AgSafe Alberta has a new hotline producers can call
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
An Alberta ag organization has developed a telephone resource to help producers report workplace incidents that occur on their farms.
AgSafe Alberta, which develops delivers safety management tools to the province’s ag industry, has created a hotline for producers to call if a farm experiences a serious incident.
The free, voluntary and confidential hotline is available 24/7 and individuals who call will be directed to an AgSafe Alberta representative.
The resource is important for any operation that will, or may need to have, interactions with Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), said Jody Wacowich, executive director of AgSafe Alberta.
“We want to provide support to the producer through the process as OHS comes out to the farm to do their investigation,” she told Farms.com. “We kind of act like a translator after OHS issues stop work orders or demand letters. We’re able to take that information and help them provide the proper responses to OHS.”
Calling the hotline can also help a producer recalibrate after an incident has taken place.
Filling out paperwork and answering questions from first responders can be mentally taxing, Wacowich said.
“It’s certainly a challenge to understand some of the terminology and trying to learn that side of OHS,” she said. “In that kind of situation where maybe something has happened to someone close to you, it can be pretty stressful and we want to be there to help you through the process.”
Jody Wacowich/Edmonton Journal photo