We believe that all our workers are entitled to a safe work place. We start by enforcing the three fundamental workers’ rights, which are explained to all workers during the company orientation.
1. The right to know about the hazards at work.
2. The right to participate in finding and controlling the hazards.
3. The right to refuse work that you feel is unusually dangerous.
All of our employees have the right to be comfortable in their work. This starts with a company orientation that familiarizes everybody with the SEA (Saskatchewan Employment Act) and informs them that they are entitled to a safe workplace and this is the starting point.
Every employee the works for R&D has WHMIS 2015 training. This is a no cost course offered through the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS.ca) via Worksafe Saskatchewan (worksafesask.ca). They also get trained on specific equipment they may require. Anybody that has been trained on powered mobile equipment will be provided a proof of their training, and records will be kept, including their exam with score, issue date and PME competency checklist.
(Ⅰ) “harassment” means any inappropriate conduct, comment, display, action or gesture by a person:
(ⅰ) that either:
(a) is based on race, creed, religion, colour, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, physical size or weight, age, nationality, ancestry or place of origin; or
(b) subject to subsections (4) and (5), adversely affects the worker’s psychological or physical well-being and that the person knows or ought reasonably to know would cause a worker to be humiliated or intimidated; and
(ⅱ) that constitutes a threat to the health or safety of the worker.
All employees have the right to work in a safe environment and harassment will not be tolerated. If you feel you are being harassed, please bring it to your supervisors attention, the safety officer for the company or the owners. We will do a confidential investigation and upon completion we will let both parties know the results.
All sites are to be inspected by the site foreman no less than once a week. This will be documented and the form will be distributed to any necessary individuals.
Safety meetings are a very important tool to effectively communicate between the foremen, workers and owners. These are done in a couple of different ways. The most common is via weekly toolbox meetings. These are short, informal meetings where we would ask anybody with any concerns to bring them up. These will be documented so any changes can be tracked.
A second form of meetings are via the health and safety committee. The names and numbers of the employees on the committee are posted at the office. This is a worker and management committee the meets quarterly. Again, all the information is documented and free for anybody to read.
R&D and our trusted general contractors always strive to make our sites as safe as possible. However, as safe as we can make them, unfortunate incidents may still happen. Therefore, personal protective equipment is required before entering any site. This will include a CSA approved hard hat, CSA approved boots and safety glasses. Upon arrival at site for the very first time, the general contractor will do a site orientation with new workers, as well. Part of this orientation may include safety equipment that is not part of the R & D policy. It is a mandatory stipulation that we follow the site specific policy for any PPE and anybody not following the guidelines set out may be removed from site.
If you are operating special equipment, other PPE may be required, such as a harness and lanyard for lifts or a face shield and safety glasses when grinding.