Please allow me to introduce myself:
My name is Adam Neave and I am an OHS professional currently residing in Calgary.
In 2003 I obtained a
degree in OHS from Ryerson University. Since then I practiced in both Toronto and Calgary as an OHS Consultant at
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP - a full service national law firm specializing in OHS and workers' compensation matters. While at Gowlings, I worked under the direction of
Norm Keith - a leading Canadian OHS lawyer and author of Canadian Health and Safety Law (
among many other books). I had the opportunity to co-author
A Practical Guide to OHS and Workers' Compensation Compliance in Alberta with Norm, along with several articles that were published in
OHS Canada and
Worksite News. I also had the chance to assist in the successful defence of hundreds of OHS charges across Canada; investigate work-related incidents in accordance with
CSA Z-796; facilitate training sessions for thousands of managers, supervisors, OHS and HR professionals; speak at conferences put on by
Lorman Education Services and
The Canadian Institute; and represent clients at all levels of workers' compensation appeal in Ontario and Alberta.
I recently acheived my
Canadian Registered Safety Professional and my
Certified Health and Safety Consultant designations and became a Licensed Paralegal through
The Law Society of Upper Canada. Even more recently I accepted a position to develop and facilitate a post-secondary OHS curriculum at
The College of the North Atlantic in Doha, Qatar. I will be heading to the Middle East in August.
In the meantime I will be contributing to the SafetySync blog. I first met Brian Nodwell and Brad Caldwell at the
Alberta Health and Safety Conference and was immediately impressed with SafetySync - an online OHS management system tracking program, which was far better than any other I had seen (and still is). After having been involved in defending OHS prosecutions I can say sincerely with all of my heart that I hope the days of OHS management systems on paper in a binder or on spreadsheets will soon be behind us. In my experience most were poorly administered and did little to prevent fatalities or serious injuries and even fewer were able to demonstrate due diligence when push came to shove. SafetySync is progressive and user friendly and will go a long way in preventing hair loss for OHS professionals that decide to start administering their OHS management system electronically.
I am very excited to stay tuned to the continuous improvement of the SafetySync software and to contribute to one of the best OHS blogs that the internet has to offer.