By Andrew de Souza

Prince Albert first to receive heavy construction safety rating

Nov 19, 2010 | 12:18 PM

Prince Albert is the first city in the province to be recognized with a certificate of recognition for the Heavy Construction Safety Association of Saskatchewan.
On Friday, representatives from the association presented the City of Prince Albert with a COR. The certificate shows that the city met the requirements to ensure the safety of their workers, including having all the necessary training, equipment and education for workers.
“The city does some jobs that could be considered hazardous or dangerous,” said Steve Wallace, safety director with the HCSAS. “It’s a proactive step the city has taken to actually be able to move forward and actually be able to keep their workers safe.”
The city is the first municipal corporation to receive the certificate. According to Wallace, Prince Albert was the first because of the dedication of upper management and the city’s health and safety team.
“It shows commitment on their part and that they take safety seriously,” he said.
For city manager Robert Cotterill, it’s good to be recognized for their work. But, he said, ensuring safety was a day-to-day challenge and much more than getting a plaque to put on a wall.
“We always have to be mindful of the fact of our mission is zero accidents –not one accident,” said Cotterill. “Is that realistic? Probably not, but we’re not going to set a goal any lower than that.”

City moving forward from safety violation charges.
For Cotterill, the recognition is important for the city because it shows they’re moving in the right direction. It’s especially important because the city is currently involved in several workplace safety charges related to insufficient supervision and worksite safety.
“We currently have had on our books a number of charges that have been laid by the department of labour because we weren’t acting responsibly,” said Cotterill. “We agree, we weren’t safe. We want to be safe. Now that we’ve had this audit done that shows yes, we’re going in the right direction.”
In order to maintain their certification the city must complete an internal audit of their safety practices after two years and have another audit from the association in three years.
adesouza@panow.com