Safe Worker and Safe Employer finalists
WorkSafe Saskatchewan is excited to announce the finalists for the 2020 Safe Worker and Safe Employer Awards. Congratulations to all the finalists.
2020 Safe Worker finalists
Dustin Bertsch
Black and McDonald Limited, Saskatoon, SK
Dustin takes his safety responsibilities seriously. When he was promoted to foreman, he wanted to ensure the safety of everyone who would be working in a seven-storey duct shaft. The challenge was developing a plan to safely hoist, erect, secure and install large pieces of duct within the duct shaft without placing any workers at risk. The project included a fall protection plan, appropriate fall protection, suitable guarding and barricading. The work was completed without any incidents and had the effect of raising safety awareness throughout the client site.
Tasia Smith
Ducks Unlimited Canada, Regina, SK
Tasia works as an administrative assistant with Ducks Unlimited and has made many contributions to workplace safety within the organization. She identified the need for a safety process for their field staff when travelling around the province. Tasia began by researching local best practices and leveraging existing processes and forms utilized in other provinces.
The result was a vehicle safety binder that was rolled out to all the staff at their annual provincial meeting. The vehicle safety binder includes vehicle inspection forms, field level hazard assessment forms and other essential information related to safety and incident reporting processes. Check in/check out procedures were also implemented and vehicles are now equipped with safety bags, first aid kits and fire extinguishers. Tasia’s initiative has contributed to the safety of their field staff over the entire province.
Dianne Addley
Canada Post, Saskatoon, SK
Dianne is a letter carrier with Canada Post. She implemented the on-street mentoring of new employees to report hazards directly on the street.
With Dianne’s direction, the on-street initiative has local health and safety representatives training with new hires and talking to customers about how they can make their homes safer for letter carriers.
On-street was designed to educate carriers and the public on the identification of everyday hazards. The project has helped by reducing the risk of injury for letter carriers.
2020 Safe Employer finalists
Triple A Directional Drilling Ltd
Yorkton, SK
Triple A Directional Drilling Ltd. (Triple A) believes in investing in its staff through continuous education that promotes a strong and positive safety culture.
In 2017, Triple A moved to a cloud-based safety management system. This program helps keep safety a top priority by allowing the company to monitor the real-time completion of health and safety documents by individuals, crews and locations. This level of accountability allows Triple A to maintain a higher standard of safety company-wide.
In addition to its safety commitment, Triple A has a full-time trained health and safety administrator and a national construction safety officer. To keep staff informed and accountable, they use text and email messages to communicate monthly compliance requirements for documentation (i.e., hazard assessments, inspections, weekly toolbox meetings, etc.), safety flashes and near misses.
In 2016, Triple A achieved their Certificate of Recognition (COR) certification from the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association and in 2017 signed the Saskatchewan Health & Safety Leadership Charter.
Northern Mat & Bridge Ltd. Partnership
Yorkton, SK
Northern Mat & Bridge Limited Partnership (NMB) believes that through active participation, training and education, workplace injuries can be eliminated. NMB has a health, safety and environment (HSE) incentive program to recognize and reward staff for outstanding safety practices such as hazard identification, near-miss reports, positive observations and coaching, exceptional driving behaviour reports and overall safety commitment.
NMB has worked with its staff, clients and contractors to develop a two-acre facility training yard. New safety initiatives are developed annually by the NMB’s HSE team and the national joint health and safety committee. These initiatives are then shared during NMB’s annual national safety conferences. In 2019, NMB held a two-day conferences in each province. A recent NMB initiative led to the development of a magnetic grapple system to reduce incidents related to work near overhead powerlines.
Pryme Iron Inc.
Langenburg, SK
Pryme Iron Inc.’s (Pryme) website states, “Employees returning home safe is our priority.” Their senior project management frequently engages with field-level supervision and work crews through safety meetings and worksite safety inspections that observe people, equipment and the environment.
Pryme has a learning opportunities program that encourages staff to recognize personal acts of safety. On a monthly basis, Pryme completes safety round-up presentations at worksites to keep staff informed of key performance indicators identified on inspection reports and hazard assessments.
Their employees are expected to complete and review a hazard assessment prior to any task. Project supervisors review these assessments to ensure quality and completeness before and during a work shift. Pryme observes a comprehensive preventative maintenance program, which includes quarterly coding of tools and equipment, daily vehicle and mobile equipment inspection logs, rigging and fall arrest inspections, and scheduled maintenance of owned and rented equipment.
Pryme maintains their Certificate of Recognition (COR) certification through the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association and employs two full-time national construction safety officers.
