Winner worries about OHS impact of cutbacks
It’s not very often an awards committee unanimously agrees on a winner but, this year, the committee for the Canadian Society for Safety Engineering’s Safety Professional of the Year award collectively nominated and chose Jim Allan as the recipient.
“I really felt humbled and I couldn’t believe I would be put in for something like that. It was really surprising,” said Allan. “I am very honoured and it is something I really will treasure.”
Throughout his career as a health and safety professional, Allan has seen many changes in the industry. The biggest concern he has right now is health and safety being compromised in the age of downsizing.
“The thought of ‘Let’s cut because it’s easy’ bothers me,” said Allan. “Good companies won’t do it, other companies might, but it’s going to come back and bite you later on.”
Cutting health and safety programs during times like the recession when companies are trying to save as much money as possible will only pose severe problems later on when the workplace safety boards or the ministry of labour gets involved, he said.
Dedication to health and safety must come from upper management, said Allan. Managers need to impress upon employees the importance of a safe workplace. They need to make sure every employee is trained in health and safety and they are properly trained in the specifics of their job before they start working, said Allan.
“People are getting hurt and there are too many accidents that can be avoided,” he said. “There needs to be training, awareness and a follow up later to make sure they’re really applying it.”
Allan was the president of CSSE from 2000 to 2002 and is currently the chair of the ethics committee. He has also been representing the society at the International Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organisations (INSHPO) for the last seven years where he is also the secretary-treasurer.
The network is comprised of health and safety professional organizations from around the world that collaborate on issues in the field. This year, Allan’s term with INSHPO is coming to an end.
“It was a great tie-in because he’s coming down off the board at INSHPO and we thought we really should be honouring him and this is a good year to nominate and recognize him,” said Wayne Glover, executive director of the CSSE. “Jim has given exemplary service to the society.”
Allan was president of CSSE “throughout a great period of turmoil where there wasn’t much money and he helped bring the society through those years and bring us to where we are today,” said Glover.
Allan owns a consulting company, Allan Safety Management in Burlington, Ont., where he helps companies manage health and safety within their own organizations. He founded the company in 2000 after he retired from working for 34 years at Bell Canada.
He started his career in safety at Bell in 1980 as the director of safety for the Ontario region, and he was the associate director of safety for Bell Canada on the corporate level for the last half of his career.
While Allan plans to, some day, retire from his consulting business, he won’t be able to stay away from keeping up on the many changes in the industry.
“I can never leave this,” he said. “You never fully retire from health and safety.”
How the winner is selected
The Safety Professional of the Year Award goes to one member of the CSSE every year for exceptional service to employers, clients or the safety of the community.
Generally, professionals are nominated by two CSSE members and the winner is then selected by the awards committee. The committee evaluates the nominees on technical expertise of occupational health and safety, safety activities and leadership, support of the CSSE chapter, professional contributions and endorsements by clients, employers and other safety professionals.
“It really depends on their level of service, not just to the society but bigger and broader than that, to the profession as a whole, to the work in their company and to their work with various safety organizations,” said Glover. “We look at the entire package.”
Jim Allan, CSSE Safety Professional
of the Year
“I really felt humbled and I couldn’t believe I would be put in for something like that. It was really surprising,” said Allan. “I am very honoured and it is something I really will treasure.”
Throughout his career as a health and safety professional, Allan has seen many changes in the industry. The biggest concern he has right now is health and safety being compromised in the age of downsizing.
“The thought of ‘Let’s cut because it’s easy’ bothers me,” said Allan. “Good companies won’t do it, other companies might, but it’s going to come back and bite you later on.”
Cutting health and safety programs during times like the recession when companies are trying to save as much money as possible will only pose severe problems later on when the workplace safety boards or the ministry of labour gets involved, he said.
Dedication to health and safety must come from upper management, said Allan. Managers need to impress upon employees the importance of a safe workplace. They need to make sure every employee is trained in health and safety and they are properly trained in the specifics of their job before they start working, said Allan.
“People are getting hurt and there are too many accidents that can be avoided,” he said. “There needs to be training, awareness and a follow up later to make sure they’re really applying it.”
Allan was the president of CSSE from 2000 to 2002 and is currently the chair of the ethics committee. He has also been representing the society at the International Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organisations (INSHPO) for the last seven years where he is also the secretary-treasurer.
The network is comprised of health and safety professional organizations from around the world that collaborate on issues in the field. This year, Allan’s term with INSHPO is coming to an end.
“It was a great tie-in because he’s coming down off the board at INSHPO and we thought we really should be honouring him and this is a good year to nominate and recognize him,” said Wayne Glover, executive director of the CSSE. “Jim has given exemplary service to the society.”
Allan was president of CSSE “throughout a great period of turmoil where there wasn’t much money and he helped bring the society through those years and bring us to where we are today,” said Glover.
Allan owns a consulting company, Allan Safety Management in Burlington, Ont., where he helps companies manage health and safety within their own organizations. He founded the company in 2000 after he retired from working for 34 years at Bell Canada.
He started his career in safety at Bell in 1980 as the director of safety for the Ontario region, and he was the associate director of safety for Bell Canada on the corporate level for the last half of his career.
While Allan plans to, some day, retire from his consulting business, he won’t be able to stay away from keeping up on the many changes in the industry.
“I can never leave this,” he said. “You never fully retire from health and safety.”
How the winner is selected
The Safety Professional of the Year Award goes to one member of the CSSE every year for exceptional service to employers, clients or the safety of the community.
Generally, professionals are nominated by two CSSE members and the winner is then selected by the awards committee. The committee evaluates the nominees on technical expertise of occupational health and safety, safety activities and leadership, support of the CSSE chapter, professional contributions and endorsements by clients, employers and other safety professionals.
“It really depends on their level of service, not just to the society but bigger and broader than that, to the profession as a whole, to the work in their company and to their work with various safety organizations,” said Glover. “We look at the entire package.”
Jim Allan, CSSE Safety Professional
of the Year
