Bill Nichol










A CONVERSATION WITH BILL NICHOL
(as appeared in Winter 2008 edition (Vol. 29, #1) of contact, the CSSE’s newsletter. Reprinted with permission.)

Current Position
I am a health and safety officer with the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission of New Brunswick (WHSCC).

I am responsible for inspecting, investigating and testing workplace conditions to ascertain that standards are being met by the workplace in providing a safe and healthy place of employment for workers. I am expected to initiate and follow up corrective action if required to improve these situations and circumstances to comply with the Occupational Health & Safety Act and Regulations, as well as any other applicable standards. I play a significant role in promoting good health and safety in the workplace, above and beyond minimum compliance.

Where has your career taken you in health and safety?
I was a safety officer for the Canadian National Railway (CNR) from 1988 -1990. I conducted safety audits and accident investigations, and was trained as a first aid instructor. I also took the forklift operators course (Dupont program) and WHMIS training and safety awareness courses. I joined my current employer in 1990.

Events and achievements that have significantly impacted your career
From 1974 -1988, I was already working at CNR as a machinist/millwright. I had a sincere passion for first aid knowledge and was very involved with the first aid program, including being part of the first aid teams and competitions within the railway system.

This was as a result of being a young teenage boy in northern New Brunswick on the scene of a horrific vehicle accident that claimed the life of one young man, and left my older brother severely injured and in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. I felt helpless and it was the worst feeling in the world to have your brother’s blood-soaked head in your hands and not know what to do. I said this would never happen again and, as a result, spent many hours studying and practising first aid.

I later became a first aid instructor and taught many classes within the CNR and with Saint John Ambulance. This is what inspired me to get involved in the health and safety field and to help prevent accidents and illness in our New Brunswick workplaces. I try to do my job with a passion in achieving this goal.

Joining the New Brunswick chapter of the CSSE some 20 years ago was one of the best moves I’ve made, along with writing and achieving my CRSP [Canadian Registered Safety Professional] designation in 1992. Working as an occupational health and safety officer for some 17 years, I have unfortunately seen more than one fatality, broken back, lost limb and many other injuries. This impacts you as an individual and as a health & safety professional. It serves to motivate me as to how important the work of health & safety professionals and partners in the field are.

On a positive note, I have seen major improvements in health & safety since I first became involved full-time some 20 years ago.

What do you see are the key issues facing the OH&S field in Canada?
Our youth! It is important to reach our young people with the health & safety message at an early age. In New Brunswick, we have a youth co-ordinator dedicated solely to the school system and getting the health & safety message out. We do this with everything from Stella the Safety Skunk, to educational information packages for teachers, profound safety videos, poster contests and other initiatives too numerous to mention. We also participate with partners, and support the “Passport to Safety Program” for young workers before they start their first new job.

What areas do you think CSSE could be instrumental in influencing? What are some of the key challenges that CSSE may have over the next several years?
At the CSSE, we are growing at a very healthy rate and with more members comes information and networking opportunities. With this larger and more diverse group, we have more opportunities to lobby for change with everything from the regulators to the educational facilities. Our New Brunswick chapter of the CSSE has more than doubled in the last five years, and we are reaching the 100-member goal we had set for our chapter.

I am also involved with NAOSH Week as a member on the Canadian, provincial, and local NAOSH Week committees. I also had the honour to serve on the NAOSH Week launch committee for Halifax in 2007. In my opinion, that was the most successful launch yet.

I would like to comment also on the CSSE Professional Conferences held annually across the country. I was privileged to attend last year’s in Victoria, 2006 in Ottawa, 2005 in Halifax, and in Charlottetown a few years earlier. It is certainly a premier event and one I highly recommend to all health & safety professionals.

Can you share some information about your background and family?
I have a trade background as a journeyman machinist/millwright, and obtained my CRSP safety designation in 1992.

I am originally from northern New Brunswick in a place called Tide Head (the Bay of Chaleur tides push up into the Restigouche River at Tide Head), and have called Moncton home for almost 35 years.

Off the job, I enjoy spending time with my three children, entertaining friends and family, my old dog, Dexie, and old cars (’56 Chevy, eh!). I have a real passion for trying to stay healthy with exercise and healthy eating.

Additional Insights
After spending the last 20 years as a CSSE member and having served as director, secretary, treasurer, and in chair positions, I strongly recommend the CSSE organization to all the health & safety professionals I meet. It has been one of the most influential and beneficial moves I have made as a health and safety professional.