Yorkton Plumbing and Heating is a WorkSafe Saskatchewan 2016 Safe Employer finalist.

Chris Wyatt has been in charge of safety at Yorkton Plumbing and Heating for the last four years. Owner Justin Yawney brought Chris on to the team to build the growing company’s safety program. With Justin’s support, Chris attained his National Construction Safety Officer designation through the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association (SCSA).

Over the last decade, Yorkton Plumbing and Heating has grown and expanded its services. With a larger and younger workforce, keeping employees safe and preventing injuries has become a priority for the company. “We have a young workforce, a lot of young journeymen,” explains Wyatt. “Our number one priority has always been to take care of our workers. We want them to go home at the end of the day and be able to hug their children, to take them fishing on the weekends, or to play a round of golf.”

Justin and Chris are committed to a strong safety program. New employees receive school and on-the-job training, and must complete Safety Construction Orientation Training (SCOT) before they start work. The new employee must complete a 60-question test after the orientation training. Chris follows up and reviews incorrect answers with the employee to ensure that they understand the correct answer and why.

Supervisors take the SCSA’s Leadership for Safety Excellence course, a two-day program that helps supervisors build health and safety into their planning, including inspection and safety lists and toolbox meetings. All employees take fall protection training, platform awareness training and, if required for their job, confined space training.

Employees out on assignment are required to complete a pre-job safety instruction (PSI) sheet before beginning a job and if the job site changes. At the end of each month, Chris tallies the hazards identified on the PSIs and communicates them as Top-5 hazard lists to sheet metal, commercial plumbing and residential service divisions of the company. Chris prioritizes the identified hazards and shares these with the employees. “They have to understand not all hazards are the same. Some may give you stitches, some can kill you.”

All employees participate in weekly safety meetings and daily toolbox talks in their teams. Four times a year, Chris arranges a toolbox meeting for all staff. The meetings highlight workplace safety, but it also gives employees opportunity to discuss safety and injury prevention outside of the workplace.

To increase awareness and prevent serious incidents, the company includes near-miss books in all trucks and in the shop. Employees document when an incident occurs and discusses these during Monday safety meetings.

First aid is another important element in Yorkton Plumbing and Heating’s safety program. Over half of the employees are first-aid certified and everyone is encouraged to become certified. “One of the many reasons we want our staff certified in first aid goes back to the fact that most of our employees have young families,” says Chris. “It’s not just that we want to instill safety at the workplace – we want to keep our employees safe at home too.”

Since implementing the safety program four years ago, Yorkton Plumbing and Heating has decreased injuries and improved their WCB experience rating – while doubling their workforce. “If you’re doubling your workforce, theoretically those injury numbers shouldn’t go down,” explains Chris. “In our case, a strong safety program and committed staff have improved our numbers and safety rating.”

Health and safety is important to everyone at Yorkton Plumbing and Heating. Their health and safety policy statement has become a motto for everyone who works there: “Complete and active participation by everyone, every day, in every job is necessary for the safety excellence the company expects.”