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RE: [cdn-nucl-l] MDS Nordion 'happiest, healthiest workplace'
Good for Nordion and, by association, good for nuclear in general. But, if
I was Nordion, I'd couldn't accept the honor, however, unless AECL was
recognized as the 'co-hero' in the whole affair. Where would Nordion be if
AECL wasn't doing its dirty work?
Bill
At 09:01 AM 17/11/1999 -0500, Franta, Jaroslav wrote:
>
>
>"Wahoo!" is right...
>
>...I just think that a large (dominant ?) part of the reason for Nordion's
>winning the award has to do with the fact that - all else being equal -
>awards in general tend to go to life-saving medical/health technology
>applications:
>
> "Nordion... is also one of Canada's unsung heroes.
>> More than 3,000 hospitals in North America alone use isotopes produced by
>> MDS Nordion. As many as 50,000 nuclear scans, which incorporate isotope
>> use -- the
>> majority of which are supplied by MDS Nordion -- are performed each day
>> around the world. The scans are used to check for hidden tumours and blood
>> clots, monitor bone cancer and analyse blood flow to the brain."
>>
>I think its unfortunate that AECL's Chalk River Laboratories is missing out
>on becoming "one of Canada's unsung heroes" (though many would say it
>already is !) ...by failing to include a BNCT facility as part of the new
>CNF research reactor. BNCT treatment centers are springing up around the
>world, except in Canada. In view of Canada's historical place as a "nuclear
>pioneer," this can hardly be considered an acceptable situation.
>
>jaro
>
>> ----------
>> From: Brown, Morgan[SMTP:brownmj@aecl.ca]
>> Sent: Saturday, November 13, 1999 11:42 AM
>> To: 'cdn-nucl-l'
>> Subject: [cdn-nucl-l] MDS Nordion 'happiest, healthiest workplace'
>>
>> Wahoo! The Ottawa Citizen reported that MDS Nordion "Has officially been
>> declared Canada's healthiest (and happiest) workplace" !!
>>
>> The report is found at:
>> http://www.ottawacitizen.com/hightech/menu/991112/3136058.html
>>
>>
>> <BEGIN QUOTE>
>> MDS Nordion 'happiest, healthiest workplace'
>> Claire Tremblay
>> The Ottawa Citizen
>>
>> It has silently saved countless numbers of lives throughout the world,
>> helped rid food of disease-causing bacteria and kept surgical equipment
>> germ-free for more than 50 years.
>> Now MDS Nordion of Kanata -- the world's biggest manufacturer of
>> nuclear-medicine isotopes (used, among other things, to treat cancer) --
>> has
>> answered a question on the lips of all Canadian workers.
>> After an exhaustive selection process, it has officially been declared
>> Canada's healthiest (and happiest) workplace.
>> The company won the Healthiest Workplace Award, for commitment to work
>> safety and employee well-being, in the Canada Awards for Excellence from a
>> field of 15 applicants from across the country.
>> The award, created to encourage better working conditions, is the first of
>> its kind presented by the National Quality Institute.
>> There were strong reasons for MDS Nordion's success.
>> Not only has the company proved a charm at staff relations, it is also one
>> of Canada's unsung heroes.
>> More than 3,000 hospitals in North America alone use isotopes produced by
>> MDS Nordion.
>> As many as 50,000 nuclear scans, which incorporate isotope use -- the
>> majority of which are supplied by MDS Nordion -- are performed each day
>> around the world.
>> The scans are used to check for hidden tumours and blood clots, monitor
>> bone
>> cancer and analyse blood flow to the brain.
>> Another MDS Nordion product, cobalt 60 irradiation systems, is used to
>> destroy bacteria in food and sterilize medical supplies and consumer
>> products.
>> Current projects include pursuing new ways to beat disease such as
>> developing cancer-fighting drugs, using radiation technology in cardiology
>> and safely cold-pasteurizing foods.
>> MDS Nordion, has also taken its commitment to health to heart by helping
>> to
>> prevent its employees from getting sick in the first place. Suzanne
>> Fergusson, corporate health and wellness specialist at MDS Nordion, said
>> creating a healthy work environment was a process that required constant
>> improvement.
>> "We are always trying to find ways to help people manage stress, combine
>> their family and work life and help them reach their goals," Ms Fergusson
>> said.
>> Health-promoting features include a fitness centre, a smoking-cessation
>> program, healthy food in the cafeteria, a cancer-prevention nutrition
>> course
>> and a winter sports carnival. Time management and financial planning
>> courses
>> are also available.
>> "We devote a lot of time and effort into ensuring that employees
>> participate
>> in communication, team building and creating a social environment that
>> goes
>> beyond the physical health of our workforce," Ms. Fergusson said.
>> Active participation is also encouraged at quarterly company meetings,
>> where
>> employees are given a report on the company's progress and an opportunity
>> to
>> provide suggestions to improve the company.
>> Individuals are also encouraged to follow their dreams (through on-site
>> career counselling), even if those dreams include leaving the company or
>> something totally unrelated to the company.
>> An MDS initiative, the William Anderson Award, gives humanitarian minded
>> workers the opportunity to participate in foreign aid projects.
>> The last winner was given two months of leave on full pay and a $10,000
>> grant to work on a water supply project in Malawi.
>> Not surprisingly, MDS Nordion's efforts have proven a hit on the happiness
>> scale.
>> A questionnaire completed by 80 per cent of Nordion s 700 workers last
>> year
>> showed that 92 per cent were happy in their jobs. A further 73 per cent
>> said
>> they coped well with work- related stress, while another 78 per cent said
>> they felt comfortable discussing their workload with their supervisors.
>> Another feature that helped MDS Nordion secure the award is that it rates
>> high on safety in what is a potentially unsafe industry. Manufacturing and
>> refining radioactive isotopes is a complicated proposition requiring
>> stringent safety procedures.
>> MDS Nordion receives unrefined radioactive isotopes from its Chalk River
>> facility and purifies them through a complex chemical process to make them
>> suitable for medical usage. The tiny isotopes, gathered through the
>> breaking
>> down of ions in metals such as cobalt, emit minute amounts of radiation.
>> The
>> company uses ISO 9000 quality assurance and a host of internal safety
>> measures, qualities that impressed the NQI jury panel. Spinoffs to MDS
>> Nordion as result of its health-wise policy include lower rates of
>> absenteeism, a 50-per-cent increase in staff numbers and a more than
>> doubling of revenue since the policy was introduced by president and chief
>> executive John Morrison in April 1992.
>> The company was formerly part of Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. before it was
>> bought by MDS Inc., a private health and life sciences company, in 1991.
>> "The company has been on a long corporate journey, during which we
>> recognized that having energized and committed employees was our best
>> route
>> to having a healthy workplace and good corporate results," Mr. Morrison
>> said.
>> "There is so much more we can do. We have had some success and we are
>> feeling gratified. ... We are cautious, however, not to rest on our
>> laurels."
>> <END QUOTE>
>>
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>>
>
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~~~~~~~~oOo~~~~~~~~~
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McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CANADA L8S 4K1
Tel: (905)525-9140 x24925 Fax: (905)528-4339 Email: garlandw@mcmaster.ca
Web:http://engphys.mcmaster.ca/faculty/garland/index.html (nuclear
resource page)