Safety is not just a watchword at Sault Ste. Marie Public Utilities Commission Services Inc.; it is engrained within the corporate culture.
The utility was honoured this fall by the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce with the Safe Work, Sound Business Award for its achievements in promoting safety throughout its 127-person workforce and in promoting safety throughout the community through advertising campaigns, education safety programs and community outreach volunteer programs.
Further recognized by the Utility Electrical Safety Association as a world-class safety leader, the company prides itself in going the extra mile beyond the requirement set out by the Occupational Health and Safety Act by employee time and untold financial resources towards implementing a pro-active safety management system.
According to the Electrical Utility Safety Association, the Sault PUC is the only company in the utility industry to have every employee trained in Basic Certification Level 1 - translating to three days of intensive health and safety training - as prescribed by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). All members of the company's 12 health and safety committees have Level 2 certificates.
"In the last three or four years, we've really gotten serious about going beyond what everyone else is doing in trying to be a leader in the community," says Al Tourigny, manager of safety and environment, who pays credit to CEO Brian Curran for strongly promoting safety in the workplace.
Besides the regular compliance audits, internal inspections and inventories of their fall protection equipment and hazardous material, the utility stages employee safety breakfasts and appreciation dinners for their in-house safety facilitators.
The company also slips a monthly scratch-and-win ticket with a safety-oriented question into employees' pay envelopes, and the employees then have a chance to win prizes.
"Everybody seems to take a responsibility for safety," says Tourigny. "When we go to meetings, the hats come off and we work together in resolving issues."
