January 31, 2007

Worker Mobility

New Brunswick safety plan expands westward

Passport will document all safety training

PETER KENTER

correspondent

Inspired by a similar program in New Brunswick, the Construction Safety Association of Manitoba (CSAM) launched its Safety Passport system for industrial, commercial, institutional and residential construction workers in 2003.

The program has proved so successful for the industry that it will be introduced in Saskatchewan later this year.

The Safety Passport is part of CSAM’s STEP-UP (Safety Training & Education Personal User Passport) program. “This allows Manitoba’s construction workers to have a permanent record of their safety training experience and to have this instantly available to show employers,” says Sean Scott, Director of CSAM. “Employers use this tool to aid in meeting their legislated responsibilities and preventing workplace accidents.”

The most prominent feature of the program is the passport itself, a pocket-sized booklet featuring a digital photo of each worker, and their current place of employment. As workers complete health and safety training courses and modules, CSAM provides them with labels verifying the type of training received, the subject covered and when the course was completed. The labels contain a unique proprietary design indicating that the training has been approved by CSAM. Workers carry the passport with them to various job sites to provide instant verification of their qualifications.

Scott says proponents of the program realized early on that the passport should recognize all relevant safety training, not just training provided by the association.

The program recognizes training from the Manitoba Construction Conference; Workplace Safety & Health Division, the Manitoba Safety Council, the Manitoba Building Construction Trades Council, and the Construction Labour Relations Association of Manitoba although CSAM staff will make an effort to verify relevant safety training offered by any organization.

“The Workplace Safety and Health Act requires employers to do everything that is reasonably practicable to ensure employees are capable of doing the tasks assigned them,” says Scott.

“You’re expected to provide information, instruction, training or close supervision to ensure their safety and health, to evaluate the people you hire to ensure they will abide by the Act—and to prove that you’ve done it. A lot of the responsibility is invested in the construction supervisor who can now look at this passport and say, ‘you’re trained in WHMIS, but your last confined space entry training was two years ago, so it’s time to get a refresher in that.’ We’ll also know when it’s time for re-certification.”

The passport is also proof of due diligence, says Scott. “It’s more efficient to have workers present their own records to an inspector,” he said.

Scott says that the program is particularly useful for some employees in construction unions who may travel to a large number of sites. The passport gets them on the work site faster. Workers are motivated to update their passports, because their training experience makes them more valuable to employers.

“Many people now bring the passport along to job interviews and present it as part of their resume,” says Scott.

“If the passport is ever lost or damaged, they can contact our office and we’ll create a new up-to-date passport for them using our database.”

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