Register for the SCSA Conference, online April 22-23
Register for the SCSA Conference, online April 22-23
Each year, the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association (SCSA) recognizes and celebrates companies and individuals for their dedication to advancing the SCSA’s mission. The winners show leadership in promoting safety in construction and developing positive safety culture in Saskatchewan.
We sat down with the 2024 winners to discuss their contributions to the industry, reasons for prioritizing safety, advice for others and what the recognition means to them.
Based in Saskatoon, CandorBuild Construction does general construction, project management and consulting in commercial, light industrial and residential. Jobs can range from one-day maintenance items to multi-month or longer projects such as cultural centres or new builds.
Safety Drives Everything
Craig Pitcher, project manager at CandorBuild Construction Corp, co-manages safety as part of his role. He says that “safety is not just a focus, it’s a foundation upon which our company is built—safety and service—and it drives everything that we do. It’s an intertwined mission of ours, shaping how we operate and deliver results, and how we nurture and make prosperous relationships.”
A culture of trust and engagement helps ensure the well-being of everyone, including subcontractors and customers. “When safety is the backbone of our operation,” Pitcher says, “it creates an environment where employees feel valued, protected and empowered to make informed decisions, as well as change.” This encourages a proactive approach to safety, so they can focus on performing at a top level.
A Culture Shift
Pitcher has seen a shift towards safety in the industry. It’s more of an expectation now that everyone needs to go home at the end of the day in the same way they showed up to work.
He remembers a major incident early on in his career when he was working in BC. A worker was electrocuted on a site with overhead power lines. He says, “Everybody missed that those high power lines were actually a hazard.” His coworker survived but it was a lesson he carries with him.
Pitcher also notes COR® certification as a positive shift for his company and others. CandorBuild has seen the benefits of COR® when doing larger public bids. Their safety record can help them win bids even if their bid package isn’t the lowest number. In working with different subtrades, they expect everyone to meet their safety standard. “We look for opportunities to learn from them. And some we learn what to do and some we learn what not to do,” Pitcher says. “If you’re going to hurt somebody, you’re not welcome to work with us.”
Community Impact
“One of the biggest strengths of CandorBuild as a company in the community is we’re willing to reinvest the dollars we make and earn to local groups,” Pitcher says. One of their current projects is a heritage commons building in Hepburn, where he lives just north of Saskatoon.
They approach every customer with the intent of building a long-term relationship. In smaller communities, he sees their work not only improve local items but also help people and businesses keep going. Helping others “grow and prosper rather than diminish and fade away,” he says only adds to their strength, respect and credibility as a company.
He acknowledges that construction can be a disruption, “but it can improve an existing building or structure or an existing community . . . and it should be a positive when you leave it. And if you do it safely from start to finish, it will be a positive impact.”
Growth and Success
Safety is key for any construction company to grow and succeed. “When the company has employees that work safe, we can continue to work,” Pitcher says. “When we continue to work, we can continue to grow. We get more employees that work safe.” If employees don’t work safely, companies end up continually training and onboarding new hires, or losing their workforce to better, safer companies.
His advice for others is not to strive for perfection but for continuous improvement. He also says to look for constructive feedback. “When employees bring up a safety concern or a safety item, take the time to listen. Then listen to their why. You may not think you have the time, but listening to a person’s concern ahead of time, prior to an incident or prior to an accident will save you nothing but time in the end.”
For Pitcher, the award confirms that their company is on the right path. He credits their team, from leadership to field-level to ownership, for their collective hard work and dedication. “We’re going to continue to improve and we want to continue to try to be recognized within the industry to be crafting careers and delivering excellence.”
Lance Peters is the safety manager for Breck Construction Group of Companies. Based in Saskatoon, he looks after the safety program for Breck Construction, Systems Scaffolding in Regina and Breck Scaffold in Ontario. His role includes site visits, audits, safety meetings, teaching safety to new hires and re-engaging more experienced workers on site.
Influence Starts with Listening
With a workforce of 150 to 250 people spread over 15 to 20 sites at times, Peters has a lot of moving pieces to manage. He is proactive in sharing issues, concerns and solutions across the company. His steadfast commitment to safety is evident and it’s also clear why people listen to him.
“I’m a safety-first kind of guy, so I promote it by showing them that I take safety personally and seriously,” he says. “If they see that from the top, then they know that this is something we should take seriously and it’s for our better good.”
He makes a point of getting to know their employees and letting them know he cares. “They can talk to me about anything, especially work and safety. My biggest thing is I want them to go home safe for their family and friends,” he says. He wants to hear every concern and do whatever is needed to fix it.
Their supervisors take Leadership for Safety Excellence from the SCSA and Peters encourages them to always be approachable. He models it for others so anyone who has a safety concern can come to him at any time. “If you’re not approachable, they’ll start hiding stuff . . . so if you’re approachable, they’ll bring up a lot of stuff and then we can deal with it and it won’t happen on another site.”
