Nova Scotia Power Commits to Safety
As several recent stories have reminded us, working around electricity is nothing to take lightly; proper, thorough training is a must to avoid needless tragedy. And everyone should agree that the electrical industry is an inherently hazardous industry, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to stress safety on the job. To that end, executives at Nova Scotia Power and officials with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers jointly signed the CEO Health and Safety Leadership Charter. The charter was launched in 2005 and is administered by the Conference Board of Canada, and has a goal of supporting continuous workplace health and safety improvement. The charter has been signed by about 250 organizations across Canada. By signing the charter, employers and employees pledge to make safety the number one priority in the workplace.
Both the company and the union praised the charter as a symbolic commitment to health and safety by both. In signing it, they hope to encourage other organizations in Nova Scotia to consider ways to make their own workplaces safer.
In a press release touting the signing of the charter, the company cited a number of safety milestones, including a million person-hours without a lost-time injury for the more than 500-person customer operations team. This team isn’t just office personnel; it includes control centre workers, planners, engineers, fleet operations, vegetation management (they clear trees and bushes away from power lines) and power line technicians. The company also announced a public awareness campaign to educate Nova Scotians about the dangers of working around electrical wires and encouraging people to stay at least six metres back from power lines.
Nova Scotia’s minister for labour and workplace development, Marilyn More, praised the efforts of Nova Scotia Power and IBEW to create a culture of workplace safety. She also noted that Nova Scotia had improved its health and safety record overall, including a7% drop in the number of claims registered with the Workers’ Compensation Board between 2004 and 2008. That drop was double the national average. In addition, lost-time claims in the province dropped 12%, compared to 9.6% nationally. She noted that Nova Scotia still has a lot of work to do, since they still have the highest injury rate in the Atlantic region and they fifth among the provinces.
Tags: health and safety training, heavy equipment safety, injury, Nova Scotia Health and Safety, Safety, Worker Safety, workplace safety
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