During this time of COVID-19, we have all been reaching out to friends old and new – it helps the world seem less isolated and keeps us connected. Recently, the Coalition for Safer Alberta Roads reached out via video call to Murray Elliott, President and CEO, Energy Safety Canada, an organization, like ours, focused on getting everyone home safely. We wanted to learn about them and thought our members would be interested to learn more about them too.
Energy Safety Canada is a not-for-profit organization launched in October 2017 as a result of the merger of Enform Canada and the Oil Sands Safety Association (OSSA). They are the national voice for oil and gas safety. The list of the services they offer the oil and gas industry covers everything from developing and supporting common industry safety standards, to delivering training, to advocating for workers’ health and safety. Their members span the entire oil and gas sector from seismic through production and midstream.
Some in the oil and gas sector, need to continue to be physically at work to keep our industry going. “I am so proud of the response we have seen by industry and employees. There is a laser focus on protecting workers to ensure that they are going to a safe and healthy workplace, and also an equal amount of time spent on paying it forward by volunteering and donating items like PPE to those that need it. It really has been remarkable,” Murray explained.
One of the key safety concerns Murray identified is fatigue. “It goes without saying that people are under additional stress right now and might be running a bit on auto pilot or aren’t as focused as they typically are when driving. We have been reminding our members that when they sit behind the wheel, this is a critically important task and they need to be physically and mentally focused on driving.”
Like many organizations, Energy Safety Canada has been working hard to place training programs online. Training programs such as Oilfield Driver Awareness, Incident and Accident Investigation, Hazard Management, Safety Program Development and Certified Health and Safety Auditor Renewal should be online by May. These resources and many others are also available at EnergySafetyCanada.com.
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