By Billi Bob Levasseur
A career in the forest products industry offers as many rewards and opportunities as it does challenges. That’s what participants in 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.
Hello everyone,
For my fourth blog post, I’d like to talk about the importance of occupational health and safety in my daily tasks at Resolute.
The topic of health and safety was brought up in my first interview, even before I got my internship. My supervisor talked about the importance of safety in the various personal mandates that I would have to carry out. It is critical to ensure that work is done properly, because controllable risks can be identified while work is being planned. It made me aware that this is a matter to be taken seriously and that we are each accountable.
I have observed various types of work so far and I’m struck by the workers’ awareness of health and safety at the mill. A task-related risk analysis process called AST 360 has to be carried out before any work starts. The purpose of this tool is to identify the potential hazards of a job before it is performed, which significantly reduces work-related accidents.
All workers must complete this exercise, whether they are Resolute employees or external workers; no exceptions are allowed. They must complete a questionnaire on the risks of injury and possible hazards related to the performance of the work. Once the sheet is complete, a person in authority in the unit must check it before the work begins. In this way, supervisory personnel can monitor work more effectively.
I find it interesting to see people working together. There is a sense of belonging and support to ensure work is done safely. It may seem trivial to some but, on the contrary, properly planning a task to ensure there is no risk represents a significant gain in several ways. Even so, some situations are ambiguous. A good example is an equipment breakdown, which puts pressure on workers because quick problem solving can avoid lost time and money. It is precisely in such circumstances, when workers act hastily to save time, that accidents can occur. The related injuries, which are often serious, can be avoided with better management.
To prevent this type of accident, the supervisors make a point of reminding the workers that safety is a priority at the mill. Workers shouldn’t hesitate to speak up if they think the risks of a task are too high. This is one of the Company’s core values and also one of its strengths.
One point I’m proud to underscore is that in the past month the Kénogami mill reached 250,000 hours without an accident, the equivalent of more than 400 days of work without a recordable injury under the OSHA standard. The mill record is 750,000 hours, which is considerable. Employers were recognized during the first week of July, and management celebrated the achievement with a ceremony.
Two cheques were issued to assist non-profit organizations selected by the unit’s employees. We chose to support two organizations: Leucan Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, a summer camp for children with cancer; and the Saguenay palliative care hospice for people who accompany individuals at the end of their lives. It was a wonderful event, and I’m proud to have had the opportunity to take part.
As an electrical intern, my tasks include following up on paper machine maintenance and improvement projects as well as scheduling maintenance of high-voltage substations during shutdowns. I’ve also had to prepare tender documents for engine repair, transformer maintenance and specific tests carried out by external contractors with the requisite expertise. To do so, I had to consult Mr. Allard or Mr. Paradis to obtain the necessary information so that I would be aware of all the health and safety issues. I found this work difficult at times because until this summer I had not really covered this aspect in my career development.
For several weeks, I also had the opportunity to take part in a project to develop a stable and functional version of a management tool for maintenance planning. The tool was developed mainly through discussions with my managers about the requirements, at the outset and along the way. Follow-up made it possible to create a version that can be used to maximum effectiveness. Seeing the final outcome of the project has been a source of pride for me, and I know it will be very useful in the near future.
Even though I have only two years of university under my belt and most of my courses have been part of the engineering common core, I have been able to develop several transversal competencies by working with my immediate team of three electrical engineers.
I’d also like to mention that I have had the opportunity to share my knowledge with a newly graduated engineer from UQAC, Gabriel Tremblay. Our discussions enabled me to consolidate my knowledge and re-examine what I’ve learned in order to be as useful as possible to the people I work with.
So far, my internship at Resolute Forest Products has been beneficial to me on several levels. I’ve been able to develop my communication and teamwork skills by collaborating on a number of concrete projects with real and measurable outcomes.
