Montreal, June 7, 2018 — From May 25 to June 11, the IRSST is hosting a delegation from the University of Occupational and Environmental Health Japan (UOEH). The visit is part of a joint initiative of the IRSST and the Université de Montréal’s School of Public Health (ESPUM) aimed at sharing and raising awareness of Quebec occupational health and safety (OHS) training and research practices.
For two of the researchers in the delegation, Shinobu Yamamoto and Shimpei Yamada, the visit will also be an opportunity to familiarize themselves with Quebec’s OHS system and the role of the main stakeholders in the area of prevention here.
The visit began with a meeting attended by UOEH President Dr. Toshiaki Higashi; André Dufresne, Maximilien Debia and Régis Blais of ESPUM; Dr. Jose Lam, professor of business administration at Memorial University, Newfoundland; and Marie Larue, president and chief executive officer of the IRSST, Kannan Krishnan, the institute’s scientific director, and François Hébert, coordinator of institutional and international relations.
A number of working sessions are planned on subjects of common interest, including industrial hygiene training programs; laboratory management; environmental, toxicological and microbiological analyses; and instrument calibration, not to mention current and upcoming projects in the IRSST’s four areas of research.
Also on the agenda are knowledge transfer with a view to encouraging workplaces and other targeted audiences to make use of research results, as well as the IRSST’s research priorities.
The delegation will visit a number of labs at the Université de Montréal, Concordia University and the École de technologie supérieure. Meetings are also scheduled with the CNESST, as well as with two sector-based OHS associations: the Association paritaire pour la santé et la sécurité du travail du secteur affaires sociales and ASP MultiPrévention.
Left to right: François Hébert (IRSST), Dr. Toshiaki Higashi (UOEH), Régis Blais (ESPUM), Marie Larue (IRSST), Maximilien Debia (ESPUM), Shinobu Yamamoto (UOEH), Dr. Jose Lam, Memorial University, Shimpei Yamada (UOEH), Kannan Krishnan (IRSST) and André Dufresne (ESPUM).
"The Institute, a leader in OHS research in Quebec, has developed a unique approach to research based on joint efforts with employers and employees, and we would like to share our vision and experience with our visitors," explained Ms. Larue. “Furthermore, as a funding agency, another facet of our mission is to help train OHS researchers. Our visitors are particularly interested in Quebec’s OHS system, which covers more than 95% of workers,” she said.
-30-
Source
Maura Tomi
Communication Advisor
IRSST