Learn how we keep ourselves accountable year after year by meeting the safety requirements of ContractorCheck.
This year RJS Construction received our certificate of accreditation from ContractorCheck. What this means is that RJS was able to complete its standards of policies and procedures to ensure we are able to meet the highest level of safety for our workers and contractors. We use these safety standards on every portfolio we work on. This includes three of our current projects, Aevitas Waste Management, University of the Fraser Valley and Cougar Creek Housing.
What is ContractorCheck?
ContactorCheck assesses different work sites across Canada to make sure they meet the legislative and client requirements of safety. When you get a ContractorCheck you do:
- A full-scale assessment of health and safety,
- Provide documentation to prove you are upholding training and policy requirements,
- Get accredited to show you meet impeccable standards
We’ve been loyal to ContractorCheck since 2017 and we’ve made sure to get our certificate renewed every year since then. The same process of getting our documents checked, work environments assessed, and onsite surveying is a part of our four core values: Be Honest, Be Respectful, Be Accountable, and Family First.
Why is this Important?
We don’t want anything to slip through cracks when we are on-site. So we do routine checks with ContractorCheck to follow compliance and safety standards. We believe accountability is the best and only way to keep a company honest, safe, and respectful to its workers and clients. Not following standards and procedures can mean more injuries to workers, fines, and eventual closures to businesses. If we weren’t following standards and procedures, then it could mean we’re more at risk of work-related injuries and fines.
Three projects we’re working on around the greater Vancouver region that do pose more challenging safety risks are Aevitas Waste Management Inc, University of Fraser Valley Trades and Technology department, and finally, Cougar Creek Red Door Society and BC Housing project.
Let’s go over the key ways we keep our staff safe in more challenging work environments.
Aevitas Waste Management: How to Manage Cold Weather
It’s been a cold winter throughout 2020 for the lower mainland, and in response, we prepared our team for the harsher elements. While we may be a hardy bunch of contractors, being in the cold for prolonged periods of time can lead to illness, frostbite, and even hypothermia.
Our site for the Aevitas Waste Management Inc. is mostly all outside, and we are currently working outdoors on their plumbing and retention tanks.
This is why RJS follows ContractorCheck’s compliance with the Canadian jurisdiction mandate for working in the cold. We provided staff with the proper clothes for sub-zero temperatures and we provided warm zones for when they needed a break. Most importantly, we trained our workers to follow weather conditions and be vigilant about signs of freezing and hypothermia, before it’s too late.
Doing all of this ensures our sites are safe and productive for our team come rain, snow, wind or shine.
University of Fraser Valley: Working with Electricity
A part of accountability is to be able to train staff in any sort of working environment. How we train our staff has to reflect a changing work environment that can involve working in more dangerous settings such as ones involving electricity. In 2019, ContractorCheck found out the majority of accidents involving machinery on-site could have been prevented if there had been proper training in place.
This is why getting accredited every year is critical. It allows our journeypersons to maintain the highest level of safety requirements at all times. For example, we’re currently working on installing ventilation and electricity at the University of Fraser Valley’s Trades and Technology department. Identifying potential hazards such as working with electrical systems, confined spaces and exposure to silica dust and asbestos, are just some of the things RJS is taking seriously for the safety of our employees.
Reducing our risk of electrical injury means we’re always ensuring that safety equipment is being provided and proper training is being adhered to. We’re very proud to say we’re incident-free thanks to a high level of training and safety precautions for our staff.
Cougar Creek: Creating Safe and Open Dialogue
A construction site may not be like a typical office environment with boardrooms and water coolers. However, it’s still a workplace and should be treated respectfully. It’s not only physical safety we have to watch out for on-site, but the mental and emotional safety of our contractors and residents as well.
We are proud to be building more affordable housing for families with the Red Door and BC Housing Cougar Creek expansion project. We are doing this while its current tenants still live there, and we’ve put in place resources so both tenants and employees can express-open and safe dialogue of concerns and questions.
On-site we organize daily meetings and log any complaints or concerns to our direct supervisors for action to be made quickly. We recognize accountability to our work expands beyond our staff and to the residents, we see on a daily basis. To respond quickly and efficiently to everyone we recommend speaking with the RJS onsite attendant or to call us at 604-576-6166 or email us with questions at info@rjs-construction.ca .
Accountability and family work hand-in-hand at RJS. In order to keep us united, we must create a safe and open space for dialogue. This ensures everyone feels they are a part of the team and can move forward as one.
At RJS We Measure Twice, Cut Once
There’s a saying that goes: measure twice, cut once. It’s no surprise we have to measure every risk before we can make any sort of action on site. The accreditation from ContractorCheck gives us that second measure so we can be even more confident with the cuts we do, so to speak.
We are putting in the extra work to cover all bases at sites such as Aevitas, UFV and Cougar Creek. We know by doing so it will create a safer and confident work environment, for not only us but for everyone around.
