By Catherine LaFlamme
A career in the forest products industry offers as many rewards and opportunities as it does challenges. That’s what participants in Resolute’s Engineering Graduate Program and Forest Products Association of Canada’s (FPAC) Green Dream Internship Program are discovering on the job at Resolute.
We are pleased to share a series of blogposts written by the new interns on their work experience and adventures.
For this second blogpost, I’d like to share with you the importance of workplace health and safety, which is a part of everyone’s routine at Resolute.
Health and safety management at Resolute is primarily based on the early detection of risks. Employees excel at detecting hazards and reporting them to management. A total of 1,100 dangerous situations were reported in 2017. As of today, 100% of these risks have been addressed.
You may not know this, but before beginning a task, employees must complete a questionnaire about the task’s potential for injury and possible dangers.
Over the last few months, the Girardville sawmill reached 500,000 accident-free hours, which equals more than 800 work days without recordable injuries under OSHA. This is a sector record.
All these hours of cautious and collaborative work to keep everyone safe were rewarded last week.
A ceremony was held to present donations to not-for-profit organizations chosen by employees. We decided to assist three organizations, the first being Les Bénévoles de Girardville, which helps the elderly get around, often to their medical appointments. The second is Maison Halte Secours, which offers aid to women and families who are victims of violence. The last is Maison Colombe-Veilleux, which provides end-of-life care.
It was a wonderful event. What’s more, several Executive team members came to the ceremony to congratulate the workers for their record-breaking safe working habits. They also took the opportunity to remind employees how important it is to remain alert, especially in the summer, and that we must always keep our own safety and the safety of others a priority.
