EMP Canada Review of 2008
and Projections for 2009
We are a national and international first aid and industrial safety training agency that has Training Centres from coast to coast in Canada.
Our instructor and student training materials focus on our unique low-stress, easy learning, “seeing, hearing and doing” instructional methodology. The courses/programs that we have developed are recognized by both the federal and provincial governments of Canada. In addition, our Emergency Medical Responder (Ambulance Attendant) course has been approved and recognized by the EMA Licensing Branch of British Columbia and the Alberta College of Paramedics. The uniqueness of these rulings/approvals is that we are the only training agency in Canada who is able to offer Occupational First Aid training (OFA Level Three) that is recognized coast to coast in Canada.
The importance of the above statements supports our belief that we are, as a company, now positioned to achieve the goals that we set a number of years ago. It takes more than having a dream and working hard to achieve these goals. It takes a great many outside influences to come together at the right moment. In our case, this is now occurring and I am absolutely confident that 2009 will see EMP Canada position itself to take advantage of the changing market place.
In the light of the Middle East continuing conflicts, western Canada becomes more desirable to not only the USA, but also to China and Japan who need our resources. That extrapolates to more development in the north of Canada and in particular, an increase in the conventional as well as offshore drilling operations which in turn leads to more pipelines.
To be more specific, since President Obama has focused on his/USA’s revised image and role in foreign policy, we see great change occurring both in the immediate and long-term future. From a standpoint of Canada, we see a dramatic focus on the gas industry as well as the resource industry in general.
Focusing for the moment on the oil and gas, we see a continued increase in conventional drilling as well as an increase in the activity in the areas of tar sands development. These two alone bring with them tremendous differences in the structure of industrial response to the perceived needs. That is, in the oil and gas, there is an increase in seismic operations as well as exploratory and conventional drilling and new plants being erected in the tar sands area of Athabasca. This in turn reflects on huge pipelines coming down from the north, down the McKenzie, across western Canada into the eastern seaboard. There are other pipelines reaching from the areas of Athabasca through to new ports being constructed in Kitimat, BC. These delivery points will not only bring oil and gas and other resources through to the United States, but also through to the Asian markets such as China and Japan.
How does this effect EMP Canada and what do we see as a result/benefit from all of this development?
Very briefly, the thousands of employees that are required to construct a six billion dollar tar sands plant are only a tip of the iceberg. When we multiply it by several plants, we begin to get some concept of the employees involved. Add to this the pipeline that is coming down from Alaska through Canada, through the First Nations land, down the McKenzie and then heading to the eastern seaboard. In addition, there is the pipeline already under construction from Edmonton through to Kitimat where a new port is being built. This port is designed to facilitate the oil and gas and other resources that are to be exported to the USA and the Asian markets.
With every camp, as with every drilling rig, as with every seismic crew, as with the logging camps, etc., etc., they bring with it the requirement for MEDIC FIRST AID® training. All of the employees who are engaged in these huge projects have to be trained with a minimum of what would be equivalent to the MEDIC FIRST AID® Workplace Level One certification. More importantly, provincial legislation requires medical response in all of these remote areas that can meet the demands of the accidents and injuries that occur on these mega projects.
Mobile treatment vehicles and Occupational First Aid Attendants have to be literally everywhere the camps are situated. On every rig, every logging area, every section of pipeline, the provincial and federal legislation requires mobile treatment vehicles with Occupational First Aid Attendants to be on-hand. This requires advanced training for these individuals to meet the provincial and federal requirements as laid down by those various government bodies.
As we begin to identify some of this potential, and it will be exponential over these next few years, we begin to get some concept of what we are dealing with. However, in order to meet the demands of industry, EMP Canada has to be ready in its multiple delivery disciplines that focus on the demands of not only industry, but also the federal and provincial regulations.
With all of the above in mind, we have developed the MEDIC FIRST AID® and industrial safety programs to meet these perceived demands. As an example, all of our programs have been approved by the government of British Columbia as well as Alberta Human Resource Workplace Health and Safety and Human Resource Development Health Canada, Labour Canada. Further, these programs have been similarly recognized by each of the WCB/OH&S provincial offices across Canada.
Lists of these training programs, both MEDIC FIRST AID® and industrial safety, are attached to this report.
As a further point of interest, our 76-Hour Advanced Workplace Level Three Supplement course has been targeted by HRD Canada and Alberta Human Resource Workplace Health and Safety as being the program meeting the needs of first aid attendants in remote areas of northern Canada. More specifically, it targets mobile treatment vehicle attendants as well as Occupational First Aid Attendants. Further, in British Columbia, this same 76-Hour Advanced Workplace Level Three Supplement course meets and is more than equivalent to the WCB/BC Level Three course.
