my chosen career path, goes forward.

The weather in Victoria was as wonderful as the conference itself and I spent the day following the conference, cementing some of my relationships within the safety realm as I toured the area. I spent this day with Mike Thompson, President of the ASSE, and his wife Judy, Ed and Deb Dyna, and Mark Warrington. It was a time to ensure some of the follow-up conversations with the ASSE occurred, as well as build our professional relationships and personal friendships. One of the highlights of the day was visiting the Buchart Gardens. We were given a tour of the facilities by Jeff Lowden – the Occupational Health and Safety Manager. He shared his wealth of knowledge with us about the gardens and provided some wonderful creative controls to hazards present within his specific workplace. The pigtails up on the roof and the emergency response plans are top notch – all of you should visit Jeff to see them for yourselves. Thumbs up… Green thumbs to be exact, to your safety management system at the Gardens. Thanks for the tour.

CSSE PDC 2007 – Day 3

The day started with honouring various safety achievements at the Awards Ceremony. Our awards are to highlight the achievements of individuals and groups within our organization – Congratulations to all the winners.

The conference finished off the day with a presentation from Paul Huschilt – Seven Humour Habits for Workplace Wellness. It emphasized the importance of laughter and fun within the workplace, but also within our lives as safety professionals. We must work to overcome our challenges and provide our best service.

For me, rounding out the morning with announcing the winners of the Prevention Solutions Challenge was ideal.

I was truly impressed by this year’s conference speakers, events and organization. The National Committee approach to PDC planning is confirmed as the best direction, when conferences such as this are being held. Congrats to the dynamic team that worked so hard to put this one together.

One of the activities that all the board members try to do around the conference is to drop by the professional development courses before and after the conference to introduce ourselves to the group and chat at bit. Having these around the conference helps those attending make the most of their time, money and effort.

See you all next year at the PDC in Quebec City. If you are interested in submitting a proposal for presenting at this conference, please download the form under conference tab on the website and submit before November 15, 2007.

CSSE PDC 2007 – Day 2

Another day of great presentations – informative, challenging and entertaining. The CEO panel, which included Pat Jacobsen of TransLink, Robert Taylor of Weyerhaueser and Paul Henning of Alcan Primary Metal, was one of the highlights of this day for me. Hearing their definitions of safety, effective safety management within their organizations, how they see the role of the professional and themselves allowed me to look at different ways that our profession and CEOs can “Partner in Practice”.

The conference, for the executive, is not just about going to see speakers. We hold many different meetings with outside organizations and with groups within the CSSE to foster relationships and invest in the future of the CSSE. One such meeting was a luncheon with the international organizations: ASSE (Mike Thompson & Fred Fortman) and IOSH (Lisa Fowlie and Sasha Lemen) the BCRSP (Peter Lineen) and CSSE Executive (Art Nordholm and Andrew Cooper). Having an informal “meeting of the safety association minds” allows for free exchange of ideas and generations of future plans, as well as strengthens our working relationships. In the past these meetings have resulted in INSPHO, selling of resources on our website and a further commitment to NAOSH Week. At this meeting we had further discussions on competencies, activities around NAOSH Week and the possible expansion of a Safety Professional Day across North America. There will be follow-up on these topics and others discussed around the table in the very near future. As the conference theme this year – partnerships in practice – we recognize that we can be so much farther ahead with IOSH, ASSE & CSSE working together, than separate. This meeting also emphasized the relationship that CSSE and BCRSP can have and we confirmed a joint meeting of the board in February 2008 to discuss this further.

The CHSC & Professional Member Reception and the BC Chapter Social Night provided great opportunities for all who attended the conference to mingle, interact and let our hair down a little. Social activities and networking opportunities are just others way to connect and find ways to “Partner in Practice”.

CSSE PDC 2007 – Pre Conference & Day 1

Pre-Conference Panel Presentation:

On Sunday September 9, 2007 I attended the Pre-Conference Panel Presentation. Wow! When I looked around the table at all the experience and global representation, I could not help but be impressed. Thanks to Peter Sturm for arranging this one.

