April 9, 2021
The Workers’ Health and Safety Legal Clinic continued its partnership with engineering students at the University of Toronto by participating in U of T Engineering Strategies & Practice Course, and the 2020-2021 Multidisciplinary Capstone Design Course.
This year’s project looked to address one of the most pressing concerns faced by workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic - Indoor Air Quality.
Undetected poor indoor air quality is a leading factor of respiratory health risks in workplaces in Ontario. The current regulated air quality monitoring procedures are expensive and labour intensive. As a result air quality testings are often not performed until incidents and injuries occur. This places workers’ health and safety at risk.
The Workers’ Health and Safety Legal Clinic requested this year’s team to develop a preliminary method of identifying potential air contaminant accumulation zones that would inform employers whether further investigation is required.
The goal of the project was to develop a low-cost software simulation of the flow of air contaminants in workplaces for users with no simulation experience.
Learn more about this year’s project findings by reviewing the poster and final report.
[Image credit - WSP.com]
Previous projects from the Engineering Strategies & Practice Course (ESP) and the U of T Capstone Design Course include:
2019: Improving Manual Material Handling - Final Report; Poster (Capstone)
2017-2018: Preventing Workplace Chemical Exposure: Making Personal Protective Equipment More Accessible (Capstone)
2016-2017: Mercury Handling Protocol for Occupational Health & Safety - Protocol Instruction Manual (Capstone)
2015-2016: Instrumentation and Data Tracking System for Measuring Helmet Impact Forces - Final Report (Capstone)
2015-2016: Instrumentation & Data Tracing System for Airborne Chemical Substances - Final Report; Poster (Capstone)
2015-2016: “Operation Rainbow” Experiment - 2016 04. Final Presentation Team 67.pptx; 2016 04. highschool chem rainbow exp UofT ESP Team 67.pdf; 2016 04. Final Presentation Team 102.pdf; 2016 04. highschool chem rainbow exp UofT ESP Team 102.pdf (ESP)
2014-2015: Improving Fume Hood and Glove Panel Safety - Final Design Specifications (ESP)
2014-2015: Chemical Transfer Design Project - Final Design Specifications (ESP)
2014-2015: Fermentation Reactor Design Project - Final Design Specifications (ESP)
2013-2014: High-Rise Building Window Design - Project Final Design Specifications (ESP)
2013-2014: Fuel Gas Fixture Protection - Project Final Design Specifications (ESP)