The top rehabilitation research centre in the world is located in Canada at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TRI), a member of the University Health Network (UHN). In this blog we will share how TRI develops ways to reduce accidents and injuries, to rehabilitate people after an injury or illness, and to help people continue to live independently in their own homes as they grow older. Every day we face challenges that may result in accidents and injury. One of our main labs (Challenging Environment Assessment Lab, or CEAL for short) features four unique simulators that can create realistic challenges to our safety but without actually hurting anyone. One of these simulators includes a real car that can be driven through a rain storm against glaring headlights. A second one allows a pedestrian to walk through the streets of Toronto encountering traffic and other pedestrians. A third one simulates Winter with real ice, snow and cold winds and the fourth simulator enables researchers to study the safety of building codes to prevent falls. These simulators can be lifted with a crane onto different bases including a powerful hydraulic system that can fly them around the room to mimic aggressive driving or to cause a sudden unexpected movement that makes someone reach for a handrail to prevent a fall. By creating real-life conditions in controlled settings, our researchers are able to gather data to help them develop and test new products and also provide the evidence needed to change policies and/or codes and standards.
Above: DriverLab is seen on the hydraulic motion base in CEAL. The bridge (on the right) provides access to the lab and is retracted out of the way during testing. DriverLab Motor vehicle accidents claim the lives of 1.24 million people world-wide each year and are the number one cause of accidental death in Canada. Older adults are over-represented in these statistics, and yet most want to continue to drive to maintain their independence. About one quarter of Canada’s driving population will be over 65 years of age by 2024. TRI has built the most advanced driving simulator in Canada. DriverLab includes a fully-equipped car surrounded by a virtual reality environment on top of a moveable base. It contains a full-sized passenger vehicle mounted on a turntable within a 360 degree field of view projected environment. Different driving scenarios can be created in this chamber during which we measure the driver’s performance. Our one-of-a-kind features include a rain simulator that produces real rain droplets on the windshield and a robot glare simulator that realistically recreates the glare of 2 oncoming headlights at night. Our studies also aim to better understand impairment resulting from cannabis and opioid medication, help with the design of self-driving vehicles, and the effects of distraction and drowsiness on driving.
Above: Cut-away view of DriverLab on the motion base.
Above: Interior of DriverLab showing the overhead cameras which project various streetscapes.
StreeLab Hearing loss is the third most common chronic health condition in older adults. Individuals with age-related hearing loss commonly complain of mobility problems and are at 3X greater risk of falling compared to normal-hearing adults. In StreetLab, we are able to study participants as they safely navigate through simulated, 3D Toronto streetscapes. This allows scientists a new way to test mobility devices, hearing aids, and other technologies to help people live safely and independently. Participants can walk or ride a wheelchair through this virtual environment on a treadmill-like belt. Unlike a regular lab, StreetLab allows participants to experience realistic situations while allowing scientists to manipulate certain aspects of the environment. For instance, traffic signals, ‘intelligent’ vehicles, and streams of virtual pedestrians can be adjusted to interact with the research participant.
Above: Exterior view of StreetLab in the pallet hall where non-motion studies can be performed.
Above: Interior view of StreetLab showing streetscape through which the participant is walking. The cameras mounted above project the streetscape to provide an immersive experience. A safety harness is used but not seen above.
WinterLab Injuries from slip and fall accidents on ice and snow bring serious challenges to individuals and the healthcare system. Canada and other winter-experiencing countries see an increase in these injuries during the winter–over 21,000 Ontarians visit an emergency room because of slips and falls on ice each winter. Using proper footwear during winter plays a key role in reducing the number of slips and falls. In WinterLab, we can create winter-like conditions with subzero temperatures, ice, snow and wind. We have developed a cutting-edge solution for testing winter boots for slip resistance. Our Maximum Achievable Angle (MAA) method is the only one of its kind in the world. We ask participants to walk back and forth on a floor covered entirely with ice while we gradually tip the simulator. The maximum angle that the participants can walk on without slipping wearing a particular shoe is used to assess the shoe’s slip resistance. We have tested over 260 different types of footwear, including 254 casual and safety work footwear, as well as 7 spiked footwear/overshoes. Overall, only 29% of the footwear we’ve tested meet the minimum slip resistance standards set out by our MAA test. Our results are published on a regularly updated website, which is helping Canadians make more informed decisions about the safety of the winter footwear they purchase; visit www.ratemytreads.com. In a small study of community healthcare workers, those who wore footwear that passed our minimum standard had four times 4 fewer falls; we predicted that this will save that company around $1 million annually in lost time injuries if it purchased this recommended footwear for their employees.
