Canadian Occupational Safety

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 19 MVPs EMPLOYERS SAFEST 2018 CANADA'S as a public company we are under pressure to be profitable, everyone in our business has learned that we do not compromise on safety." Weekly one-hour safety meetings attended by the plant manager, safety manager, leads, supervisors and forepersons foster this integration. "We discuss incidents and near-misses and how to prevent them in future — whether it's in manufacturing, design or construction," says Castellanos. "Doing this on a regular basis helps keep safety top of mind." Subcontractors are also required to complete health, safety and environment (HSE) orientation before starting work at a site. According to Kelly Twist, manager, HSE, the growth of the business is con- stantly introducing new employees from various safety cultures into the mix. "We have a big focus on orientation training for new employees followed by practical mentorship on the job," she says. "And we have extended our training for everyone with an online portal for different learning styles." In addition, the company's leadership safety audit helps build relationships between leaders and employees by either educating workers on unsafe acts or celebrating safe ones. "This is especially effective with new workers, since it engages them in a two-way conversation and builds trust," says Twist. "Leaders spend about 30 per cent of their time on the plant floor, where they check in with those employees and follow up on the talks." Twist reports that two annual safety campaigns have led to greater safety GOLD S uncor East Coast Canada made one major change last year in how it does safety: Safety managers actively engaged front-line workers. The company ended the year with no recordable injuries. "Most of our success last year was working with the front- line folks and refining the risk management tools to make them work for them. We put a lot of dedication into that and making sure we were engaging and listening to that workforce," says Mike Doyle, team leader for safety, strategy and operations services at Suncor in St. John's, N.L., which has 300 full-time workers and 450 contract workers. Suncor put this new approach to work to improve pre-job planning for workers on its offshore installation. Workers had said the toolbox talk form they had been using was of little practical value. So, managers put together a pre-job checklist and then gave it to the workers to try. "They came back with a pre-job planning form that we could never have done in the office," Doyle says. "They know the work. They know what's worked and what hasn't. Now, they're taking those lessons and applying them each day when they do a task." For offshore workers, who work three weeks and then have three weeks off, it can be a challenge to maintain their focus on safety. So, managers recently began meeting the returning workers as they came off the helicopters, asking them about their time away, updating them on work activities and talking about safety. "The first few days you get back, you're still thinking about home. But you've got to get your mindset back into it. Those meet-and-greets made a difference. It's about everyone having the same focus on safety," says Jamie Clarke, offshore installation manager. Suncor East Coast recently introduced a system for front- line workers to track and trend observation data, Doyle says. Workers complete job observations of co-workers by filling out a card that is later scanned for analysis of workplace behaviours. A software program allows supervisors to track incidents in three categories: incidents with losses, near misses and hazards. The program provides managers with field-level risk assessments. "We can look at risk at the field level and say, 'We are getting more reports from this area than from that area,' so we know there's more risk in one area than another," Doyle says. The program also allows supervisors to see where there are no hazard reports, so they can identify areas that may have been overlooked. They may then decide to send a safety team to that area to do a risk assessment. "By having a live view of where hazards are in the system, it allows safety managers to change their operational view of the risks they're faced with in the field," Doyle says. Employees have access to on-site health and wellness clinics as well as occupational health monitoring. Flu shot programs, hearing conservation, exercise stress tests, routine blood screening and pulmonic function testing are just some of the services available. Information is regularly provided on various health-related topics, such as nutrition and the effects of UV rays. Offshore workers have access to a health centre staffed by a full-time health professional. Emergency response plans are practised weekly to ensure 120 employees can be removed by lifeboats within 20 minutes. Fire and medical teams and control room operators conduct regular scenario-based drills. "The culture is very important to everyone. I think it's where we are," Clarke says. "It's important that people be on their game and participate in the safety program. We have to live here for three weeks at a time; it's a second home. We want to make sure we get back to the other home." engagement, awareness and positive changes. The first, Line of Fire, covers impact incidents. "Keeping out of the line of fire — impacts from equipment such as saws and nail guns — involves being aware of your body positioning and knowing how and where to deal with safety hazards," says Twist. The second campaign is Get a Grip, which focuses on slips, trips and falls. Both campaigns have resulted in related incidents being drastically reduced over the last several years. They have been so successful that many of Horizon North's clients have adopted the programs as well. "Campaigns are also framed so messages are easy to take home and share with the family," adds Twist. A popular visual safety reminder is Safety Syd, an illustration representing a gender-neutral worker with red and yellow stars on its body where first aid or recordable injuries have occurred. Each site has a large poster of Safety Syd and, when necessary, staff are involved in placing the stars, followed by a discussion of how the injury could have been prevented. Despite a rising employee count and other challenges, the Kamloops plant's workers' compensation board premium is at 1.06 — considerably lower than the overall manufacturing rate of 1.73. "Strong company leadership underlines our robust safety culture," says Twist. "Working at Horizon North is a lifestyle choice — and everyone knows what the expectations are." Subsea 7 Canada TransCanada Turbines Silver Silver East Coast Canada OIL AND GAS

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