Port Saint John has been recognized as one of Canada's Safest Employers by the Canadian Occupational Safety magazine. (Photo: Port Saint John/Twitter)
Port Saint John is getting national attention for its commitment to employee health and safety.
The organization was recognized this week as one of Canada’s Safest Employers by the Canadian Occupational Safety magazine.
Captain Chris Hall, vice-president of operations and harbour master, said it is a great honour for the company and its employees.
“The most important thing that we do as an organization is ensure the safety of our employees and all of the other people that may be on our facilities,” said Hall, “so the fact that we’re recognized for doing just that feels very, very good today.”
Hall said Port Saint John had applied for the recognition previously but did not make it to the next stage — until this year.
After sending in a formal written submission, the company was rated on a wide range of occupational health and safety (OHS) elements, including employee training, OHS management systems, incident investigation, emergency preparedness and innovative health and safety initiatives.
“We started on this journey a few years ago to create the necessary systems and start the appropriate safety culture,” Hall said.
“It was a relatively complex screening criteria, and this year, as a result of our efforts over the last two or three years, we certainly made the grade.”
1/2 Port Saint John has been recognized as one of Canada's #SafestEmployers!
We received a Silver award in the public sector category last night in Toronto. The awards salute companies from across the country who've made outstanding accomplishments in promoting employee health pic.twitter.com/vSrEiOzD1D
— Port Saint John (@PortSaintJohn) October 23, 2019
Hall said they would not have been able to earn this recognition without the commitment and dedication they get from employees across the company.
“Whether it’s with the health and safety committee, or the employees on the front line doing the operations out in the field, or even for those folks who are behind a desk all day, the same level of focus and commitment to the program is required,” he said.
Hall said it is motivating for the employees to be recognized like this, but it does not mean they can stop working to improve health and safety.
“We can’t rest on our laurels,” he said. “There’s always work to do on company safety performance and safety culture. It’s not something that just comes naturally.”
Launched in 2011, Canada’s Safest Employers awards recognize companies from across Canada with outstanding accomplishments in promoting the health and safety of their workers.
Other winners this year include Canadian Blood Services, GE Healthcare and Jazz Aviation.
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