Canadian Occupational Safety

the young workers get to know their colleagues and feel comfortable in the workplace. "There's nothing more intimidating than being 20 years old and some guy sits in the offi ce at the end of the hall and the door's closed all the time," says Loftus. "That culture — as much as it was very commonplace in the '70s, '80s, into the ' 90s — was not con- ducive to people being comfortable having discussions about what might be perceived as a cost to the company." Young workers at Innovative know their feedback is valued and they feel comfortable asking questions and reporting any safety issues that may arise. "It becomes a family. All of them will just drop what they're doing if I have any questions for them," says Arm- strong. "Everyone is such good friends, they have no problem doing that." coming year, says Carrie Sally, con- servation and demand management marketing co-ordinator. "If it's not themselves it is family members or friends. We've all been exposed to someone with a mental wellness issue." The wellness offi ce is organizing a week focused on fi nancial health, which will include a variety of fi nancial planning sessions for those at different life stages. Tips and resources will also be communicated through the internal daily newsletter, the monthly wellness newsletter and a poster campaign. The plethora of wellness options at the company has not only helped keep the workforce healthy but also happy. "Employee engagement is exception- ally high here… above 95 per cent," says Bentz. "We know that is because we place high priority on our staff and we know that our staff is cared for." E mployees at Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA) take personal ownership of occupational health and safety. "People have a sense of doing the right thing when it comes to safety," says Kevin Hong, manager of health and safety at the 440-employee orga- nization that manages the Vancouver International Airport. "There is a really strong culture of intrinsic safety." Safety and accountability are two of the four values at the airport author- ity — the others being teamwork and innovation — and every department sets its own OHS goals annually. They are responsible for risk assessments, tool box talks and training for which they submit a monthly report. "The health and safety department is there to help drive that change, but we are not the safety police at this workforce," says Hong. "It is com- pletely owned by them." An annual awards program — now in its 12th year — highlights the departments with the best health and safety programs and celebrates their accomplishments at a gala event. Every offi cial meeting at the organiza- tion starts with a discussion on safety — including those of the board of directors, says Craig Richmond, president and CEO. "They want to know has anything come up, what are the trends, what are the sta- tistics, how are we trending compared to what we wanted." The board is responsible for provid- ing oversight for the enterprise risk management program, which evalu- ates any possible risks the airport may face, from the price of aviation fuel to the health and safety of employees. "The board measures how we are moving from that inherent risk to target risk and if there's a gap, what are the specifi c measures we are doing to reduce that?" says Richmond. About one year ago, VAA changed its remuneration policy to refl ect safety targets. Managers are now measured and rewarded based on how well they are able to meet their safety goals. Many projects take place at the air- port (last year it had $280 million in capital projects) and each one has a safety goal. While the ultimate goal is always zero, the airport monitors the contractors to ensure they are not exceeding industry averages. North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week at VAA starts with a wreath ceremony and guest speakers for the National Day of Mourning, which remembers workers who have died on the job. October/November 2015 25 G O L D CANADA'S BEST HEALTH + SAFETY CULTURE directors, says Craig Richmond, president and CEO. anything come up, what are the trends, what are the sta- tistics, how are we trending compared to what we wanted." S I L VER S I L VER Techmation Electric & Controls Weatherford Canada Partnership SAFET Y LEADER OF THE YEAR Congratulations to Roxanne McKendry, manager, EHS, at Carewest who is the recipient of the 2015 Safety Leader of the Year Award. She will be profi led in the Dec/Jan issue. HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Daniel Carrocci, owner, Determination Drilling Theo Heineman, president and CEO, 1Life Workplace Safety and Health The ceremony takes place in a public concourse and employees from other companies in the airport, members of the public and contractors all partici- pate, says Richmond. "It's very somber, very, very moving and there are hundreds of people from suits to construction workers standing fo r the day of mourning." For people with autism, fl ying can be a harrowing experience — espe- cially for children. To help combat this, VAA has partnered with the Canucks Autism Network. One evening each year, it closes part of the terminal and walks families through the complete fl ying experience from check in to the safety demonstration on the airplane. "People come back to us and say 'You know I would not have fl own without that experience but my son or daughter is now comfortable enough' and they went to Disneyland," says Richmond. Workers at VAA aren't afraid to speak up if they have a concern. One morning at 3 a.m. when Richmond was working with a crew on the runway replacing inset lights (as part of an exercise where all senior manag- ers worked two night shifts) he asked the group for their thoughts on safety. "They felt empowered to say 'Look, I need to stop right now and we need to rethink this' and there was no question in their mind there would be no pres- sure to continue until they were happy."

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