The panel was made up of seven international speakers - Lisa Fowlie – IOSH, UK; Mike Thompson – ASSE, USA; Paul Pascoe –Australia; Mark Warrington – Dubai UAE; Leonard Gaius – Africa; Roberta Sheng-Taylor – WorkSafeBC; Vic Pakalnis – ON MOL and Peter Sturm CSSE. The group discussed “Competencies of the Safety Professional – A National and Global Perspective”. The panels' presentations were informational, but most of all thought provoking and challenging. They allowed us to explore concepts beyond our technical skills and information and allowed consideration of other skills and information that could and maybe should be applied within our profession – leadership, management of change, social and corporate responsibilities, management business approaches… the list went on. Thanks to all who shared and presented on this panel.

For me personally, hearing about the challenges of the safety profession from around the world and the variety of ideas on what we should have in our safety professional tool kit was a wonderful pre-conference jump start. But that was just me… if you attended this panel, what did you think? Was there something that stood out for you? From the information that this panel gave, is there a direction in which the CSSE should go with regards to content for the future PDC’s or for our educational deliveries?



Day 1:

The conference theme this year was “Partnerships in Practice”, reflecting on the importance of forging partnerships in the world of Occupational health and Safety. As President, it is a great honour to be able to open and MC a conference of this calibre. With opening speakers such as Justin Trudeau and Diana Miles (WorkSafeBC), we could tell that the conference was going to be right on the mark. The previous day’s panel challenged us to think about who we are and what we need to have as competencies within the profession. This first day of the conference continued that challenge as well as provided us with some tools to meet those needs.

This was the most attended conference to date – 550 people in attendance, as well as the largest exhibit to date – 65 exhibitors. This first day of the conference for me was “WOW”.

I want to emphasize that a professional development conference is not just about sitting around listening to other people speak, it allows for many social activities. Monday night’s event included a dinner theatre, but my favourite entertainment of the conference was seeing the Queen of England knight Sir John and Sir Jim.

CSSE Board Meetings September 2007

I Chair the CSSE’s Board meetings that are held three times a year at various locations, across Canada, selected based upon activities happening with the CSSE. This September the fall meeting was held in Victoria, due to the CSSE’s annual conference.

I have to congratulate this dynamic group of people that I work with on this level. We have a real “hodge-podge” of strengths and personalities around the table and that is what makes this Board really work and what sometimes makes it challenging. Everyone has a unique way of looking at the business put before the Board and everyone contributes so that the CSSE can move forward.

Usually the first part of the meeting involves some type of board development before the meeting officially starts. The board development can be facilitated sessions to build our working together capabilities, or it can be a review or an exploration of concepts and ideas affecting business of the CSSE.

The Regional Vice Presidents (RVP’s) are very active in Board discussions and decisions, with a focus on the Society going forward as a whole. Their role around the Board table is slowly changing from its past role of simply representing their own region. As those of you who attended the AGM last week know – we are organizing the business of the CSSE into Strategic focuses, or as Jim calls them – Business units. Each of the RVP’s and the executive have been supportive of this process, having confirmed at the meeting that this is the direction we will be taking into the future and I look forward to each of them playing a larger role within it.

One of the RVP’s will be leaving us – Andy Gauthier. Thanks for all your hard work Andy.

Meetings, Meetings, and more Meetings around the PDC.

One thing that I am pleased to see is that the strategic committees of the CSSE are planning more face to face meetings around the PDC each year. This is the second year that the Education Committee has had a meeting the Saturday night prior to the Board meeting and then gone out for dinner together. Sunday morning was a busy one for meetings - our Instructors / Trainers and Education Committee had a “meet and greet” and the Advocacy group had their first face to face. The Regional Council meeting with Chapter Chairs / Executive (which is undergoing a name change) all met on Sunday morning. Of course everyone attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the afternoon before the opening reception.

The AGM allows people to put a face to a name and get to know each other, to exchange information and to continue building working relationships. For those of you on the committees who need additional justification to attend the PDC, having these meetings or attending some of the education sessions help with that.

I just want to say, to all those who are a part of these groups who made the effort to arrange and attend the meetings (either physically or, for some, by conference call) – thanks for your commitment and effort. Keep up the good work. Your effort does not go unnoticed.

Partnerships and Relationships – what is your chapter involved in?

Partnerships and Relationships are important on every level of this organization, to realize our vision, goals and objectives.

