Senior High Science Technicians Meeting
Sir Winston Churchill High School
12 December, 2006
Present: Marzena Curyk, Shraddha Dholabhai, Kathy Lepard, Tai Leung,
Helen Li, Dawn Martin, Marilyn McLachlan, Rebecca Michaels, Theresa
Michiel, Nasreen Muhammad, Mary Shelford, Dianne Shellborn, Hanna
Svelka, Karen Williams, Pat Kaiserseder, Jean Minifie, Lori-Jean Schlenker.
Absent: Pat Davey, Leigh Edmonds, Kathleen Grebneff, Lynda Roberts.
Meeting chaired by Dawn Martin and recorded by Theresa Michiel
Thank you to all who brought food, snacks and refreshments for the Christmas
luncheon. Thank you, also to Hanna for the table decorations. A pleasant time
was had by all.
1.
Minutes of 26 September 2006 and of 31 October 2006
minutes of above were accepted with noted changes:
26 September 2006 - minor spelling corrections
31 October 2006 - minor spelling corrections
2.
Lori-Jean Schlenker, Safety Services Coordinator was introduced,
having started her position in May 2006.
Lori-Jean noted that staffing changes were still being made in Safety
Services, notably that Wally Burfield, Industrial Hygiene Specialist had
moved on to other opportunities, that Ray Allen, Safety Advisor would
also be pursuing other interests after January 2007. A new Safety
Services Coordinator, Howard Nickerson, will start his new duties 08
January 2007. He comes to this position from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
His contact information is below:
Howard Nickerson
Phone: 294-8474
Fax: 294-8603
Email: honickerson@cbe.ab.ca
Round table introductions were made for Lori-Jean and Rebecca offered
to forward Science Tech contact information and stats to Lori-Jean.
3.
Safety Services Meeting, 15 November 2006
Karen Williams, Shraddha Dholabhai, Kathy Lepard and Rebecca
Michaels attended this meeting on behalf of Science Techs. There was
felt to be some confusion as to statements made over previous months,
but the meeting appeared to have been positive. At that time, Ray Allen
felt confident that all could work together to increase safety.
Main concerns put forward at this meeting were:
 workload versus safety
 schools that generated Hazardous Waste but were without
TDG Certified Shippers to package and ship waste
 progress on initiating a Health & Safety Committee
 progress of CBE wide MSDS database from Wellnet
Solutions
 Blood level metal testing
 yearly fume hood testing and certification
 Participants to the Hazard Assessment felt rushed and
unprepared as they were not previously informed of set-up
for assessment and were only able to concentrate on 4 or 5
areas of concern from our Position description. Additionally
participants felt that descriptive choices available for each
area of concern did not adequately identify risks or hazards.
It was proposed by the attending Science Technicians, that a Liaison
position would assist Safety Services in addressing the above concerns.
On a side note, Rebecca remarked that she, Mary and Pat would be meeting
with Superintendent John Drysdale on Thursday, 14 December to discuss the
creation of a managerial or supervisory position possibly within the Safety
Services area.
4. Position Description (Jean Minifie)
Jean Minifie, gave a brief description of how the funding for the Science
Tech position was made within the present RAM (Resource Allocation
Method).
A short discussion followed concerning the past formula of Science Tech
weekly hours based on the school’s student population numbers. It was
felt from the discussion that the quantity of work did not diminish if a
school had a smaller enrollment than another school. It was also felt that
the Tech position should be given more hours to safely and efficiently
complete their PD. Also mentioned in this discussion, were schools with
high enrolments, that under the old formula, would have required more
than one Technologist, but were presently only funded for one.
Jean has passed the job evaluations on to Total Compensation and the
suggested re-worded position description. Jean indicated that Glenn
Swanson from the Total Compensation and Employee Information office
requires a supervisor or CL to sign off on the updated PD before it
could go back to the deciding committee.
5.
6.
Training & Recertification for Respirators and TDG
Rebecca suggested that a one day session possibly during our February
convention could be used for respirator fit test and for WHMIS/TDG
recertification
 Lori-Jean offered to check dates during diploma exam
period or teacher’s convention and will coordinate date(s)
with Rebecca
Joint Workplace Health & Safety Committee
Meetings would comprise a small group of representatives from schools
(teachers, Principals and Science Techs) that would view submitted
concerns and present one or two solutions to address these concerns.
