PCL stresses cooperation

by Bob Martin, Media Relations Coordinator/Writer, CSAO

 

As PCL Constructors Canada Inc. winds down one high-profile job in the Ottawa area, the lessons learned will serve it well on an upcoming $100-million hospital reconstruction project in Sudbury.

Although a construction schedule for the Sudbury project hasn't been finalized, it is not likely to be as tight as that for the nearly completed expansion of Nortel's Carling Campus in Ottawa. This $150-million job includes a 650,000 sq. ft. office expansion and related infrastructure, such as roads, ponds, and lagoons. Work began in November 1997. The first Nortel staff moved in during December 1998 and the entire project was scheduled for completion by the end of March 1999.

The Sudbury hospital, by comparison, involves work slated to last about three years.

While the time span is longer, there will be some similarities between the two projects, according to Steve Cody, PCL's District Loss Prevention Manager. A key one will be health and safety.

With less than a month remaining and more than a million work hours posted, only three lost-time injuries were recorded. Cody credits the low rate, accumulated while construction crews posted "well over" a million manhours, to the strength of the project's joint health and safety committee.

"One of the real successes on this project is the strength of the committee and the respect the certified workers have enjoyed," he says. "There's been a lot of cooperation on the job."

Mark Gurevitch, the certified worker on the project, agrees.

"PCL pays a lot of attention to safety on their jobs," he explains. This attention makes Gurevitch's job easier. "A lot of things can be solved just by talking and networking."

Networking opportunities for all workers on the project include the quarterly safety dinners. The September event attracted more than 400 participants who were treated to a steak dinner, incentive awards, and a short presentation praising the success of their health and safety efforts.

The dinner, which Cody describes as a "celebration of the workers' efforts," is funded by the contractors, who contribute .01% of their labour costs to an incentive fund.

Cody believes the cooperative success of the project is evident in the respect Gurevitch generated among all workers on site. "They counted on him," he explains.

The cooperative atmosphere felt throughout the project has drawn positive comments from visitors to the site.

Cody, a CSAO director, is well aware of the concerns that individual safety awards may not have an overall impact on safety performance. The difference is that the PCL approach targets every worker in an effort ­ apparently highly successful ­ to ensure that they all consider themselves part of the health and safety team.

Cody isn't content to confine the campaign for health and safety to the site. He ensures that fellow members of the Ottawa Regional Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee are kept up to date on the project. During one recent meeting, Gurevitch was invited to outline his typical day on the Nortel site.

It's an approach he's looking forward to continuing when the joint health and safety committee is up and running on Sudbury's hospital project.

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