The City of North Battleford is planning to seek a Certificate of Recognition designation in the near future, as a way to promote health and safety in its workplace.
The plans were presented to councillors by the city's health and safety co-ordinator. Steve Gledhill, at a municipal services meeting on Dec. 20.
The designation is through the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association. Gledhill told council members the designation is being sought to increase safety and to reduce potential losses in the future.
Savings in Workman's Compensation Board rates could be achieved in the long run, said Gledhill. As well, it would also serve to boost employee morale.
Right now Estevan is the only city in Saskatchewan that has the COR designation. Gledhill said the designation is seen as significant for those in the oil and gas business. Achieving such a designation would send a signal to industry the City is serious about safety, said Gledhill, who adds other cities are looking into obtaining the designation.
The plan is for COR certification to be rolled out over the next couple of years, and Gledhill said the process would involve "significant change in the work process and mind set of all departments."
He recommended dividing each city department into self-contained units and assigning a foreman the task of developing safe work practices and safe job processes. The plan is for the Public Works Department and then the Parks and Recreation Department to develop this plan.
There are plans for internal audits and ongoing review, with provision for any substandard areas to be identified and issues addressed.
The City would see a department-by-department audit in 2012 and the fine-tuning of all components of the health and safety program. That would lead up to the formal request that would be made to the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association in 2013 for the COR designation, which would trigger a baseline audit within 90 days. It is anticipated the city would receive COR certification during the latter part of 2013.
Gledhill said that once the designation was achieved, the City would need to continue to work at the standards of COR by establishing safe work habits within the entire work force. He also suggested the City consider obtaining the OHSAS 18001-2007 Occupational Health and Safety Standard, or if an environmental standard is more appropriate, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management designation.