In essence, this means that our training program meets the requirements of the employees in the oil industry who are, by the nature of their employment, very migratory and move across the western Canada provincial borders. In particular, Alberta and British Columbia and the Northwest Territories are target areas for the oil industry and their employees move across provincial borders almost every day. The importance of this statement is that with one course, we are able to meet the needs of multiple provincial regulations that eliminate the oil and gas employees being trained multiple, multiple times.
As we have already mentioned in this report, EMP Canada focuses on the development of Training Centres throughout our nation from coast to coast. We are pleased to identify that many of the community colleges throughout the provinces are Training Centres with our agency, such as the following in western Canada:
- Portage College, Lac la Biche, Alberta
- Grant MacEwan Community College, Edmonton, Alberta
- Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton, High Level, Peace River and
- Fairview, Bonneville, Alberta
- Bow Valley College, Calgary, Alberta
- Lethbridge College, Lethbridge, Alberta
- Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Calgary, Alberta
- British Columbia Institute of Technology, Vancouver, British Columbia
- College of the Rockies, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Invermere and Creston campuses in British Columbia
- Thompson Rivers University, Williams Lake, British Columbia
- City of Edmonton
- City of Vancouver GVRD
Similarly, we have Training Centres who mirror the above colleges throughout all of the provinces in the east to Nova Scotia. In Nova Scotia, we have the Nova Scotia Construction Safety Association as a Training Centre and it delivers our MEDIC FIRST AID® training programs to all of its union members throughout that province.
As a further point of interest, the City of Calgary is also a Training Centre for our organization where the EMS Department members are our instructors and trainers. They in turn deliver training to all of the departments throughout the City of Calgary such as administration, parks, fire department, etc.
Another very important point to recognize is that our Emergency Medical Responder program has been approved/recognized by the EMA Licensing Branch of British Columbia and the Alberta College of Paramedics. This program enables us to train ambulance attendants and, we are presently involved in the training of some 800 City of Calgary Firefighters who are seeking EMR (Emergency Medical Responder) Training. This may expand to other areas in Alberta.
EMP Canada MEDIC FIRST AID® courses
• Emergency First Aid Occupational
Level One – Eight (8) hours
Emergency Management including C Spine Control, Obstructed Airways,
Artificial Respiration and CPR in Adults, Bleeding, Records and Reports.
This course is recognized by WCB / BC.
• EMP Canada Emergency First Aid – Eight
(8) hours
Emergency Medical Management, C Spine Control, Obstructed Airways, Artificial
Respiration and CPR in Adults, Bleeding, Records and Reports. This course
is recognized by each of the WCB / OH&S offices across Canada.
• Emergency Child Care – Eight (8) hours
Artificial Respiration, Wounds and Bleeding, Fractures, Head and Spine
Injuries, Shock and Unconsciousness, Child and Infant CPR, Hypothermia,
Burns, Poisoning, Epilepsy and Convulsions
• Standard First Aid – Sixteen (16) hours
Artificial Respiration, Choking, CPR for Adult, Bleeding, Shock and
Unconsciousness, Head and Spine Injuries
• Advanced MEDIC FIRST AID® training –
Twenty-four (24) Hours
Assessment-Based Anatomy and Physiology – Use of Oxygen –
Advanced Primary Assessment Circle of Care – Trauma Care –
Triage and the use of Blood Pressure Cup
• Advanced MEDIC FIRST AID® - Seventy-six
(76) hours
This Advanced MEDIC FIRST AID® course offers lay person training
in pre-hospital emergency care beyond the Basic Life MEDIC FIRST AID®
level. It takes the essential skills of patient care to a higher level
of assessment and care. It provides training that targets those individuals
in remote areas such as logging camps – oil drilling and seismic
camps. It is recognized by Health Canada, Labour Canada and each of
the WCB offices across Canada and in Manitoba is recognized as being
more than equivalent to their OFA Level Three.
• Automated External Defibrillator training –
Four (4) to Six (6) hours
Shows review of CPR and first aid – instruction in the operation,
procedures of administering the AED and troubleshooting. This course
has been recognized by WCB / BC as well as Health Canada, Labour Canada
and has medical direction already in place. In addition, we also have
this course on computer based distance learning via our website.
