Our co-founder Daniel Greenhalgh, believes that all construction companies should place a special priority on training new workers and ensuring that other team members are watching out for them. “In a worker’s first year, there’s approximately an 18% chance of an injury and roughly 2% of those injuries are very serious. In the complete scale of construction, new workers are exponentially more likely to be injured than workers with experience. So, there’s an important reason for a more extensive training regimen.”
ENM’s safety coordinator Brodie Parsons, takes this responsibility to heart. “Training new workers is the backbone for all site safety throughout the industry. It is imperative that as soon as a young or new worker steps foot on site they are brought up to speed on all site rules, regulations and expectations, as well as having a site-specific orientation provided by a qualified and knowledgeable safety officer.”
There are so many safety aspects of working on a construction site and it can’t be assumed that a new worker is intuitively aware of them. The culture is unique and each site has its own set of challenges and hazards to be avoided.
“All of our new workers sit down for a one hour video that covers multiple topics,” says Daniel. “That’s the same for most construction companies, but we try to go beyond that, because we know there are many hazards that aren’t going to be covered by common sense. You have to be taught and shown certain things on each specific site, so we prioritize that extra level of training. Everyone on our site keeps a keen eye on the greenhorns (the term for a new worker) and is there to help guide them through the learning curve.”Brodie helps design the site orientations and ensures that this extra level of training keeps all new workers safe. “Our site orientations cover a wide array of important information that everyone on site needs to know. We cover the site evacuation plans and procedures, muster stations, emergency stations, emergency contact numbers, first aid locations and the locations of the nearest hospital. We also cover the rules regarding fall protections, PPE (personal protective equipment), hazardous material handling, and safe work procedures. Special tailored orientations help us figure out what new workers know and what they need to be taught, before sending them out into potentially hazardous work conditions.”
ENM is proud to have implemented one of the strictest safety programs in the industry. There are many benefits to spending the extra time, money and energy to ensure that everyone on site is well trained, knowledgeable and serious about keeping safety at the forefront of everything they do. This all begins with giving new workers a solid foundation of safety training.
