The FNU Pow Wow 2017 was last weekend at the Brandt Center in Regina. The First Nations University Pow Wow is one of the largest in Canada, with hundreds of competitors and thousands of spectators. Northern Strands sponsored the events first responders, Northern Strands T.E.A.M Response.  T.E.A.M Response is composed of first responder volunteers, including two of our own Safety Trainers, Cassenna Parameter and Belinda Mitchell.  The Nine members of T.E.A.M Response volunteered 160 hours over the 2 days, providing basic medical services for the First Nations event.  

The volunteers honored the First Nations people, Northern Strands and all involved by displaying professionalism, empathy and compassion to everyone in need of assistance. In appreciation, an honorable mention was made on behalf of Northern Strands T.E.A.M. Response as part of the Master of Ceremonies opening speech. 

Regina’s Police Chief Evan Bray stood as honor guard for the event.  Coincidentally, his daughter volunteers with T.E.A.M. Response. Father and daughter posed for the picture you see below.

The curious thing about fall protection used by most construction companies today is that a great while a great many of us know that it is currently workplace law in the province of Saskatchewan to wear a full-body harness when working at heights, we fail to realize that there is often more to consider.

We might also know that the soles of our feet need to be over the 3m/10’ threshold before it becomes law to use fall protection on non-permanent work areas, but what many of us do not realize is that the law also states that a fall protection plan is in place under these very same circumstances.

Furthermore, the law sets out what this fall protection program has to cover:

• The fall hazards at the work site
• The fall protection system to be used at the worksite
• The procedures used to assemble, maintain, inspect, use and disassemble the fall protection system
• AND, the rescue procedures to be used if a worker falls, is suspended by a personal fall arrest system or safety net and needs to be rescued.

A copy of this written documents must be readily available before work begins at a worksite where a risk of falling exists and the employer is responsible to ensure that all workers are trained in the fall protection plan and safe use of the fall protection system before allowing the worker to work in an area where a fall protection system must be used.

All of this information can be found in section 116.1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 1996 and if you happen to find yourself working at heights without an adequate fall protection or rescue plan you should also look at section 3-31 of the Saskatchewan Employment Act which states:

“A worker may refuse to perform any particular act or series of acts at a place of employment if the worker has reasonable grounds to believe that the act or series of acts is unusually dangerous to the worker’s health or safety or the health or safety of any other person at the place of employment…”

If you need help writing up a fall protection program for your construction company, contact us. Our head trainer will help get you pointed in the right direction and can provide fall protection plan templates on request.

March 30th was an exciting night for employees of the Northern Strands Group of Companies.  It was the NSBA Business Builder Awards and the Group of Companies was a finalist for Community Builder and Safe Employer Awards.  The Children's Wish Foundation of Saskatchewan had nominated the Group of companies for the Community Builder Award and the NSBA nominated us for the Safe Employer Award.

Why were we honored with the Community Builder Award you might ask?  On an annual basis the Northern Strands Group of Companies gives back to the community in a variety of ways. An employee-driven Committee has been established to drive fund-raising while keeping in mind the other areas of social responsibility. 

Right from day one our employees are exposed to our culture of community support and social responsibility. In our new hire pack we have included a letter that explains our efforts to be an active contributor in the community. This same letter explains that we have partnered with the Saskatchewan Children's Wish foundation and have the goal of granting one child's wish annually. After reading this letter, many of our employees choose to donate through our Children's Wish payroll deduction program. This is just the start of our fundraising though.  

Throughout the year we raise funds for Children's Wish in a variety of ways; Paper, pop cans, containers and batteries are recycled. Additional funds are raised through yard cleanup with scrap steel and other reusable goods being sent to auction. The Group of Companies holds several fund-raising BBQ's throughout the summer. Employees are encouraged to participate and volunteer to help with the activities during the event. We contact neighboring businesses and drop off flyers in the effort to grow each and every BBQ. 

We also have a very unique way of giving back to the community. We use our Safety Training Ambulance to raise money at events like Craven Country Jamboree and other similar events. Our Trainers donate their time as first responders. They offer basic medical care out of the ambulance. Any money we are paid is donated back to Children's Wish. 

Every year our efforts have helped give hope to a local family that needed it the most. We believe one of the key reasons we are successful in encouraging our employees to donate their time is the connection we make with the child we are aligned with. Every year we make an effort to meet with our Children's Wish child and their family at a Children's Wish organized event. The last two years we participated in Children's Wish's Exile Island.  A fundraising event where 8 employees take the afternoon off to compete in a series of fun events with their child. 

We are proud to say that for last 4 years in a row we have donated over $10,000 towards granting a Child's Wish!

Although Children's Wish is our main focus, we still contribute to the community in a variety of other ways. We have sponsored or donated to many other local charities, events and teams; the Contacts, Delisle Rodeo, Saskatchewan 4H club, The Salvation Army, Saskatoon Food bank, Friendship Inn and SWITCH.