In 2006, Minerva Canada, with funding from the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), developed a program to recognize individual engineering students or teams of such students who have developed an innovative health and safety solution. The competition was first open to Ontario students and, in 2010, was extended to all engineering undergraduate students from Canadian universities and colleges with accredited engineering programs. The awards go to students who make an original and unique contribution to integrating safety into engineering design. Winners receive a first prize award of $3,500 and a second prize award of $1,500 and media exposure for the student(s) and their respective university or college.
Through these awards, Minerva Canada and the WSIB honour James Ham, whose Royal Commission Report on Health and Safety led to the creation of Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and to the adoption of the Internal Responsibility System in Ontario workplaces.
The purpose of the awards is to:
- Encourage students and engineering faculty members to integrate safety into all designs.
- Produce safer designs of devices, processes and systems.
- Raise student awareness of Process Safety Management (PSM) and Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) management concepts.
Business and industry are constantly looking for ways in which new technology or innovative practices can improve efficiency and for ways they can respond more rapidly to changing demands. Unfortunately, the combination of these two – innovation and change – often conspires in unexpected ways. One of these regrettable outcomes is the inadvertent introduction of new hazards into the workplace and the elevation of risks to workers.
Students and faculty members in Canadian engineering schools are being challenged by Minerva Canada to look at this potential problem and other existing safety problems and to respond by:
- Suggesting ways to improve the existing design of devices, processes or systems.
- Envisioning new, innovative designs that will eliminate or reduce potential hazards.
- Creating tools to help manufacturers and workplaces integrate safety into new or retrofitted designs.
It is hoped that this elevated awareness will lead to better integration of health and safety management programs in Canada’s post secondary schools and, in the long term, reduce workplace illnesses and injuries.
2016 SAFE DESIGN AWARDS CONTEST for Engineering Students
Undergraduate Engineering students enrolled at a Canadian University wishing to enter the 2016 Minerva Safe Design contest should contact Minerva Canada at minerva@safetymanagementeducation.com by January 31, 2016. Final submission date is April 15, 2016. Details on contest rules are outlined below.
How to Apply
What you need to know is here:
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Minerva Canada’s James Ham Safety Awards |
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2016 Entry Form — Minerva Canada Safe Design Contest |
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2016 Rules, Regulations — Minerva James Ham Safe Design Awards Contest |
Past Minerva Canada James Ham Safe Design Winners
