West coast carrier gives EOBR whole new meaning

SURREY, B.C. — You’ve heard of electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) right? How about electronic on-body recorders?

As in your body gets all wired up so Big Brother can tell how fast you’re moving or how hard you’re breathing.

Sound strange? For the staff at the Surrey-based food carrier Coastal Pacific Xpress (CPx), on-body recording is part of daily life.

But it’s not what you’re thinking.

It’s all part of the company’s elaborate employee-health promotion programs.

CPx has invested in kiosks that track drivers’ and other employees’ pedometer steps as well as vital biometric statistics, including heart rate, Body Mass Index (BMI), weight, body fat percentage, blood pressure, oxygen saturation level and even blood-sugar levels for diabetics.

Each station is web connected, meaning users can, in complete privacy, save their readings and track them over time — giving them and their healthcare provider an overall perspective of their health.

CPx is the first Canadian company to invest in the kiosks, distributed by Lifeclinic Canada.

CPx is becoming famous for its healthy staff initiatives. Indeed, this week, the British Columbia Medical Association (BCMA) presented CPx with a coveted Council on Health Promotion Award of Excellence in recognition of the company’s emphasis on staff health.

In presenting CPx with the award, the health council zeroed in on the “Focus on Fitness Fridays Program.

This initiative provides staff with healthy breakfast, lunch and snack choices. Participants in 180-member CPx Walking Club are outfitted with pedometers and encouraged to “step up their game” on select Fridays by walking even more than normal as part of the Focus on Fitness Friday concept.

And for every 1,000 steps the employee walks during Focus on Fitness Friday, CPx donates $2 to The Centre for Child Development in Surrey, which helps children with severe developmental disabilities.

The BCMA said it liked the Focus on Fitness Friday program for both its originality and dual goals of teaching staff about healthy eating and raising funds for a needy community organization.

“We’ve found,” says CPx Vice President Administration Laurie Forbes, “that a healthy staff is a productive, engaged and happy staff.”

“In an industry where the average life span of a driver is 61 years of age, we clearly felt this was an important priority for us,” says Forbes. “It’s even more important considering the stress the industry has experienced in recent years due to the economic downturn. We have no doubt that stress takes its toll on workers, so it is our obligation to help them combat that stress by being as healthy as they can.”

Earlier this year, CPx was selected as one of the Best Workplaces in Canada 2011, reflecting its efforts to promote greater health and wellness among its employees. It was the third appearance by CPx on the list.