Developing Safe Worksites

Argentia

The contractors and employees working on construction of the hydromet demonstration plant achieved an excellent safety record in 2004. Construction got underway in May and by December 31 the crew had worked 60,880 hours with zero lost time injuries and only one injury requiring medical aid. “ Our excellent safety record was achieved through a cooperative effort by all contractors and site management to ensure that safety is a key component of daily activities. We have an effective safety management system that encourages every member of the construction team to have a heightened sense of awareness about their own personal safety and the safety of everyone around them,” says Bob Kelly, Construction Manager for the hydromet demonstration plant.

During the year 360 people, including employees and visitors, participated in the Argentia site orientation training, which included a significant focus on safety. We also trained more than 100 employees working in support of the project in areas such as Confined Space Entry, WHMIS, Fall Protection, First Aid, Fire Extinguishers and the safe operation of Man Lifts.

Voisey's Bay

A major challenge for any remote site during construction is to develop a healthy and safe workplace. At Voisey’s Bay, we are meeting that challenge. “We have a very good safety record overall,” says Earl Dwyer, Manager, Environment, Health and Safety at Voisey’s Bay Nickel Company Limited. “With a peak construction workforce, our lost-time injury frequency rate of 0.4 continues to trend well below the construction industry averages in Newfoundland and Labrador. We experienced no lost-time incidents at the construction site for our demonstration plant in Argentia, Newfoundland.”

According to Dwyer, VBNC’s superior safety record reflects the company’s strong safety program. “All workers receive a site orientation that enforces health and safety,” he says. “We also have a goal of zero harm and a philosophy of workers looking out for workers. We don’t want anyone to take risks – not for cost savings, not for production gains, not for any reason. Our goal is that once the project becomes operational, we’ll leave behind well-trained workers with a positive safety culture.”

We have achieved this sound safety record by working collaboratively with the Resource Development Council, its member unions, and all contractors hired to support construction of the project. We share a common goal of eliminating injury and at-risk behavior from our workplace and partnering is key to achieving this goal. Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committees are in place with representatives from contractors working at the Voisey’s Bay project site and at the demonstration plant.

As we prepare for operations at the mine and concentrator – set to begin in 2005 – our focus has been on providing around-the-clock paramedic/emergency first aid support to the camp’s construction workers via our medical team. We have also started developing the Integrated Health, Safety and Environmental Management System based on internationally accepted standards - ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 principles. Hazard assessments are being completed for all job tasks and controls will be developed where required. A health and safety training program will be developed and training provided to all VBNC employees prior to the start of operations.

Note: On January 11, 2005 a fatality occurred at the Voisey’s Bay construction site. This unfortunate accident occurred when a contractor superintendent was fatally struck by a front-end loader during snow clearing operations.