Safety at the Great Plains Power Station

The SCSA visited SaskPower’s Great Plains Power Station site in early July to participate in a safety day for 600 workers. Organized by SaskPower and contractor Burns & McDonnell , the day brought together many COR-certified SCSA members who are working as subcontractors on the project.

The Great Plains Power Station is a new natural gas plant near Moose Jaw that will provide power for over 350,000 homes. The project broke ground in 2021 and is planned to be in service by 2024. Burns & McDonnell is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor overseeing the project. Many local member companies have been involved, including PCL Construction, Allan Construction, Graham, Supreme Steel, Quorex and Dynamo Electric.

SCSA advisors delivered interactive safety demonstrations across the site to address the causes of the most common and severe injuries. Musculoskeletal injuries and injuries from slips, trips and falls can have life-altering consequences and impact the success of any project.

Workers received memorable takeaways for proper lifting techniques, how to deal with impalement hazards such as exposed rebar and why fall arrest systems are crucial when working at heights. The message of using the right gear and safety practices to prevent injuries and protect everyone’s well-being on site was well-received.

COR? Strength

Large, complex, multi-year projects have a lot of moving parts that require everyone to work together and speak the same language when it comes to safety. COR? certification is the common ground that ensures all subcontractors on the project work to the same safety standards.

Craig Doan, site safety manager for Burns & McDonnell said COR? is an accomplishment that shows a company can be relied on. “We aren’t able to vet everybody so deeply before they come on site, so we know that what the SCSA has put them through, they’ve met a certain standard. We can trust them and have them come onto our site.”

He added, “We expect everyone to go home safely, we don’t want anyone to get hurt at all.” The size of the crew makes no difference to how they approach safety – whether a few people or hundreds are on site – the standard is set and they are committed to it.

Beyond safety meetings and moments, weekly visits and quarterly audits, safety day events are a good opportunity to do something different and motivate people to share knowledge that can help others. Recognizing and appreciating the efforts of everyone involved in the project also helps build a positive work environment where everyone takes responsibility for safety.

Living Safety

Josh Beckman from SaskPower works in the safety department assigned to the Great Plains project. He said that the purpose behind their Safety Day was to increase safety culture on site, getting all the workers engaged and more involved. “It’s more than putting pen to a piece of paper,” he said. “It’s actually living safety so they understand the importance of it, so they go home safe at the end of the day and know why we want the same.”

Getting everyone on board with safety takes ongoing attention and effort. Asked if a safety day event works to rally people around the common goal of preventing injuries, Beckman said, “100 per cent it works. This is what we need – more hands-on demonstrations. In the classroom, it all looks good until you get into the field and realize there is a lot of risk out there.” He also shared that though they do many safety meetings on different topics, a day dedicated to safety “makes it real – safety is not just talking about it. Let’s actually put it into action so they live it.”

Craig Doan agreed that safety days and the SCSA’s demonstrations are important for workers to “see the application of the protocols, procedures and PPE that we enforce them to wear so they see that it’s not just someone’s decision to make in the background. They actually see the practical application that it does work. It is for them.”

Lasting Impact

SaskPower relies on the SCSA to train workers in SCOT? for construction safety orientation to learn the expectations when they arrive on site and understand the rules in Saskatchewan. This is especially important for new workers and those coming from other provinces.

Subcontractors also need to get used to specific safety policies on the project that might differ from what is typical. For example, Burns & McDonnell has a higher standard for tie-off at 6 ft when working at heights than is required (at 10 ft) in Saskatchewan. Doan said they recognize that it doesn’t take a great distance for someone to fall and get injured.

People are working at heights every day on the power station project – from skeletal steel workers to insulators and scaffolders. Doan said the fall protection demo stands out as “a reminder to take away complacency – that this is no joke, you have to take this extremely seriously.”

The SCSA’s fall protection demonstration shows the force of a fall and drives home the point of fall arrest systems. Doan said, “We can tell them over and over and over, but until you actually see physical proof as to why, I think a lot more people get more buy-in from it as opposed to just being told … When you physically see ‘I’ve been in a situation like that and if I would have fallen, it could have hurt me beyond repair.’ If they are wearing the same type of gear and take a fall, they’re going to walk away.”

Brad Butcher, site manager with Burns & McDonnell, said he hopes the safety demonstrations “bring more awareness for why we do the things we do for safety.” He added that “for many of us who are visual learners, it shows real impacts of what could happen if you’re not wearing the right PPE.”

Safeguarding Success

Ultimately, a safe construction environment leads to a successful project. Building a culture of trust, confidence and collaboration among workers enables everyone to focus on their tasks without fear of accidents or injuries. This healthy workforce ensures a steady momentum towards project completion, where individuals feel valued and protected along the way.

Brad Butcher said, “Safety brings success when you are focused on doing what’s right – it stretches across all the boundaries. Safety is the first thing we talk about to make sure we keep on schedule. Any time you save by not working safely, you lose when there is an injury. Safety is key to making your schedule.”

From the owner’s perspective, Yan Wang, construction manager for SaskPower, affirmed why promoting safety culture is so vital. “We want workers to feel safe working on our construction site – to know that we have people and a program taking care of them. Without safety culture I don’t think the project will be successful.”

For more information on SCSA advisory services, safety demonstrations and COR? visit scsaonline.ca