The City and Utilities Kingston have won a national Recognition of Excellence award for Outstanding Achievement from the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE).

“We are proud to have the CSSE recognize our efforts to make safety the overriding priority at all Kingston work sites,” says Gerard Hunt, the City’s Chief Administrative Officer.

Announced this morning at the Safety Leadership conference in Calgary, Alberta, the CSSE award acknowledges the success of the annual Safety Days event, jointly developed by the City and Utilities Kingston to promote best safety practices amongst their employees – and local contractors and suppliers.

“The goal of Safety Days is clear and simple: get everyone home safe every day. Its training and information sessions are all about how to instil safety as the highest value in the workplace,” says Jim Keech, President and CEO of Utilities Kingston. 

By making the event free, and by inviting the wider community, the City and Utilities Kingston Safety Days team helped ensure a consistent and committed approach to safety across the city.

“Culture affects all aspects of a business, including safety. We’re making safety a part of how we do things in Kingston,” says Karen Santucci, Health and Safety Manager for Utilities Kingston, who was named in the Award along with her Safety Days team colleagues Scott Robinson, Health and Safety Coordinator for Utilities Kingston, John Miller, the City’s Health and Safety Officer and Deanne Roberge, Manager, Labour Relations & Health and Safety.

Over 400 participants attended the free sessions held during this year’s Safety Days – the 10th anniversary of this health and safety event. The sessions looked at analyzing hazards, understanding constructor obligations, incident investigation, occupational health and safety basics and policy and procedures, traffic control, and the utility work protection code. 

For more on the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering see www.csse.org