Regina, SK – The Saskatchewan construction community is gathering in Regina on Thursday, September 17, to advance the prevention of serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs). The day features a workshop and keynote dinner with energy-based safety expert Dr. Steven Ayer, an award-winning educator in construction safety and management at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Energy-based safety looks at construction sites through a consistent and scientific approach to identify all sources of energy that can potentially harm workers. Ayer says it helps people identify hazards that are often missed through traditional safety planning efforts.

His work on High Energy Control Assessments (HECA) is transforming how high-energy hazards are identified and controlled in the field. The approach helps leaders not only identify all potential hazards but also prioritize those that are high energy and have a high likelihood of causing SIFs.

“High energy is often required for work to be accomplished. While eliminating high-energy hazards would be ideal, it’s not often practical. We need to identify those hazards and prioritize controlling them to keep workers safe,” shares Ayer. “We all make mistakes. The question is not ‘if’ it is ‘when’ these mistakes will occur. If high-energy hazards miss controls to prevent or hinder this transfer of energy to workers, when mistakes happen, the impacts are likely to be far more severe.

Serious injury rates in Saskatchewan construction have fallen consistently over the last decade, relative to recent peaks and long-term averages. The decline is significant and reflects the sustained efforts of employers, workers and industry partners to strengthen injury prevention, including the growing adoption of formal safety management systems through the COR^® program.

Despite this progress, serious injuries continue to account for a disproportionate share of injury-related costs and have historically proven more resistant to traditional prevention efforts. The further reduction of serious injuries and fatalities is one of the most important remaining challenges for Saskatchewan’s construction industry.

Because the impact of serious injuries carries human, operational and financial consequences, the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association (SCSA) is bringing together construction owners, executives, safety professionals and industry partners to examine emerging approaches, hear the same evidence and discuss what they can practically do differently to further reduce SIFs.

“This event brings industry leaders together around a problem that matters, both in the workplace and in the community,” says Edward Pyle, SCSA vice president. “Serious injuries and fatalities are thankfully fairly rare, but remain one of the most important challenges we face — and one that has proven resilient to many other injury-prevention efforts. Dr. Ayer’s work gives us another way to look at that challenge, and I think it can help move the conversation from awareness toward action.”

The keynote dinner with featured guest speaker Dr. Steven Ayer takes place at the Atlas Hotel in Regina on Thursday, September 17, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The hands-on workshop for safety professionals and auditors happens at the SCSA’s Regina office from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.