There are some things that CSSE is involved with on a global organizational basis and the rest is left up to the chapters to decide which programs and organizations they wish to partner with.

Nationally the CSSE has partnerships and formalized relationships with Minerva, INSHPO, CCOHS, OHS Magazine, BCRSP as well as organizations such as IOSH and ASSE.

Examples of things that chapters have been involved in or built strong relationships and partnerships with are the Canadian Blood Services , Habitat for Humanity and Threads of Life just to name a few.

If you know of organizations or programs that your CSSE chapter is involved with please contact me with details or have your chapter executive share it with others at the Regional Council Meeting prior to the CSSE PDC.

Choices

I wanted to share with you the outcomes of a couple of recent conversations that I have had regarding the value of membership within the CSSE and whether CSSE was meeting people’s needs. Maybe I just want to poke a couple of bears with a stick today to see what comments I get – see if anyone is really reading the blog.

As President sometimes people call or email me and want to talk about the CSSE and what they think it should be. In the last 2 weeks I have had 3 conversations to the effect where the CSSE - at the chapter level - was not meeting the person’s needs or wants. After some discussion all three conversations lead to a few choices that the individuals would need to make.

Choice # 1 – quit.

Choice # 2 – tell someone within the chapter level about their thoughts & concerns. We can learn from each other and need to try new things on all levels of the organization to keep things fresh and interesting. Needs within our chapter and regional membership may and will change and we need to keep open lines of communication to ensure that we at least feel heard. I know at the board level we are trying to get a pulse of what the needs are by performing needs surveys, communicating with regional and chapter executive etc… but that does not mean that everyone has participated and stated their opinion.

Choice # 3 – keep the membership because it looks good on a wall or helps with the CRSP maintenance points and do not attend meetings or activities – while still complaining; or

Choice # 4 – get involved. I like this one the best. In the 1990’s – not sure what year it was now – but I remember that I had a choice with the CSSE. It was an organization that was in trouble and I had to make a choice – go somewhere else or get involved and make a difference. I feel I made the right choice – I am proud to be a CSSE member. There are different ways of being involved and I think that we are seeing the fruits of those labours and how others in the profession are affected, especially with the numbers we are seeing with new membership. Or maybe this Gandhi quote is one that would be more appropriate when it comes to involvement. “We must be the change we wish to see in the world”,.. or in our case, the CSSE.

I encourage each one of you to get what you want and need out of the CSSE by being an active member. I am not sure who said this quote but I think it is a good one for volunteer not-for-profit organizations and their memberships – “you get out of it, what you put in to it!”

What do you think?

Thank you to all those involved with the CSSE!

I am sure that most of you saw the email that went around last week indicating that we have made it over the 3000 mark. Wow!

Looking for ways to attract new members and looking at value to maintain interest and involvement in the CSSE has been a priority for the Board. Initiatives like the new membership campaign – two for the price of one - brought in 96 new members and 65 new members have come from wonderful programs and services, such as our education courses and the PDC.

Whether it is the membership numbers… or the conference we are seeing success from our work. Just to let you know, regarding the annual PDC, we have already made our budget numbers for attendance, exceeded our sponsorship target and have more exhibitors than ever before. With almost 9 weeks to go – we are WAY ahead of last year. And all of this would not be possible if it was not for each one of you… each one of us…. involved within the CSSE working to ensure its future and its success. From some working within the chapter level, talking about the CSSE and the “safety” profession to the communities we live in… to our national and international campaigns such as NAOSH Week, each one of these activities or conversations bring credibility and growth to our organization. It takes each one of us… so again - Thankyou – and keep on going!

The CSSE is a wonderful organization that has so much potential. With each one of us working toward ensuring that its potential is fulfilled and maintained, only the future knows what we can do within and for the occupational health and safety profession.

Presidential Duties include Attending Out-of-Country Conferences:

IOSH Conference - a look back

I posted an update on the ASSE conference that I attended at the end of June and I’ve received a couple of comments back – thanks.

I thought that I should post something about the only other international conference that we attend in our calendar year – the Institution of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH) Conference in the UK.

I was invited to bring greetings from CSSE at the opening ceremonies and to moderate an afternoon of presentations in the health stream at the IOSH Conference in Telford, England, which ran Monday March 26 to Wednesday March 28, 2007. I have included a couple of pictures from the event.