Lori-Jean offered that a one day course was available to ‘train’ these
members, the cost of which is approximately $600 for 8-12 participants
It was suggested that Science Techs become the Safety Representative
for their respective schools as we work in all areas of the Science
Department
An OH&S task force will be held Wednesday, 13 Dec which would have
Principals in attendance. Lori-Jean would also attend.
More information on COR and safety committees can be found at:
What is a Partnerships in Health and Safety program?
First established in 1989, the Partnerships in Health and Safety (Partnerships) program
is a voluntary process where government works in partnership with employers and worker
representatives to promote a strong workplace safety culture for Alberta businesses.
http://www.hre.gov.ab.ca/documents/WHS/WHS-PS_InfoSheet1.pdf
Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committee Member’s Guide
http://www.hre.gov.ab.ca/documents/WHS/WHS-PUB_li003.pdf
Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committee Handbook
http://www.hre.gov.ab.ca/documents/WHS/WHS-PUB_li004.pdf
Employer’s Guide: Health and Safety Committees
http://www.hre.gov.ab.ca/documents/WHS/WHS-PUB_li005.pdf
Occupational Health and Safety Code 2006 Explanation Guide
Part 13 Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committee
http://www.hre.gov.ab.ca/documents/WHS/WHS-LEG_ohsc_2006_p13.pdf
7.
Routine Waste Container Labels (Rebecca)
Concerns have been raised that containers are being left are without
labels attached. Appropriate labels must then be secured from Safety
Services before the 10L jugs can be used.
It has also been noted that Shipping names on the Routine waste manifest
presented by EnviroSort does not match names on our waste jugs. A
suggestion was put forward that EnviroSort be invited to a TDG
certification so they would have current information on the stream
labeling that CBE uses.
Tai gave Lori-Jean copies of the current CBE Routine and Non Routine
waste manifest forms.
Lori-Jean will check with Wally to see what was planned for
EnviroSort and carboy labelling.
Theresa gave Lori-Jean a copy of CBE Permit for Equivalent Level of
Safety that Techs carry when transporting chemicals between venues
and schools. This permit will expire 30 April 2007. Lori-Jean will
inquire about having new permit issued.
Lori-Jean also addressed questions concerning an MSDS database that
Wally Burfield had been working on.
Our requested inventory databases had been forwarded to WellNet
Solutions for their online MSDS management program
“Link2MSDS”.
Lori-Jean indicated that there was now some confusion as to what
Wally had sent to WellNet Solutions as the contact person had
since left the company.
Concerns were also raised by Techs that this new database would
be a duplication of materials that Science Techs had put in place
more than 5 years previous.
Lori-Jean explained the setup for the company’s database. Further
questions were directed to the website http://www.wellnetsolutions.com/
where a virtual tour could be found.
8.
Pat Kaiserseder
Old resources from Science 10 and Science 20 i.e. Visions,
An S18 is to be sent to Highfield requesting pick-up for disposal.
Please label these boxes “Not for Reuse” “Not to be
Redistributed”
New resource orders for Chemistry 20 and Biology 20 have an LRC
listed discount to 21Dec2006. This discount at present has been extended
to 30Apr2007
Reminder that Glenn Mitchell - Boreal/ Northwest Scientific has made
arrangements for CBE online purchasing
Concerns were raised that a second signature was needed for all
orders and that online orders needed to be ‘Stopped’ for second
signature before order could be submitted online. This was felt to
diminish the speed of online ordering. Only one school (William
Aberhart) permitted direct online ordering without a second
signature.
Theresa offered information from a recent email, that Prolab Scientific
was available for an Open PO on a school by school basis. Ross Mann
had also indicated in his email that if more schools asked for this status, a
System-Wide PO could be obtained to make ordering easier.
9.
CBE Support Staff Convention (Feb 2007)
Rebecca will try to arrange a tour at SemBioSysis, a biotechnology
company, for Thursday, 15 February during Convention. Company web
address is: http://www.sembiosys.com/
10.
29 January 2007 Meeting
Representatives from both Thomson Nelson and McGraw Hill Ryerson
have been invited to our next meeting. They will be presenting the new
Chemistry 20 and Biology 20 resources that will be available
September 2007. More information will be given closer to the meeting.
Please note that this is a date, time AND room change from our regular
meetings.
Date: Monday, 29 January 2007
Chair: Theresa
Time: 9:00 AM
Recorder: Nasreen
Sir Winston Churchill High School, Room 101
Enter at the door in Main Entrance