For research that generates change

2006: For research that generates change

The implementation of the Strategic Plan ‒ Daring to Change! led to vast organizational restructuring, including the creation of the Scientific Division, the Research and Expertise Division (REXD), the Strategic Watch Department, the Statistical Research and Surveillance Group, and the Knowledge Transfer and Partner Relations Department.

With the collaboration of the IRSST’s laboratories, Innovation Maritime developed a prototype of a modern, efficient portable system for analyzing and sampling breathable compressed air.

From here on, the Institute would play a role in defining standards for nanotechnologies as it was invited to serve on the ISO TC229 technical committee. It also helped establish NE3LS a research network that focuses on the ethical, economic, legal, social and environmental aspects of these new technologies.

Marketing of the anti-vibration handle

The company Parts HeadQuarters marketed the anti-vibration handle, which significantly reduces the transmission of vibrations to miners’ hands and bodies. The handle was desiged by the Groupe d’acoustique de l’Université de Sherbrooke and the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET), whose work was funded by the IRSST.

Support for Brazilians

The IRSST played a role in improving occupational health and safety in Brazil by participating in an international project featuring partners such as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Agence brésilienne de cooperation (ABC). A consortium formed by Ryerson University, the Industrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA), the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) and the IRSST worked together on this project. Oneo of the programs piloted by the IRSST was aimed at strengthening capacity of the Brazilian administrators of SESI (Serviço Social da Industria), an organization offering social services to companies in Brazil to help them compile, keep records of and analyze data on accidents, occupational injuries and working conditions, particularly in SMEs.

Annual institutional colloquium

In its Plan triennal pour une recherche porteuse de changements 2006‒2008 (three-year plan for research that generates change 2006‒2008), the IRSST decided to continue its involvement in the organization of large-scale scientific events. In 2006, the Institute began holding an annual institutional colloquium where members of Québec’s research community could convene to exchange ideas and knowledge on topics or issues of a transdisciplinary nature. Under the theme La recherche en santé et en sécurité du travail tournée vers l’avenir, (forward-focused occupational health and safety research), the 2006 colloquium provided a forum for discussing emerging problems in workplaces, the transfer of research knowledge, and the factoring of these elements into research strategies.

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