I get to formally represent CSSE membership at only two international, out of country, Professional Development events - the ASSE and IOSH conferences - specifically chosen by the board for the President to attend. The NAOSH Week Chair / Secretary attends an out of country function – the National Launch event for the ASSE in Washington every year. There is also a meeting of INSHPO that our representative makes once a year somewhere else in the world.

I know that there have been some comments asking why we are attending these functions out of country and I cannot fully express how important this really is. It is truly an investment in the CSSE’s future – in our initiatives, activities, programming, and if we are bringing value to our members from a global perspective.

The fact that contacts are made and experiences are shared, which become resources available to assist with common issues, is tremendous. Information gained and brought back can greatly affect this organization. As we watch IOSH restructure their board and being movers and shakers with getting the safety profession chartered, we can learn and explore how this affects our membership here and abroad. This knowledge helps in discussions and decisions around our Board table. Sharing information at this last IOSH Conference is going to lead to new offerings of professional development sessions and we wouldn’t be in these discussions if we had not built our relationships. And as you all know relationship building needs face-to-face time and communication – whether business or personal.

NAOSH Week would not be what it is today across North America if we had never attended the launches in Washington. There is discussion around international tables with ideas of taking this concept Global, and this would not be influenced if we were not around the tables.

We have increased membership and PDC and other event involvement. We see speakers that are willing to travel and share with us at our PDC. If we were not around the table we would not be in discussions with other safety associations re: partnering of events to increase attendance at our conference and activities.

I guess we can sum it up by saying that through these few trips each year… we bring the CSSE to the world and the world to CSSE. We need to play the game or not… I believe that the CSSE is and should be on the world stage as a leader in the profession. At the moment we are there and we are respected.

Photos from the IOSH Conference, March 2007. Click on each photo for a full description.


Created with Paul's flickrSLiDR.

Day 4: ASSE Professional Development Conference

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

I really enjoyed browsing through the reference bookshop provided at the conference. There are some new resources and ASSE publications available and we will have to ensure that the CSSE’s resource section is updated and expanded accordingly. If you did were not aware that we offer these services do take a look on the website and feel free to order a book or two.

Over the last few days, both Wayne and I have had the chance to meet with executive and representatives from both ASSE and IOSH to further explore opportunities of partnership on possible initiatives. Being able to represent CSSE as a whole, build relationships and bring back information that can specifically affect each of our business units and initiatives has been an important task during this conference. Today I met with the new ASSE President – Mike Thompson – and we have agreed to strengthen the relationship between our organizations. We scheduled future meetings to specifically look at possible initiatives and programs that we can work on together to bring value to both organizations and their members.

I looked back over the last couple of days and realized how many of us from Canada attend this conference either as delegates or as speakers. I was wondering if we need to create a little CSSE networking opportunity and arrange an informal meeting time for those from Canada at the international lounge in future years? I could arrange a date and time and distribute the information amongst those who we know are going to attend or as a general CSSE communication. What do you think?

Due to the availability of spots to the Disney World Technical Tour it was full by the time I asked about it – so no Disney World for me this time. Tomorrow will be a day of travel from this wonderful adventure back to Saskatoon.

I would like some feedback from individuals who have attended both the ASSE conference and the CSSE conference in the past. What are some of the things that help you decide to go to the ASSE event over the CSSE’s conference? What are some things that we can learn from the ASSE PDC that we could do at the CSSE’s event that would bring extra value to those that attend? I look forward to your comments so that we can learn and improve.

Day 3: ASSE Professional Development Conference

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

So by today the ASSE wellness program was a bit much – a joke. The convention centre is so large and the general session theater seemed miles away from the general sessions, exhibit and lunch areas. It did allow for plenty of movement and walking between the sessions.

Today was the Associations Luncheon that both Wayne and I were invited to attend by President Don Jones. It is an informal forum where many associations gather to update other like-minded and topic specific organizations about what we have been up to in the last year as well as where we are going with initiatives. Groups represented around the table were: ASSE, CSSE, IOSH, BCSP, ACHMM, ACGIH, and the AIH. (To learn more about any of these organizations, feel free to Google the acronyms for definitions about who they are and want they do in relation to the safety profession). I found it very interesting that competencies, advancing the society in general, raising standards within the profession and certifications were among the most discussed topics around the table. I will be able to bring back some of this information to our Executive as well as our task forces to assist them with future programming.

