WSIB invests $11M to help Canadian Institute for Safety, Wellness and Performance improve research capabilities
Protecting Ontario workers has long depended on lab studies, paper‑based assessments and after‑the‑fact injury data. Those approaches often miss how work is actually performed on construction sites, in small shops and in remote communities.
The Canadian Institute for Safety, Wellness and Performance (CISWP), incubated at Conestoga College, is trying to close that gap with three new mobile research labs funded through an $11‑million, four‑year investment from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).
Equipped with wearable sensors, eye‑tracking devices and other field instruments, the labs let CISWP researchers travel to workplaces across the province, capturing real‑time data on how jobs are done, what workers are exposed to and where things go wrong before an injury happens.
“In health and safety research we’ve historically faced structural challenges, including limited engagement with real workplaces,” says CISWP executive director Dr. Amin Yazdani. “We wanted to build something that is grounded in real‑world field data and truly reflects the diversity of Ontario’s work environments and workforce.”
Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, David Piccini, calls the labs a way to “bring real‑time research directly to job sites” to spot risks sooner and prevent injuries so “workers go home safe and the projects Ontario depends on stay on track.”
(Dr. Amin Yazdani (far right foreground) outlining how CISWP's portable 4D measurement system works for Minister Piccini (far left) and other attendees)
A new model for applied prevention research
Yazdani describes CISWP’s approach as a “mobile evidence‑informed prevention research framework” enabled by advanced technology and coordinated across disciplines.
Each mobile lab is kitted out with:
- Wearable sensors to measure physical demands, posture, vibration and load
- Eye‑tracking technology to understand attention and cognitive load
- Environmental and ergonomic field instruments
CISWP is deliberately targeting small and medium‑sized employers and hard‑to‑reach communities, where access to research expertise and technology is often limited. The labs “remove access barriers” and help ensure “province‑wide representation,” Yazdani notes, with teams travelling “from the east to the west, north to the south of the province.”
Demand has been strong: the labs are already booked into June 2026, a sign that employers see value in objective exposure data for their operations.
Three initiatives: DOSE, MOSAIC and SafeWorksite
The WSIB‑funded collaboration currently focuses on construction and pediatrics, built around three linked initiatives:
- The Database of Occupation‑Specific Exposures (DOSE)
- The Multivariate Occupation‑Specific Anthropometric (MOSAIC) database
- The SafeWorksite program
DOSE: A new view of job exposures
DOSE uses wearables, mobile apps and field equipment to capture “physical, ergonomic, cognitive, psychosocial, [and] environmental demands” linked to specific job codes.
(Attaching a wearable sensor to gather work data)
Instead of looking at one factor in isolation, DOSE records multiple exposures at the task and job level. Employers can see, for example, how a residential electrician’s most common tasks each contribute to overall risk—and how combinations of force, posture, repetition and psychosocial load interact in the real world.
The aim is a national‑scale, job‑specific exposure database to inform prevention, policy and adjudication, and support more evidence‑based decisions about claims, return‑to‑work and job design.
MOSAIC: Inclusive data for better‑fitting PPE and tools
Where DOSE focuses on exposures, the MOSAIC database focuses on people. CISWP is the “first and the only Canadian institute” to use both lab‑based and portable 4D body‑scanning technology in this way, Yazdani says, capturing more than 100 body‑dimension measurements per participant.
MOSAIC also incorporates functional capacity assessments and 3D foot and hand scans and links those measurements back to specific occupations. An employer or manufacturer could, for instance, look up body and hand dimensions for female plumbers in Ontario and use that data to design PPE and tools that fit the workers who will use them.
By basing specifications on current Canadian workforce data rather than outdated anthropometric tables, MOSAIC aims to support gender‑inclusive, job‑specific PPE and help manufacturers comply with Ontario’s requirements for properly fitting protective equipment.
SafeWorksite: From data to action
SafeWorksite is the translation arm of the model. It blends an employer’s DOSE data with WSIB injury statistics to identify root causes and develop practical, job‑specific prevention and accommodation strategies.
After de‑identifying the raw data, CISWP produces reports with analysis, benchmarks, photos and diagrams, aimed at solutions that are “actionable” and “easy to implement,” particularly for resource‑constrained small and medium‑sized businesses. These reports will also be anonymized and shared publicly, allowing other organizations to learn from the findings—even if they never host a mobile lab visit themselves.
Together, Yazdani says, “the mobile labs, the DOSE database, the Mosaic database, and the SafeWorksite form a closed‑loop prevention ecosystem from measurements to insights to implementation,” with the goal of reducing injuries, improving return‑to‑work outcomes, lowering employer costs and addressing health‑equity gaps.
What it means for leaders and safety pros
For CEOs and senior leaders, the takeaway is that workplace‑specific data is becoming a strategic asset. Programs like DOSE, MOSAIC and SafeWorksite offer a way to benchmark jobs, target investments in engineering controls and job redesign, specify PPE and tools using Canadian‑specific anthropometric data, and support more defensible decisions in claims, accommodation and return‑to‑work.
For health and safety professionals, the mobile labs promise a new level of precision in understanding risk—and a partner who can help translate complex data into practical solutions that fit day‑to‑day operations.
