Construction week kicks off in Saskatchewan, running from September 23-27. A week that Construction Associations of Saskatchewan co-CEO Shannon Friesen said in a release, “We celebrate the dedicated professionals who form the backbone of our province's economy, these skilled workers, often behind the scenes, build the infrastructure that drives our communities forward.”
Looking at many factors in the construction sector, the most important being safety. With the most valuable asset to the sector being the people who work in it, President of the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Associations Collin Pullar states how key it is to protect it.
“One of the big things that is really important for industry to succeed is to have a constant, reliable, stable workforce to be able to supply because it takes a lot of skills and that's important when you're building a hospital or during renovations in a home or building a new home to have that skill set, it is really important for us to be able to protect those people who’re doing that particular work.”
The Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association is the dedicated group to providing training and resources for construction workers within the province. Providing tools, training and management practices on the jobsite helps keep those working in it safe, which Pullar claims sometimes it’s just about slowing down.
“I often talk about being methodical in well planned work with trained people. That's usually a very key portion of success for a company. A lot of times, we rush through things but often times those are the things that lead to either an injury or damage to equipment or some sort of delay. The fact is that delays and injuries can cost a lot financially, as well as personally. Whether that be to the individual who got hurt or their families.”
At the end of the workday, as Puller mentions, the biggest concern is making sure people are going home safe and sound.
“Folks are being sent home in as good of position as they were when they got to work that day. Get to go home, be with their families, coach their baseball or football teams and be able to go back to their home and be part of their community.”