This long day ended with the international practice specialty forum and dinner. This is one of the practice specialty groups that I personally belong to with my ASSE membership, so have attended this meeting for that last few years and was very impressed at the forward movement this group has made. One of our CSSE members is the Editor of the group newsletter. Attending these types of meetings allowed me to take a closer look at specialty and common interest groups and how the CSSE could provide such an opportunity to our membership for information and networking.

Day 2: ASSE Professional Development Conference

Monday, June 25, 2007

The Opening General Session started at 7:45 am, which meant that the other invited speakers and I needed to be in the “green room” just after 7:00 am. The President brings fraternal greeting to the opening ceremonies. I will try to post the video of the greeting and if not I will at least post a copy of my notes so you can get an idea of my address. It was a wonderful opportunity to introduce CSSE and their representation to the general ASSE public. The feedback was very positive and it was the basis of many new discussions and relationships.

There are more than 200 sessions that offer a wealth of information offered at the conference. Sessions include: training, organization successes, opportunities for improvement, to a variety of methodologies and tools. Wayne Glover and I divided up some of the sessions to ensure better coverage and allowed us to review many more speakers that could be considered for our PDC program. Having both of us at the conference also allowed us to have more conversations with key people from both ASSE and IOSH to further our relationships and explore future possibilities.

As with any conference you have some sessions with good presenters, some with good content experts, some with people who are both and some with neither. I had a few from every category but took something away from each of them. I attended one session that particularly stood out in my mind; it was a session with Keith Robinson who spoke to environmental compliance for those who have both a safety and an environmental role. It was good basic to intermediate information that you could truly walk away with and use. As we advance with our PDCs are there certain topics that we should include more than we have in the past?

Day 1: ASSE Professional Development Conference

Sunday June 24, 2007

As President we are asked to attend two conferences beyond our own PDC – one is the IOSH conference in England – usually held in the spring (I will update you on what happened at that event over the summer), and the ASSE conference in the US; this year being held in Orlando, Florida – Disney World here I come.

This conference is the ASSE premiere Safety Health and Environment event of the year and features the most extensive educational and networking opportunities offered to the profession in the US.

Upon my arrival in Orlando I found my hotel and the conference centre and took some time to settle in. That consisted of much more that unpacking my bags in the hotel room… I needed to find my way around the huge conference centre to register and then locate the room that was to hold the opening ceremonies rehearsal. All ceremonies here are quite formalized and rehearsals go along with what is necessary. Sitting in on the end of their House of Delegates meeting gave me some perspective of how they run their business and some of the proposed bylaw changes. Good information for me as I lead the CSSE in the next couple years and set up the agenda for our meeting in September.

A quick visit to the kick off / welcome reception / exposition area was enlightening. I realized that if I wanted to see the whole exposition area and booths I would have to spend additional time in the area if I was to see all of the hundreds of exhibitors. Great Exposition.

Wayne Glover and I were invited to attend the ASSE Fellows Reception – a black tie optional dinner with the ASSE Executive and all Past Presidents and Fellows of the organization. This evening event is to recognize and respect the individuals who have given time and knowledge to the organization present and over the past years at the Executive level. It was a very pleasant evening getting to know some of these commended individuals better and meeting others for the first time. Along with representation from our organization, ASSE and IOSH representatives where also in attendance, giving us another opportunity to communicate with their associations. This evening was a great way to build relationships within a social environment and set up or confirm meeting schedules for the next couple of days.

President’s Message – Spring 2007 Contact Newsletter

THE JOURNEY TOWARDS AN “INTELLIGENT ASSOCIATION”

People have asked me outright what my agenda is and where I would like to lead the organization.

What is an association? It’s a group of people who voluntarily come together to solve common problems, meet common needs and accomplish common goals.

I believe the four obligations of leadership of this organization are:

1. To ensure that the leadership team has access to a common stream of information from members and stakeholders that allows it to understand their views of the world.

2. To provide a coherent stream of information back to members and stakeholders that allows them to understand not just what decisions have been made, but why.

