Research in motion

2003: Research in motion

Research partnerships

The Institute adopted a business plan aimed at increasing its research partnerships in order to respond more efficiently to the ever-growing number and variety of requests received from workplaces. The co-funding goal, set at $750,000 for the year, was greatly exceeded.

Jean-Guy Martel, directeur services et expertises de laboratoire, 2002-2003
Full Interview

National and international partnership agreements

Diane Gaudet, présidente-directrice générale, 2002-2007
Full Interview

The IRSST and France’s Institut national de recherche et de sécurité pour la prévention des accidents du travail et des maladies professionnelles (INRS) signed a framework partnership agreement.. This agreement set the parameters for bilateral cooperation in research activities and expertise, and would lead to the signing of specific agreements.

The IRSST pooled its efforts with those of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) dof Ontario to tackle the vibration problem experienced by mining vehicle operators.

A partnership between the IRSST and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research ( CIHR) proved very productive as it permitted the funding of two major research centres in Québec: one on asthma in the workplace, qestablished by researchers at Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal, Université de Montréal and McGill University, the other on health and safety in agriculture, nvolving researchers from Université Laval and the University of Saskatchewan.

Joining forces with the l’Université de Sherbrooke and the Newfoundland research group Safety Net the IRSST participated in the formation of an interdisciplinary research consortium on the transfer of knowledge on work-related accidents and their context. The CIHR deemed the project worthy of a $1 million grant.

Recognition of excellence

The IRSST’s ex-CEO, Jean Yves Savoie, was presented with the Prix Antoine-Aumont. This annual distinction awarded by the AQHSST underscores the award-winner’s achievements and quality of work in occupational health and safety.
An industrial hygienist from the IRSST, Brigitte Roberge, abecame the president of the AQHSST.
Paul-Émile Boileau assumed the leadership of the Safety Engineering team, while Jacques Lesage was appointed the director of Laboratory Services and Expertise.
Jacques Lesage was also named “Technical Link” of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). As such, he was responsible for evaluating and commenting on the quality of information on isocyanates produced by this U.S. organization.
The IRSST’s acoustics and electromagnetism laboratories obtained the national CLAS certification issued by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). The IRSST is the only organization in Canada to hold this type of certification in the area of acoustics.

Jean-Yves Savoie

Brigitte Roberge

Paul-Émile Boileau

Jacques Lesage

Beware of forklift trucks

The IRSST developed a thematic research program on forklift trucks, which are the cause of many serious and even fatal accidents. The aim of this five-year program was to protect operators in case of vehicle rollovers, reduce the risk of collisions, and develop expertise and prevention tools for this type of vehicle.

The diagnosis of occupational asthma

Workers in the Québec City region gained access to a new, state-of-the-art diagnostic centre for occupational asthma, thanks to two bronchial provocation systems developed at the IRSST. The Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec (IUCPQ) or Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, became the second such centre in Québec by adopting two safe bronchial provocation systems designed by the IRSST’s aerosol metrology laboratory. By applying cutting-edge technology, these automated aerosol- and vapour-generation chambers offer many benefits for workers and hospital personnel, as well as standardizing the diagnostic tests. In Québec, only the IUCPQ and Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal have this technology.

TDM-100 tomodynamometer

A Chinese protective glove manufacturer acquired an IRSST-designed TDM-100 tomodynamometer, an instrument used to evaluate the resistance of protective clothing to cuts. It has already been purchased by many companies and certification agencies, notably in France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan.

2002 2004