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October 2013 17 T wenty-five kilometres of six-lane roadway. Twenty- seven bridge structures. Nine interchanges. Two rail flyovers. And one road flyover. The Southeast Stoney Trail in Calgary is the single largest high- way project in Alberta's history. The $769-million project spans three years and is a public-private partner- ship with the Alberta Government and Chinook Infrastructures (a joint venture between Acciona S.A. and SNC-Lavalin). The project began in 2010 and there have been at least 35 contractors with about 2,700 workers, supervisors and consultants working on the project. A project of this size and nature has many occupational health and safety (OHS) considerations. "The challenge they've had is it's not been the same workforce for the three- and-a-half years — that's the nature of construction," says Gary Lamb, urban construction manager at Alberta Transportation in Calgary. "(OHS) is a more difficult chal- lenge than it is in a plant environment where you have long-term employees who are working in the same areas all the time, rather than in different areas on a day-to-day basis." As part of their bid on the project, Acciona and SNC-Lavalin had to submit their health and safety plan which included an outline of safety processes, procedures and training materials. They also needed to demonstrate they have the resources required to oversee health and safety on the entire project. Chinook has four OHS professionals on the project. When it comes to selecting con- tractors, Chinook Roads Partnership expects a similar health and safety plan from bidding companies. "It's a cultural aspect they build right into the contracting process. Not only is it the right thing to do, it's the cost-effective thing to do as well," says Dan MacLennan, executive direc- tor of the Alberta Construction Safety Association (ACSA) in Edmonton. "Anyone who didn't have the highest possible standard of safety won't even make it through to the bed list." On projects of this size, the general contractor would also likely be looking for the certificate of recognition (COR) from the bidding companies, says Tammy Hawkins, manager of learn- ing services at ACSA. The certificate is awarded to employers who develop health and safety programs that meet established standards. COR has become the standard across the province for hiring anyone to work on the major commercial or industrial projects. All workers, consultants, supervi- sors and experts that come onto the project receive a basic health and safety orientation. With such a wide variety of companies and individu- als coming onto the project — and staying for different lengths of time — Chinook looks at exactly what role they are playing and tailors the learn- ing to fit their needs, says Kevin Hayes, manager of corporate safety at Acciona Infrastructure Canada in Vancouver. "They may be very specific to earth- works, concrete pouring, laying of rebar so you really have to judge your audience," he says. "You may have a rocket scientist among the group and there could be someone who dropped out of school at the age of 13, so it's really being respectful of what they're doing on the project and working with them." Training Before workers can step on to a con- struction site, there is a lot of training required. For starters, every single piece of equipment requires training, says MacLennan. "Different Cat (vehicles) or road- building equipment, every one of those has someone sign off and make sure people know what they're doing before they turn the machine on," he says. "Ensure when new things are introduced to the site that they're done in a proactive way with safety at the front of workers' minds." Working at heights is important training for some of the contractors that have employees working in man- lifts between 10 feet and 40 feet up in the air, says Hayes. "They'll be getting near unprotected edges so they need to be tied-off, so you need to have systems in place for that," he says. "You have to have training for workers to make sure they understand the use of a harness, lanyard, what's going to protect them from falling." Confined space training is also important for individuals on this project because it included catch basins, manholes, "tie-ins" with live storm sewers and restricted spaces. "Entry into a confined space can be considered one of the deadly sins related to OH&S," says Hayes. "Several issues have to be considered, spe- cifically rescue and the possibility of gases that may seep into the area or be created by the work process." Workers also need training on work- ing around utilities (both overhead and buried), WHMIS, environmental issues and respirator use. There is a lot of onus on contractors to ensure their workers have the right training certification and that equip- ment operators have the tickets they require, says Hayes. He requires copies of certificates for mobile equipment (such as manlifts, cranes, excavators and scrapers), confined space entry and competent persons for excavation inspections. Ultimately, ensuring workers have the right training and certificates is the responsibility of the prime contractor — which is Chinook Infrastructures in this case. Under Alberta legislation, the "prime contractor" has the legal responsibility for ensuring that every- one participates and does their part in health and safety on the site, says Hawkins. "Their job is to oversee the health and safety management system with all levels of employees," she says. "If there is a situation where they feel it is not up to standard, then they would MAKING SOUTHEAST STONEY TRAIL 3-year construction project battles changing landscape, workforce and weather conditions of the By Amanda Silliker