Canadian construction leaders prepare for Safety Week 2017

Vaughan, Ont. – Every day we live, work, play, travel, and interact with countless forms of infrastructure. Although many of us recognize and celebrate these architectural and engineering marvels, we sometimes take for granted the brave individuals on the front lines of construction who regularly encounter risks to their well-being while building our infrastructure.

May 1st marks the beginning of Safety Week, an annual, week-long event that takes place on construction sites across Canada and the United States to celebrate Safety performance, education, culture, and leadership in the construction industry. The mission of Safety Week is to collectively raise the awareness of the construction industry’s continuing commitment to eliminating worker injury, and to clearly communicate its dedication to a shared culture of care and concern and the belief that every week must be Safety Week.

Safety Week 2017 has over 60 construction company sponsors and many others participating across Canada and the United States. This year’s iteration also features program partners from government agencies that include Infrastructure Ontario (IO), Florida Department of Transportation, Hudson Yards in NYC and LA Metro – all of whom are supporting Safety Week events on several projects within their respective construction programs.

Walsh Canada is a proud participant in the IO program, with Safety Week events planned on its IO projects – Etobicoke General and Credit Valley Hospital projects on May 1st and May 3rd, respectively, along with highlight events at its other project sites.

Although Walsh Canada’s vice president, Craig Lesurf, is the only Canadian serving on the Safety Week 2017 Executive Committee, his hope is that the expansion of Safety Week into Canada in recent years will encourage other Canadian company representatives to join and help shape the development of safety awareness in the industry.

“It’s not about individual corporate safety statistics”, says Lesurf. “Safety Week is about showing unity and leadership across the entire industry, that we must look out for one another to make sure that everyone goes home safe to their loved ones every day.” Lesurf adds: “I’ve always said that safety is not proprietary and we should be sharing best practices and celebrating each other’s success. I am happy to announce that the Kiewitt/Bird Joint Venture and EllisDon are also planning their own events and we hope to have others confirm their participation as part of the Safety Week 2017 IO program. Outside of the IO program companies such as Alberici, Ball Construction and Gen-Pro are participating. If your company is an active participant, I’ll be happy to promote it.”

Safety Week 2017 runs from May 1st through May 5th. Construction companies across Canada are encouraged to visit www.constructionsafetyweek.com to learn more about how to participate in Safety Week and plan their own events.

SOURCE: Walsh Canada