Above: WinterLab is raised incrementally to rate footwear slip resistance.
Above: WinterLab is used to measure performance of mobility scooters on slopes with snow and icy surfaces.
StairLab Falls on stairs are a leading cause of injury and hospitalization, especially in older adults. It is estimated 3,800 people in Ontario are hospitalized each year as a result of a stair fall. In StairLab we can measure the movement and body mechanics of walking up and down stairs. By shaking the stairs while participants walk up and down we can study the effects of varying step depth, height, and the edge features, or handrail size, shape, and height on stair falls. Our studies have resulted in changes to the Building Code of Canada for residential stairs. It is estimated these Building Code changes will prevent 33,000 injuries and save 39 Canadian lives within the first five years of being implemented.
Above left and right: Step and handrail features are changed to measure fall risk while going up and down stairs in StairLab.
About us Research at TRI involves 45 researchers, 104 support staff, and 102 students. We have 14 simulators and specialized labs to study, for example, falls, sleep, swallowing, care at home or in a hospital, balance therapies, personalized rehabilitation, recovery from spinal cord injury, and more.
To learn more about TRI and our research, or to book a tour of our research facilities, visit https://www.kite-uhn.com
For questions about the research team, contact us at truckingstudy@uhn.ca
Stay tuned – in our next blog we’ll talk about our research and developments on sleep apnea – it’s not just about feeling tired!
My name is Jordan, and I am a professional driver. I want to learn to drive truck. Currently, I drive school bus. I have maintained my B now for two years and love what I do. The precision movements, the attention to detail, the constant testing of my spacial awareness, and circle checks, please! To some this all sounds like a burden, but to me it is both gratifying and fulfilling. I take great pride in what I do and I believe that shows in my work.
Like most, I obtained my G1 as soon as I was able. That night, my mother took me out for my first “lesson”. I had of course, like any other delinquent teen, driven many times prior. Little laps around the block when I was just supposed to be switching the cars in the lane way, (sometimes a little further). But nothing like what I experienced that night. A couple of wrong turns left us on a road that emptied onto the 401. We should have stopped and switched, but under my mothers direction, I merged onto the highway. There were three of us in the car, a 1992 forest green Dodge Shadow. I remember the sound of the horn as a truck came up behind us and my Dad in the back seat shouting “Punch it! Punch it!” as he maintained a death grip on my head rest. I looked in the mirror and read ‘MACK’ spelled backwards and kept the pedal on the floor. I laughed as the adrenaline pumped through my body. I knew we were fine, I knew even then that I had full control over the vehicle and that I may have upset the driver with our poor choice, but we were safe. And I was hooked. I drove everywhere from then on. I was good. I am good. I wish that I had been exposed to racing at that time in my life. It is my dream to race. Although the two jobs are very different, they both require a immense amount of skill and a formidable grasp on the movements of the vehicle. That is why I want to drive truck.
I am a professional driver. I started my career as a driver about 5 years ago, a little later in life than most. So far my age has not stood in my way of being awesome and learning new things. My life had just changed rather unexpectedly and I found myself a job working as a car jockey at a local car and truck rental company. I did detailing, customer shuttles, shuttling rentals from city to city as well as small maintenance. What I learned from the experience was that driving the bigger vehicles was the highlight of each day. From there I moved from position to position getting the experience I needed to achieve the credentials I wanted. My goal is to climb my way through opportunities until I achieve my AZ License and am teaching driving to others.
Written and submitted by: Jordan Janse-French
Jordan asked us to share her story in hope of inspiring others to explore the trucking industry.
I don’t know about you, but I am always looking at ways to make what I do on a daily basis easier. We only get twenty-four hours in a day and if your driven to succeed or work with someone who is, you want to use your time wisely. This often turns us to technology, it saves us time, money and makes us better but there is so much of it and so many players in the technology space.
