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INDUSTRY LED, RESULTS DRIVEN PAGE | 4 Risk Assessment Workshop In October of 2024, worker and management representatives from Metro, Farm Boy, Longo's, Sobeys and Whole Foods collaborated to identify and address the health and safety hazards that are harming grocery store workers. Facilitated by WSPS, the risk assessment workshop for the grocery store sector fostered candid discussion about how workers are getting hurt and pinpointed the top ten risks that need to be addressed. "When we bring together front-line workers from various companies, it really highlights the commonalities they share and helps everyone work as a team towards the same goal," said Melissa Morin, Health and Safety Consultant with WSPS. Melissa facilitated the workshops. She was encouraged by the engagement and enthusiasm of everyone in the room. "The people in the room were so passionate and really understood what we were there to do," she said. The participants came to the table with 36 hazardous events that, from their perspective, were harming grocery store workers. Through in-depth discussion, they narrowed down the list to the top ten. Brittany Marchese, the Sobeys worker representative, found the workshop environment to be fun and educational. "It was a very engaging environment, and it was great to be part of the conversation," she said. Participating as a management representative for Sobeys, Kathleen Couto reflected on how she and Brittany can use the information gathered from the discussion. "The greatest value in participating was the insight gained from listening," said Kathleen. "When it comes to MSDs, I believe that we can do a better job of bringing ongoing awareness to the hazards and going beyond the initial training employees receive when they are first onboarded." Brittany added that a lot of the information they brought back to their workplace surprised many of the employees. Slips and trips were second to MSDs from handling product on the list of the top ten risks for the grocery store workers. Lacerations from working with equipment came third. Workplace stress leading to mental harm and workplace harassment were fourth and fifth on the list. Struck-by hazards and falls were sixth and seventh. Workplace violence related to rising crime came in at number eight. Slips from ice build-up near freezers and lacerations from hand tools finished off the list in the ninth and tenth spots. " " "I think it is a great idea to hear directly from people working in grocery retail as they are better equipped to highlight the challenges they face. Having worker representatives participate in the workshop was ideal, and I really appreciated their input." —Lou Della Rovere, Manager, Health & Safety – GTA, Metro " " "This was a great experience. The facilitation team was excellent and all of the participants were highly engaged. I felt very comfortable with sharing my experience and hearing the experiences of others." —Andrew Peeters, Health & Safety Specialist – GTA & SWO, Farm Boy The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development's (MLITSD) risk assessment and root- cause analysis workshops provide a transparent and collaborative approach to tackling occupational health and safety issues. This proven methodology focuses on leading indicators, rather than lagging indicators, and leverages the knowledge and insights of front-line workers and managers. It involves two workshops: the first focuses on a risk assessment to identify high-risk events. The second focuses on isolating the root causes of a selected high-risk event and generating recommended actions.

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