Sun Ridge Contracting Pieces Together a Strong Construction Safety Culture

Safety software enabled Sun Ridge Contracting to celebrate two years without a lost-time incident.

Sun Ridge Contracting specializes in civil, earthworks, forestry and mining operations.
Sun Ridge Contracting specializes in civil, earthworks, forestry and mining operations.
HCSS

Since its founding in 1991, Sun Ridge Contracting has been laser-focused on safety. Based in Kamloops, BC, Canada, and a major employer for indigenous people – specifically the membership of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc and surrounding indigenous communities – the whole team feels a deep sense of responsibility to its small, close community, where an incident can affect everyone.

Sun Ridge specializes in civil, earthworks, forestry and mining operations. Its 40 employees enjoy a family atmosphere that is created from a “special mix” of local workers, including many who have family connections.

“It’s one thing to know the person next to you is a coworker, it’s a whole other thing when the person is your family,” says Mark Jastrzebski, Sun Ridge’s health and safety manager.

In 2018, Sun Ridge reached a major milestone: two and a half years without a lost-time incident. But then it had to reset the clock.

“A crew member had a slip and fall, and the communication was not great. The crew member had a minor injury, but due to poor communication, this caused a one-day lost-time incident. We went right back to zero,” Jastrzebski explains.

Open to Possibilities

Prior to the incident, there had been no injury reports for eight months, so crews were out of practice on reporting injuries. Jastrzebski had to find a way to help his crews work on injury reporting without the pressure of an actual worksite injury. “We had a scare because of the slip and fall and we lost time because of the communication breakdown,” he points out.

Then, the safety team rolled out HCSS Safety. “In my previous company, I saw HCSS open all kinds of efficiencies and communication. [It] gives you time, and everyone at Sun Ridge saw the advantage of saving time. It opens up all kinds of possibilities,” Jastrzebski states.

As part of its safety program, Sun Ridge has its foremen practice reporting incidents in HCSS Safety. That way, he can coach his teams on filling out quality incident reports without the stress of an actual incident.

Jastrzebski took this situation as a learning lesson. “Hindsight is 20:20. If we didn’t have the slip and fall, we could have five years without a lost-time injury. But would we be in as good of a place as we are now? This was a critical learning experience, and we prepared to get better."

More Time for Safety

When Sun Ridge made the decision to move forward with HCSS, everyone was immediately on board.

“The entire office said that moving to a paperless safety solution was long overdue. They saw the value of the environmental benefit and time savings right away," Jastrzebski says. "Once the crews in the field got rolling, they were able to complete their forms much faster. In particular, they really like using the dictation on the iPad. Our crews quickly saw the advantage of saving time.”

So, what can you accomplish with more time? According to Jastrzebski, “At Sun Ridge, our No. 1 priority is safety and our No. 1 asset is our people. Now, we are free to spend more quality time with our employees and focus on our safety program. There’s no more paper taking up time.” 

Breaking Down Silos

Sun Ridge currently uses HeavyJob and HCSS Safety, which integrate closely with each other. All the data collected from both programs can be viewed in HCSS by all teams.

Jastrzebski encourages everyone to learn HCSS. “Since this information is so available in one place, let’s work to remove compartmentalization and break down silos between teams.”

In Canada, fines for repeat safety violations by the same company are multiplied, even if the violations are on different jobsites. Communication is key.

With EHS software from HCSS Safety, everyone has quick access to real-time safety data and reporting. This allows for increased communication and fast modification of safety processes based on something that happened at another jobsite, even if the other site is on the other side of the country.

Opportunities for Continued Expansion

For implementation, Sun Ridge worked on process optimization and software setup with Ian O’Byrne, one of HCSS' Canadian construction safety experts based in BC.

With a solid foundation, Jastrzebski is now ready to expand Sun Ridge’s use of HCSS Safety. “As we immerse ourselves, we found what HCSS can do for us," he comments. "Now, we are starting to streamline and expand. What can we do to help HCSS help us?”

One source of inspiration is the HCSS Academy, which has educational materials for all software and is available to all HCSS users. “It takes the anxiety out because we can see the product in action and it gives us all sorts of ideas," says Jastrzebski. "The Academy feeds us knowledge and helps us see how we can keep expanding.”

The results of the software implementation came quickly. By August 2020, Sun Ridge hit a critical milestone again, celebrating two years without a lost-time incident.

Latest