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Occupational research lab on wheels will go 'where the workers are'

Labour minister cuts ribbon on LU's new mobile lab

Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn was on hand June 28 to cut the ribbon on Laurentian University's new mobile laboratory for occupational health and safety research, otherwise known as Mobile CROSH.

The province has invested $500,200 in the project. Tammy Eger, research chair at CROSH, said about $300,000 went to purchase the 40-foot vehicle, and another $200,000 to buy mobile lab equipment.

“Without it we wouldn't be able to have this type of unit,” Eger said. “It makes a world of difference to us. It's going to support graduate students and their research they're doing. It's absolutely critical.

“We're really pleased the Ministry of Labour saw CROSH is doing good work, and we can continue to do more with health and safety with this investment.”

Eger said she and her fellow researchers will be taking the vehicle on the road to Northern Ontario communities, where they'll be meeting up with workers. 

“We plan to take it to where the workers are,” she said.

Mobile CROSH has a clinical space for researchers that look at the physiological state of workers and another area to work with participants who are using wearable technologies. There's also a small classroom space.

The lab on wheels will support field research in mental health and quality of worklife, mobile equipment design for accident prevention, vibration-induced injury prevention, fatigue mitigation, heat stress prevention, sleep hygiene to improve sleep quality, and quantity and evaluation of intervention programs, to name a few.

Flynn said he loves being Minister of Labour, but there's one part of the job that's “just rotten.” About once a week, he hears about someone in Ontario who will never go home again because they've died in a workplace accident.

“As long as that's happening in Ontario, we need to make sure that we keep doing things like this,” he said.

Flynn said the work done using Mobile CROSH could eventually impact the lives of every single person in this province, and probably the country and world. 

“I'm proud of the great work that's going to be done,” he said.

International Steelworkers president Leo Gerard, who's the chair of CROSH's advisory board, said the work being done by CROSH will end up saving people's lives.

“And you know what? They'll never know,” he said. 

“Because we will find out something, and we will fix it, and then next generation that comes up will have a much better workplace … and it will all have happened because of the work that's done here at Laurentian by the CROSH team.”


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Heidi Ulrichsen

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