• Emergency Medical Responder training –
One hundred sixty-five (165) hours (broken into two major modules)
The first module of the EMR course is the 76-Hour Advanced Workplace
Level Three Supplement training program. This is the pre-requisite module
prior to starting the Emergency Medical Responder course. The EMR module
consists of some 40 hours of didactic training and a further 25 hours
of self-study which results in the individual being ready to take the
licensing exam with the EMA Licensing Branch in British Columbia. Further,
those wishing to do the same in Alberta are able to do so with a modified
version of the EMR.
ADANAC Industrial Safety Training courses
• Confined Space Entrant and Attendant
– Four (4) hours
This program will enable employers to comply with provincial OH&S
Acts and the federal COSH labour code. Provides skills to identify hazards
related to confined spaces and how to control those hazards.
• Confined Space Entrant and Attendant Plus –
Eight (8) hours
This program combines all of the above skill development plus allows
the participants to engage in hands-on confined space entry skill scenarios.
• Confined Space Entry Supervisor
This program provides all of the above skill development plus includes
the highest standards and state-of-the-art safety assessment principles
to provide effective safety training for the people responsible for
controlling confined space entry.
• Confined Space Rescue Operations
This course is designed to provide participants with the skills and
knowledge to perform rescues from confined spaces – conducting
the initial assessment to controlling the hazards – packaging
the patient and performing the extraction.
• High Angle Rescue
This provides the Technical Rope Rescue training that enables rescue
teams to perform tower rescues, etc.
• Fall Restraint / Fall Arrest
This industrial safety training program takes the employee through fall
protection – personal fall arrest systems – fall forces
– equipment maintenance and emergencies.
• Incident Command / Incident Management
The objective is to provide the applicants with a structured plan that
is used to identify and implement a sight incident management system.
It takes a mix of prevention, planning, preparation, training and communication
to create and sustain an Incident Command system.
• Lift Truck / Manlift Employee Safety Training –
Eight (8) hours
This course reviews types of lift trucks and their parts – pre-shift
inspections and basic operation – what refuelling and record keeping
– general lift truck and manlift safety training rules
• Respiratory Protection Awareness – Four
(4) hours
This course takes the applicant through the selection of respiratory
protection equipment – identification of hazards – how to
don and doff a respirator, fit testing and maintenance – clean
up and care of respirator
• Confined Space Entry / Attendant Hydro Specific
This course is designed for use in hydro plants such as BC Hydro and
addresses the very specific needs of that industry.
• Hazard Communication
This program is designed as a support for Confined Space Entry and deals
with communication equipment that is designed to meet the needs of hazardous
confined space atmospheric conditions.
• Lock-Out / Tag-Out
This program is designed as a support for Confined Space Entry and enables
the elimination of any other hazards that exist prior to the entry taking
place.
• Accident Investigation / Job Safety Analysis
This brings in all of the skills that are associated with the numerous
industrial safety training programs and allows an analysis to take place
prior to or subsequent to an industrial accident. It identifies the
hazards that exist and how to control and eliminate those hazards.
• Ground Disturbance in the Workplace
This training program is for any employee who may be expected to complete
work-related tasks that expose them to danger when working in or adjacent
to an area to be excavated. This training program will provide students
with the essential knowledge necessary to help reduce or eliminate the
occupational risk when performing any task that requires a disturbance
of the ground.
• Fire Defence and Extinguisher Training
Fire is one of the most common hazards in the workplace, it is important
for each and everyone to know how to properly use a fire extinguisher.
Prevention is always the best safety policy to follow however, should
a fire occur this program will help to understand how to calmly and
effectively deal with that situation.
• ATV Operator Employee Training
This course will teach students how to operate an All-Terrain Vehicle.
In addition to the rules and procedures in this course, there are other
regulations that may apply to operating an ATV. Examples include standards
covering personal protective equipment and public land restrictions,
etc.
Earlier in this report I mentioned that we are attaching lists of our MEDIC FIRST AID® and industrial safety training programs and our purpose is to identify that we are ready to meet the demands of industry. The training required for all of the employees that are going to be invading the resource areas of western Canada and northern Canada are required by legislation to meet the MEDIC FIRST AID® and industrial safety training standards of the province in which they are working. In this light, the rulings/recognitions that we have received have positioned us to meet all of the industrial requirements and we offer the oil industry a harmonization that they seek.
For more information about EMP Canada contact the following:
EMP Canada Services Ltd.
#3 – 10114 McDonald Park Road
Sidney, BC V8L 5X8
(250) 656-1468 phone
(888) 890-9698 toll free
(250) 656-5613 fax
empcanada@shaw.ca