3. To bridge the gap between members’/stakeholders’ views of the world and the views held by those who seek to earn the right to lead them.

4. To understand that in the voluntary nature of associations, people choose to engage because they perceive that it is in their own self-interest to do so.

I believe that the keys to sustaining success are to have a reputation for value by providing a portfolio of good stuff; creating an enjoyable culture – based on trust and communication; and a nimble infrastructure – that allows us to quickly seize opportunities to create value.

I want to continue to support the association’s journey to be, and maintain it as, an “intelligent association”. An intelligent association is about sustaining knowledge and using it well – to ensure that value is being received.

What does that look like? Let me try to explain.

An intelligent association defines what will constitute value. The CSSE leadership team works hard to reach consensus on what will constitute success for our organization. This clear direction continuously directs the leadership team’s judgment as it makes decisions on the allocation of resources. I believe there has to be an emphasis on having a written plan that reflects the definition of measurable success and is truly strategic. The success measures and strategic direction needs to drive the activities of all staff and volunteer work groups, as well as the organization’s annual operational strategies.

An intelligent association uses the strategic intent to develop strategy. The board wants to ensure that the strategic direction and its intent is a living reality and is regularly updated and implemented by the CSSE. We have been reviewing the direction at each of the board meetings. The strategic direction acts as a clarifying guide as the organization constantly reviews and updates its current portfolio of programs, products and services, including what new programs, products and services need to be developed and implemented in order for the organization to remain relevant, as well as what current programs, products, and services need to be updated or eliminated in order for the portfolio to be the highest quality.

We are working to ensure effective and efficient processes to connect the strategic direction with the organization’s annual operational plan. The strategic direction drives and directs the annual budget. Within an intelligent organization, the infrastructure needs to be reviewed at least annually to ensure that it is well linked to and effectively supports the ongoing implementation of the strategic direction.

This type of organization uses effective procedures and processes to formatively evaluate the strategic direction, implementation and achievement of outcomes.

Implementing, Monitoring and Adjusting strategy is another component of an intelligent association. The leadership team engages in continuous strategic dialogue to ensure that what is promised and defined in the strategic direction is successfully delivered. It is important that we have a process in place to evaluate the plan’s progress and success and to hold the leadership team accountable. Continued successful implementation of the strategic direction and demonstration of the value that it brings to members and other key stakeholders are significant forces in creating and retaining a positive organizational image and reputation in the marketplace.

An intelligent association earns a reputation for relevance. The leadership team must clearly understand what the membership both wants and needs. These needs and wants are effectively identified through continuous external and internal scanning and marketing research. The knowledge developed from the research and scanning assist the leadership team in developing and sustaining a powerful value proposition that is viewed as high quality, relevant and indispensable. The value proposition is delivered through a successfully implemented value discipline and organizational behavior at all levels. Enterprise, group and individual behavior supports the strategic direction. The organization must be positioned to earn a brand reputation for excellence, strong character and relevance. The success of this creates opportunities to sustain relevancy because members and other key stakeholders are then motivated to participate in variety of forums for knowledge exchange.

An intelligent association sustains knowledge and uses it well. The leadership team must work to maintain its will to continually utilize a knowledge-based governance strategy including focusing on the organization’s key strategic challenges and opportunities, monitoring performance and achieving desired outcomes, adjusting strategy and policy as changes in the environment, new opportunities or challenges and maintaining the necessary planning and policy tools of intelligent governance.

The leadership team’s governance processes for work and decision-making earn the trust of members so that they view the functioning of governance as credible and legitimate. Governance needs to be seen as credible so the process by which decisions are made is one based on rationality rather than political power and the reasonable use of information gathered from a variety of sources. The governance process is viewed as legitimate because volunteers believe that the views of all important voices were part of the conversation that led to the judgment.

We need to work to sustain a reputation for credibility and legitimacy because we utilize knowledge-based decision making. We have dialogue before deliberation and the integration of strategic thinking in all elements of its governance. Our leadership team needs to continue to sustain this strategic thinking and focus by periodically re-examining and reaching consensus on what will constitute value and success and reaffirming strategic direction.

My agenda is to see to what extent our organization possesses the components of an intelligent association and that we think with some foresight.

