The Gardewine’s Safety Team is working diligently to accomplish our 2022 Corporate Safety Goals, as well as identifying opportunities to keep adding value to our business activities. 

As society and businesses are slowly returning to the new normal after the uncertainties that arose from the pandemic, there is an added task for organizations to find new and innovative ways to support their staff in matters of occupational safety and well-being. Gardewine’s approach is to keep building on the experiences and insights from the past; however, with our gaze firmly set into the future, we support a cycle of continuous improvement and employee empowerment. 

In terms of safety indicators, our department’s strategic approach is to apply the information gathered from the lagging indicators as opportunities to develop specific and tailored leading indicators, thus ensuring a cycle of steady continuous improvement. 

Since April 2022, an enhanced training protocol was developed and implemented for every near miss, incident, or accident. We continue to hold weekly safety meetings that provide the opportunity to share best practices and insights among departments. In the event of a near miss, incident, or accident, a comprehensive investigation is conducted, aiming to identify the root causes. Based on the findings of the investigation, the safety department supplies other departments with relevant training material so that the involved employees can be duly retrained. Proper record keeping protocol is followed so we can ensure traceability and compliance with record keeping guidelines. 

During May 2022 (National Mental Health Awareness Month), weekly instructive material was shared with all departments. The chosen topics were mindfulness and gratitude. A PowerPoint presentation featuring mindfulness techniques was shared among all employees and gratitude murals were set up in the Winnipeg office, cafeteria, docks, and dispatch areas (terminals were encouraged to set up their own gratitude murals as well) so that every employee could write what they are grateful for. Templates of thank-you cards were made available, and staff used them to acknowledge their gratitude for their co-workers and associates. Additionally, a Mental Health Resource file was added to the HR shared drive to allow an easy access to credible and proper information related to available mental health resources according to the geographical area. 

The employee workplace observation project was resumed in June 2022. Instructional packages were sent to every terminal (containing the rationale, instructions, and related forms). Weekly observations for the fleet included backing up and pre-trip inspections. For the docks, this included the operations of power jacks and forklift operations. Follow-up training is provided to address any area of opportunity based on the findings of the workplace observations. 

June was also National Safety Month. Weekly instructional material was shared with all staff, with the goal of raising awareness about topics related to personal health. The topics were Lyme Disease (week 1), Diabetes (week 2), Recognizing the Symptoms of a Stroke (week 3), and Water Safety and Summer Safety (week 4). These topics were based on suggestions from employees and instructional materials were shared via email and posted on the safety boards as well. 

In collaboration with the MTA (Manitoba Trucking Association), an ergonomic assessment was conducted in midJune. These findings will help us gather specific ergonomic data, which will be used for updating our JHAs (Job Hazard Analyses) and SWPs (Safe Work Practices). 

Also in June, the Ontario operations were visited by the safety team. Compliance audits were performed, and corrective actions were developed to address areas of opportunity. 

July 2022 was Gardewine’s Multicultural and Diversity month. Weekly events were scheduled to include awareness campaigns, ethno-cultural food, the world map project and “The Languages We Speak” project. 

In October 2022, fire drills were performed at every location. It was an important exercise to ensure all employees were aware of how to execute a safe evacuation while in a controlled setting. 

We thank all employees for the support and participation on the safety projects and initiatives implemented so far and for providing such valuable feedback. Your suggestions will help us tailor and streamline future safety initiatives in order to keep adding value to your professional performance.