One of the players Is ISB/MEE. Have you ever driven down the 401 West and looked over to the right just by the highway 25 exit and see a big beautiful building with the pond out front and wonder what they do and who they are? The company ISB/MEE is one of the largest suppliers of document sourcing organizations in the world. You name it they can probably get it for you. For our industry that means things like driver abstracts, criminal record searches and driver history. The big deal is they do it at lightening speed which is important when your trying to get drivers insured and on the road. They are experts and very good at what they do. They are the chosen service provider of many brand name transportation companies. Fast, affordable, accurate, this is the best way to describe ISB/MEE.
Michael Thompson
This month, in a couple of weeks at the TTSAO Conference, Micheal Thompson, CEO of RSB Global Services (ISB/MEE) is the keynote speaker at the conference where he will talk about technology in our industry. He has broken his presentation into three groups;
Top Tech Products; to help your business, things like facial recognition, 3D Printing and assessments.
Technology Disrupters; things that could disrupt the industry like E- Commerce, Drones and Uber for trucking.
What Does the Future of Trucking Look Like; in reference to social media, the cloud, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and quantum computing.
This excites me and it’s not because I’m a technology geek, it excites me from the recruitment and retention end of our business. In order to hire the right people we must use the right tools to gather correct information in order to insure the driver. This technology is not only important to the companies its important to the person on the other side of the desk, the people your hiring. They want to see our industry using technology and they want to work for companies who are using it. Understanding what is out there to potentially disrupt our industry is important so we can be prepared to challenge and defend the disrupters.
With the TTSAO Conference on February 27th and 28th you need to get registered, there is limited space left. The TTSAO Conference is billed as highly educational, very affordable and is attended by all industry sectors; schools, insurance, carriers, government, and suppliers. Day one will feature meetings led by both the TTSAO Insurance Group and the TTSAO Carrier Group. Both groups will talk about important issues they are working on collectively with the industry and government. The annual general meeting is on Day 1, followed by a networking cocktail party that gives you a chance to mix and mingle with other industry people. At the cocktail party there will be a conversation between Dave MacDonald, President of Revolution Staffing and Glenn Caldwell, Vice President, Corporate Development of NAL Insurance on the Power of Networking. Other agenda items on Day 2 include; Social Media for Business Strategy led By Kimberly Biback of Sharp Transportation, Best Practices For Training featuring leaders from Bison Transportation, Quail Transport, KRTS and CHET moderated by Geoff Topping of Challenger Motor Freight, Kelly Henderson of the THRSC will moderate a panel of industry association leaders from the PMTC, OTA and the Fleet Safety Council to discuss the value of industry associations and how you can benefit from them. This year’s conference will also feature the presentation of the first TTSAO/ PayBright Instructor of the Year.
As President of the TTSAO I know I speak on behalf of the entire board of Directors that we are proud that the TTSAO is the only association in the Province of Ontario which number one objective is representing the best interest of our full member truck training facilities. The TTSAO includes strong representation of insurance, for hire and private trucking companies, industry associations and suppliers. The companies who are members of the TTSAO represent tens of thousands of people who are employees in the transportation industry across Canada.
I want to thank the entire TTSAO Board of Directors who have been actively involved in the success of the association over the past two years. Your commitment of time, knowledge and expertise has made our association better and our industry stronger. Never under estimate the power of the donation of your time.
Kim Richardson has been in the Transportation Industry for 34 years. Currently he is the President of Kim Richardson Transportation Specialists Inc. a family owned and operated business which has won multiple awards. Under the KRTS group of businesses is Transrep Inc. and The Rear View Mirror. Kim is currently on the board of directors for the Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI), on the board of directors with Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC), on the membership committee of the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), on the advisory board of the Women’s Trucking federation of Canada (WTFC), and in the past, Chairman of the Board for the Truck Training Association of Ontario (TTSAO) and Chairman of the Board for the Allied Trade Division of the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA). Kim is a proud Husband, Dad, Grandpa and loves his community of Caledonia. He can be reached at krichardson@krway.com or phone 1-800-771-8171 ext. 201.