A couple of words about NAOSH Week: May 6 – 12, 2007

I have been wanting to formally congratulate the NAOSH Week committee on the wonderful organization of this year’s NAOSH Week. The information packages and posters that supported the well thought out themes were top notch. All the planning and work that went into this year’s National Launch paid off. As some of you may know, it is the President’s job to host the event. We made history with our National Launch Event by having representation from all three North American countries - Canada, the United States and Mexico - making it a true North American event, with over 200 people in attendance. This was a great opportunity to profile the CSSE with the CEO Health & Safety Leadership Charter, through the involvement of Duncan Hawthorne and the CSSE, by providing a forum in which two CEO’s signed the Charter in front of our large audicence. In lieu of a gift to Mr. Hawthorne, a donation of $1,000 was made to the Threads of Life organization – some of our CSSE money put for good use. The launch in Halifax was a success and that is thanks to the local organizing and the CSSE NAOSH Week committees and of course all of the participants.

As I traveled across our nation that week, I saw NAOSH Week newspaper articles, posters, activities and news coverage. We are making a difference in raising the profile of Occupational Health and Safety within our country. It is great to see so many organizations, government officials, industry sectors and individuals involved in activities that promote health and safety in the workplace and within our communities. The CSSE’s representation at events and activities across the border in the US is another way we show our support and commitment to the greater global aspects of health and safety.

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) hosted a national launch event in Washington, D.C. at the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Headquarters on May 7th. Participants included ASSE, CSSE, OSHA Officials and Staff, OSHA Alliance Program Partners and 30 families whose children had participated in the ASSE’s Safety on the Job Poster Contest. The families traveled to Washington from 13 different states and paid their own way to the event. In total there were approx. 150 people at the morning launch event. Greetings on behalf of CSSE were given by our Secretary, Andrew Cooper. Our cooperative participation on both sides of the border through our relationship with the ASSE is an important one.

Later in the day, a second NAOSH Week event was held at the Capitol Building, the centre of the US Government. This reception focused on transportation safety and included the official awards ceremony for the poster contest winners. Andrew Cooper brought greetings from Canada to this gathering as well, which included the CSSE’s NAOSH Week experiences and activities. Andrew has been a wonderful supporter of NAOSH Week and has been very pleased to carry on all the hard work that Art Nordholm has lead with the NAOSH Week committee over the last few years.

It is wonderful to see our CSSE joint initiatives spread across our country and across country borders. Our success within this initiative emphasizes the importance of our organization and of everyone within it, as we move this profession and its agenda of working to keep people healthy and safe, forward.

Item for comment: The ASSE went one step further this year during NAOSH Week and supported a Safety Professional’s Day on the Wednesday of NAOSH Week. What do you think? Should we do that here in Canada as well?


CSSE Secretary, Andrew Cooper and US Assistant Secretary of Labor (OSHA), Edwin G. Foulke Jr. celebrate with the winners of the ASSE’s Safety-on-the-Job Poster Contest.

NAOSH Week Launch

Here are some photos from the NAOSH (North American Occupational Safety & Health) Week launch event held in Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 7, 2007. Click on each photo for a full description.


Created with Paul's flickrSLiDR.

Welcome to my Blog!

The CSSE President's role is an exciting one that I get to share so little of with all the society's members. So, following in Lisa Fowlie's (IOSH President) footsteps, I too have decided to start a blog, to share some of the many aspects and adventures that I and the other Executive have within our roles on the Board. I hope that this blog will help you understand what the President and other Board Members do. As well, I would like to share some of the great experiences we’ve had as the Board Executive. It will be a forum for me to provide details about the meetings I attend, the places I go, some of the things that I am involved in, issues or concerns that are brought forth and introduce my audience to some of the great people that I meet. I will also be commenting on the other Board Members' activities and some of the great things that they have been working on.

I am also excited about giving you the opportunity to provide me with feedback, which can easily be done by clicking on the word "comment" underneath each post or feel free to email me directly if you prefer your comments remain offline. Please review the blogging guidelines at right before you begin and keep the comments relevant.

I would like to ask that my audience be patient with me... this is my first time blogging and it may take me awhile to get the hang of it. I will do my best to post fresh articles and pictures and to respond to your comments as quickly as possible - but please do remember that I have a day job!