The safety of our employees has always been a thorn in our side. Our industry has always been physically demanding and in turn attracts tough men and women. Ignoring cuts, scrapes, and injuries used to and is still common place. The perception of being delicate vs the need for antiseptic spay and bandage is a blurry line. With regard to the Workers Compensation Board (WCB), do we report a scrape, a bruise, a cut, or a pulled muscle? This decision is foggy and depends on the person involved. Safety education may also be pushed aside by other work priorities. Many of us construction workers grow up around small, medium, and large equipment. It may seem redundant for some of us to acquire formal training on a machine which we may have operated since the teenage years.
With the above being said, the construction industry has come a long way. We, as a company have come a long way. The industry has made a consistent effort in providing fast, convenient, and thorough safety education. The Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association has been accommodating to our business, and is working with us to receive our Small Employers Certificate of Recognition (SECOR), a program designed to reduce financial and human losses associated with accidents. Although the stack of paper work is high, it has helped all MarNew Construction employees arrive on the same page with being aware of hazards and potential complications on a job site. This is the third generation of the Gettle carpenters and there has been great improvements within the industry with regard to safety. We hope this trend will continue, and we will keep pushing to evaluate and improve our safety system.
Fingers crossed our safety audit will get a check mark this year.
MarNew Construction Ltd. 