How to Run a Symptom Review Under Section 211 in Alberta

Thank the worker for speaking up. Record what they told you: where it hurts, when it started, and which tasks make it worse. Keep their health details private and share only what the review needs.

Send them for care if they need it. The review is about the work, and it runs alongside any care or claim.

Ask the worker which tasks they do most and which ones they connect to the pain. Check the schedule for changes: a new product, a new line speed, longer shifts, or a short-staffed week.

Section 211 reaches past the one worker. Talk to others on the same task. Ask if they feel the same thing. One report can point to a task that is hurting the whole crew.

Watch the task with more than one worker and more than one repetition. Look at the load, the heights, the reach and the pace. Then look at the body: trunk lean, twisting, knee alignment and balance.

Fatigue shows late in a shift. If you can, look then too.

If the cause is work related, fix the task first. Change the height, add a lift aid, cut the reach, slow the line, or split the load. Training and rotation come after.

Then check the task again. Ask the worker how it feels. Write down what you changed and what you saw after.

People stop reporting soreness when a report feels like it puts them on trial. Keep the talk on the task. Ask what is hard about it, what they have tried, and what would help. Thank them again for raising it early.

Early reports are cheaper to fix than injuries. A site where people speak up about small aches is a site that can fix tasks before someone is hurt.

Heavy or awkward loads. Lifts from the floor or above the shoulder. Long reaches into bins or across tables. Twisting to a pallet or a cart. High pace or few breaks. Tools or carts that are hard to push. A new task, a new product, or a new layout.

Write down which of these apply to the task. They point to the controls most likely to help.

Sometimes the review does not find a clear work cause. Record what you checked and what you found. Keep watching the task, and ask the worker to tell you if the symptoms change.

If more workers on the same task report symptoms, treat it as a task problem and look again, more closely.

A symptom review often shows that a task's hazard assessment is out of date. Update the assessment with what you learned, date it, and tell the crew what changed. Part 2 of the OHS Code asks you to keep assessments current when work changes.

A symptom review is strongest when you can show what changed. A short phone video of the task before the fix, and again after, gives you that record.

GRW Movement reads both videos and measures trunk lean, knee alignment, left and right balance, and pace. You get a report for each, side by side, to file with the review. The video is deleted once it is read.

Someone trained to spot and assess hazards, with the worker and their supervisor taking part. On larger sites, bring in your health and safety committee or representative. They can help spot the same problem on other shifts.

Keep the worker in the loop from start to end. Tell them what you found and what you changed, and ask if it helped.

The date of the report and the date of the review. The tasks reviewed and the workers spoken to. What you saw. What you changed. The date you checked again and what you found. Who signed off.