Relationship Builder
Peters’ skill in building relationships influences others in the company. Some of those who initially resisted safety procedures or documentation have become the biggest advocates. Managing so many relationships can be hard, but he says, “If somebody needs to talk to you, you need to take the time to listen to them. . . . A lot of people can read something on a piece of paper, but they’re not going to take it seriously. . . . Where you have a conversation with them, they know you care and you’re serious about it.”
Peters admits that his job is busy and can be stressful at times, but it’s also rewarding to see everybody go home injury-free to spend time with their families. “We haven’t had a major incident or anything for years and years, as long as I’ve been in safety anyway, and nobody seriously got hurt.”
Unforgettable Lessons
Peters never takes lightly his responsibility in ensuring workplace safety. Telling stories from his past makes a lasting impression on his team. “I’ve seen a lot of incidents and I’ve been on a site where people have died. So, that is something that I would never want to see again.”
In terms of the time it takes for safety, he compares the time it takes out of your workday to the time it would take away from the rest of your life if you were to have an incident and not be able to walk, or worse. He encourages people to think beyond themselves, keeping their loved ones in mind.
He often shares a story he heard at a conference from a man who had been burned in a workplace accident. The worker was in a coma for six months and “the hardest thing was his family wondering if he was going to die every day. So being in the coma was the easy part, knowing his family had to go through that,” he says. “If you’re involved in an on-site incident or any safety incident and you get hurt, it’s not just you that is affected by this. It’s your family, your friends and your coworkers.”
Training and Mentorship
With 37 years in construction, Peters is sought out for his expertise. In recent years, he’s been asked by clients to create and implement training programs for their sites. He’s researched and built custom programs for these clients to train all their contractors. People also frequently approach him with questions about regulations, safety rules or new personal protective equipment (PPE).
He is committed to ongoing learning and improvement. As an NCSO™, Peters makes a point of connecting with other safety professionals. He attends conferences, works with his SCSA advisor and takes further training that he can recommend to others.
Peters shares the importance of safety with his daughter and always keeps her in mind. “I don’t want to see anybody get hurt and I don’t want to see anybody’s family members wondering if they’re going to die. That’s something that I don’t ever want to see. And a lot of that stems from my daughter. I don’t want her to look at me and say, just think if you would have done it safely, I’d have a dad.”
Christopher Paposiis the senior health and safety coordinator for Ram Steel. He supports day-to-day health and safety activities for all of their sites, helps build and develop their safety culture, maintains their safety program and collaborates with other team members to ensure a safer workplace for everyone.
Driven to Pursue Safety
A decade ago, Paposi received a call he will never forget. He lost one of his closest friends in a fatal workplace accident because a safety process or control wasn’t in place. That loss drove him to pursue a career in safety and it’s a story he often shares with his crews.
“If I can get the message out that it’s worth the time for any small job that it takes to save a life, then we need to take that time to do that. And if I can get that message out, then I think I’m making a difference in the industry.” Sharing his connection to safety gets team members thinking about their experiences and encourages others to open up as well.
This kind of engagement is beneficial for team building. When onboarding for larger projects, they bring in new hires who may be unfamiliar with Ram Steel standards. Sharing and discussion help everyone get in the mindset of being safe in the field and looking out for their partners.
Number One Value
Ram Steel’s top value prioritizes safety—completing the job in the safest and most efficient manner. Paposi disagrees with anyone who says that safety gets in the way of production. He is adamant that, “production is the byproduct of safety and efficiency. So the safer we can work out there and the more efficient we can work out there, the more we get done.”
He always tries to support and fight for the safest outcome. If there isn’t just one specific way to do something, he makes sure the team is choosing the safest way to accomplish the task.
The Right Thing to Do
Paposi is committed to development and growth in his career. He is an NCSO, a project management professional and most recently Gold Seal certified. Early on, Leadership for Safety Excellence through the SCSA resonated with him. He recommends all of Ram Steel’s supervisors take the course to understand their responsibilities and what it means to be a safety leader.
One of the ways he thinks Ram stands out as a company is by providing supervisors with training and encouraging a proactive risk management mindset. They aim to have “safety-conscious leaders out in the field that are essentially able to self-manage and self-direct, and go throughout their day-to-day activities without having to be disciplined for an infraction because they know themselves that it’s not the right thing to do.”
Getting Home to Live
The reason safety is the right thing to do, Paposi says, is so everyone can go home to see their family and friends—to enjoy their lives outside of work, including leisure activities or vacations. He feels the weight of responsibility to ensure that “everybody that works with us has what they need to work safely so they can get home and continue living that life that they’re working for.”
For work to support home lives, safety has to be at the forefront. He believes the industry needs to value every person for their unique set of skills. “It’s in the skilled trades professionals that we bring on with us that the world goes around. And if these people aren’t doing what they come to work to do—are dedicated to do every day—then potash mines, refineries, power plants, these things suffer.”
In closing, he says, “Safety is a collaborative effort and as leaders in the industry, we all need to work together to further that effort.”
To learn more about the annual SCSA Awards and view video interviews of past winners, visit scsaonline.ca