2022 Award for Workplace Health and Safety

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The nominees for the 2022 Award of Excellence for Workplace Health and Safety are:

Emcon Services Inc. - Revelstoke

Emergency Preparedness Program

In January of 2022, Emcon Services Inc. - Revelstoke launched a preparedness initiative to simplify their dated process and standardize response methods through a consistent company wide program. The initiative focused on three foundational areas:

1. reducing incidents through project planning,
2. mitigating facility conditions, and
3. elevating training and education.

Throughout the first year of implementation, an increase of 200 percent can be noticed in the completion of risk assessments, there is an 11 percent reduction of reportable incidents and an increase of 46 percent in drills and education.

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Yellowhead Road & Bridge (Vanderhoof) Ltd.

Underbody Blade Slide System for Snowplows

Changing plow blades can present workers with an uncomfortable environment and a potential for soft tissue and pinch point injuries. Yellowhead Road & Bridge (Vanderhoof) Ltd. has developed an engineered (patent pending) design for quick and safe blade changes which has the potential to significantly reduce worker injuries. This submission demonstrates a reduction of worker exposure by reducing the time it takes to change the blade (of up to 80 percent), a weight reduction of 9-18 kg (reducing strain to workers), and the elimination of impact tools (which can cause potential hearing loss). This submission presents a good example of the safety triangle where safety, quality and production all have the potential to benefit from this initiative.

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Emil Anderson Group

STAR Card

Safe Task Action Recognition (STAR) Card program provides a direct link between management and craft workers (coaches, mentors, trainers) and allows for live-time reporting in areas of:

1. suggestions for improvements,
2. interventions,
3. kudos/positive observation, and
4. safety concerns.

This is an initiative that can obtain real time data, and empower employees, which appears to have contributed to the reduction of the Lost Time Incident (LTI) frequency of zero over the past three years.

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Enviro-Ex Contracting Ltd.

Steep Slope Safety

When evaluating the complex site of the West Fraser Road project, Enviro-Ex Contracting Ltd. utilized a network of technical experts from around the world and incorporated previous experiences from other industries/sectors (oil and gas, mining and forestry) to develop safe access and perform a complex scope of work on a slope that in some spots, was steeper than 1:1. Using an innovative approach (such as equipping a spider excavator with a custom engineered forestry cab and a remote operated t-winch to allow for the safe felling and removal of trees, as well as utilizing a tilt rotator bucket, commonly used in Europe and newer to North America, to allow for stripping of organic materials and preform type D excavation), Enviro-Ex Contracting Ltd. positively impacted the overall health and safety of the project at the same time as established a teamwork atmosphere where workers have taken pride in safely executing the work. 

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Hub City Paving Ltd.

Illuminated Crosswalks

Currently, walkways in and around paving plants are painted, which fade quickly and are exceedingly difficult to remain visible during night work. Hub City Paving Ltd. recognized this hazard and installed an illuminated crosswalk from the spray rack to the asphalt plant producing red tramlines and projected crosswalk signs, replacing the traditional painted lines. The illumination also allows for a visible walkway on a variety of ground conditions (gravel, snow etc.).

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Dawson Construction Ltd.

Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust Sampling Program

Upon discovering the BC Construction Safety Alliance (BCCSA) Silica Control Tool does not contain information on Asphalt Plant Operations, Dawson Construction Ltd. conducted silica sampling tests. Equipping a loader operator, control booth operator and the asphalt plan technician with sampling pumps, they successfully collected data that will hopefully be uploaded and added to the BCCSA’s Silica Control Tool allowing for other asphalt plant operators to use and better understand potential exposure.

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Yellowhead Road & Bridge (Vanderhoof) Ltd.

Underbody Blade Slide System for Snowplows