Sharing construction safety news on social media - Speaking of Safety

November 14, 2012

Alicia Brady-Deaust, Communications Manager, BC Construction Safety Alliance

When you?re having a conference, you want to make sure the right people find out about it.

Take Bridging the Gap, for example. It?s a construction safety conference hosted by WorkSafeBC in partnership with three industry funded health and safety associations ? the BC Construction Safety Alliance, the BC Association of Restoration Contractors, and the BC Association for Crane Safety.

I?ve been working with conference organizers to spread the word, helped by a crew of people using the good old-fashioned telephone.

We are telling employers about the conference and directing them to a web-based form so they can sign up. This is another safety job I do, in addition to this here blog.

I?ve been working on the conference project with Alicia Brady-Deaust, BCCA?s communications manager, who I met recently at the 2012 Safety Forum and Awards Luncheon at Newlands Golf Course. She suggested, in addition to the phoning, that I post a link to the Bridging the Gap conference on the BC Construction Safety Officer Page on Facebook CSO.

The page ? which now has 146 members ? was created by CSO Samuel Livingston, who I wrote about in my post Choosing prescription safety glasses, in which he shares his story about damaging his vision at work, then going into OHS.

The BC CSO Page is ?a place for CSO?s to network, exchange information, and stay in touch? and it?s ?intended as a resource and sounding board for individuals interested in developing and improving a culture of safety in their work place,? reads the About page.

Members (who send a request to join) are invited to ?share information, career opportunities, and opinions related to improving safety in your industry?

Word of mouth travels fast

I asked Alicia what the CSO Facebook Page offers its members.

?Word of mouth travels fast in social media circles, so it is a really good way to access a lot of people at once,? Alicia said. ?This BC CSO group on Facebook is a great forum for CSOs to share safety tips and info. Through our BCCSA account, we receive notifications by email letting us know what the latest conversations are and we?ve had information of value to share with the group on a few occasions.

?It keeps us connected to what industry is doing and what CSO?s in particular are needing help with in terms of occupational safety. It is a good group ? really dedicated to making a difference in the industry and we?d like to continue to contribute and help them do that.?

Alicia said the BCCSA has ?only recently started getting more active in social media? and they are looking into how much time it takes to maintain and build an online community. You can follow the BCCSA on Twitter, where they are @BCCSABeSafe

?Ultimately we?ve seen some good things come out of it, such as connecting people with our Regional Safety Coordinator service, getting input for improving our online audit documents, and the possibility of facilitating a safety meeting once a month at our office.?

Speaking of Facebook, visit Speaking of Safety on Facebook.

Source: http://www.speakingofsafety.ca/2012/11/14/sharing-construction-safety-news-on-social-media/

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