New CSAO President

Gary Treusch brings 25 years' commitment to post

by Bob Martin, Media Relations Coordinator/Writer, CSAO

" We need the cooperation of the government to ensure our funding"

 

There couldn't be a better time for Gary Treusch to become the new President of the Construction Safety Association of Ontario.

Construction Manager of Freure Homes in Kitchener, Treusch has established a reputation for a proactive approach in taking the message ­ be it safety or sales ­ to the end user.

If Treusch could be remembered for just one thing during a term of office that begins at CSAO's annual meeting on April 19, it would be "for cutting deaths and injuries in the workplace."

Achieving that goal, he adds, "means getting the health and safety message out to the worker."

Locally, he's been reaching that goal through the longrunning series of safety messages developed by the Central Ontario Regional Labour-Management Committee and published in a wide variety of publications.

"The residential area is one of the biggest areas of concern right now," Treusch explains. "There's so many small builders ­ guys working out of pickup trucks, people working out of their homes, doing a lot of work in the industry right now ­ who don't know the difference between CSAO, the Ministry of Labour, and the WSIB."

Even worse, many also don't know their health and safety responsibilities, he stresses.

Admitting that providing one-on-one service to every company would "inundate" CSAO, Treusch believes that small contractors can still draw on the association's resources.

Computer-based training (CBT) is one of the innovations CSAO has introduced to reach the small homebuilding contractor.

"If they're not using the CBT program right now then they're missing a big step in training some of their people who are just coming on site."

Contractors who take advantage of the wide range of CSAO programs will gain the benefits of the best safety training in the world, Treusch emphasizes.

"It's exciting to be the president going into the new millennium and leading one of the best safety organizations in the world."

Treusch bases his opinion not only on his 25 years' experience with the labour-management network but on the interest CSAO generates throughout Canada.

"People from across the country have contacted us to request our services and request information on the way we do things. That shows to me that CSAO is a leader."

He adds that U.S. associations, contractors, and individuals have come to rely on CSAO for literature, videos, and other training material.

Discussing the quality of that material, Treusch comes back to a common theme.

"We've got some of the best materials in the world ­ they're award winners ­ so why not use that to our best advantage and market those materials?"

With the commitment, enthusiasm, and energy that Gary Treusch brings to the job, there's not much doubt that if something can be done, he will get it done.

He's excited by the challenge. "I really believe if you give a busy person a job to do, they will get it done."

But Gary Treusch is also a realist. He admits that there are times when he'll find problems on his own sites.

"Safety education is a constant, on-going process," he notes.

There is progress, however. While workers used to question Treusch about the higher expectations on his projects compared to some others, they now acknowledge that safety is important.

CSAO has played an important role in providing the knowledge to work safely, he says.

Once workers gain that knowledge, Treusch is adamant that the resulting attitude be self-motivated.

"I've always said if workers are working safely on a site I hope they're working safely for themselves ­ not because there's a Ministry of Labour inspector around, not because their boss told them to, not because the law says they have to but only for themselves. If they're not, then they're doing it for all the wrong reasons. The key is to get them home to their families safely, not taken off the site by ambulance."

 

Back to Contents