The arrangements have been made and the finishing touches are almost complete for the annual BC Safety Charter Roundtable at the Burnaby Delta Hotel and Convention Centre on April 30th.

At the much anticipated event, the BC Safety Charter’s 135 signatories and their guests will come together to discuss their progress since last year’s roundtable.

Brian Scudamore

The annual event, which has become a major part of the occupational health and safety calendar in BC, will feature Brian Scudamore; founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, who will address delegates on the ways in which high impact leadership can transform an organization?

Titled, “Transformational Leadership,” Scudamore’s keynote address promises to provide an inspiring example for the CEOs and senior executives of the Charter who are to creating a workplace culture based on the principle that the effective management of health and safety is essential to long term profitability and sustainability.

World Café

This year’s roundtable will also feature a World Café format. World Café is a structured conversational process intended to facilitate open and intimate discussion, and link ideas within a larger group to access the collective intelligence or collective wisdom in the room.

Participants will move between a series of tables where they continue the discussion in response to a set of questions, which are predetermined and focused on the specific goals of each World Café.

Charter Membership

Charter membership has risen dramatically in the last two years as business leaders from across BC join the movement to reduce injury rates and make worker health and safety core corporate values.

The Charter was launched in 2011 and has grown to include more than 100 companies and organizations such as RIO Tinto Alcan, BC Hydro and Overwaitea Foods. Since its launch in 2011 the BC Safety Charter has been recognized both nationally and internationally and has been described as one of the most significant business initiatives in Western Canada.

“We are committed to driving that safety culture message home across all industries, businesses, organizations and communities in BC through our commitment to corporate and social responsibility,” says Charter Steering Committee Chair Ben Hume.

Addressing the complex issues of drugs and alcohol in the workplace starts with education. Often people avoid dealing with drugs and alcohol because they are uncomfortable or don’t know how to handle the situation.

Taking responsibility for safety – for ourselves, our co-workers, our employees, and for the public requires leadership and honest open assessment of where we are today. This is a very human issue and the adage “start where you stand” applies to us all.

Our “Wrestling with the Elephant in the Room” Conference Series is headed to Kelowna, BC. We invite you to join us Mar 10 – 12, 2015 for a two day conference, preceded by a full day of workplace trainingfor both supervisors and employees.

There are Sponsorship opportunities available. With an established promotional campaign to take advantage of and six levels of sponsorship to choose from, you can show your support to Build Better Workplaces that are safe, productive, healthy and free from impairment by substance use. We also welcome in-kind contributions.

Don’t forget the benefits of networking in our Market Place. With a venue that has the capacity for 280 delegates, and 28 exhibiting booths, we recommend you reserve your booth early.

For those travelling to attend Wrestling with the Elephant in the Room in Kelowna, we are pleased to announce we have secured discounts for you to take advantage of from the Coast Capri Hotel and Central Mountain Air.

For more information or to register please visit the BC Council on Substance Abuse website.

 

After completing their certification in 2014, Knight Signs, of Delta received their OSSE certificate on Thursday, January 29.

The company will be receiving two awards at the OSSE Awards Gala on April 29: The OSSE Award and the Pinnacle Award.

The OSSE Pinnacle Awards honour companies which go far above and beyond legal and regulatory health and safety requirements.

These trailblazers have not only achieved OSSE Certification, but have committed to the principles of the BC Safety Charter by becoming signatories.

Knight Signs has been serving retail commercial, construction and institutional clients with handcrafted exterior, interior, and custom architectural signage since 1968.

According to the company website, “We’ve designed, produced and delivered signage solutions for clients in every business, industry and public sector since Knight Signs opened for business in 1968.

“One of our first projects was a new sign for Mother Hubbard’s Bakery on West Broadway in Vancouver.

“From that small, local sign company, we’ve grown into an industry leader serving retail, hospitality, commercial, construction and institutional clients across Canada. Our head office and manufacturing plant in Delta, BC now have more than 75 employees as well as two busy regional offices in Calgary and Toronto and a new manufacturing facility in Mississauga.

“Knight Signs’ designers, client service and project managers, fabricators and installers stay ahead of the newest technologies, advanced manufacturing techniques, new materials and production innovations.

“We’re continually discovering new ways to create better products and we’re proud to deliver signage solutions for our clients right across Canada.

“We create signs that impact, inspire action and connect our clients’ brands with their most important customers.”

The Hay Group will be putting on a special workshop, on March 10, devoted to organizational change. Entitled Making a Change at Work – an experience in change workshop this five-hour session will help leaders understand and deal with change.

The workshop deals with the fact that, we may know what changes we want to make in our organizations, but, if we want them to stick, we need an approach which builds ‘buy-in’ and reinforces the change.

Working in teams, with immediate feedback on your progress, participants will learn how to:

• Reinforce change
• Understand how change works
• Build a model and process for planning and sustaining change
• Create ideas, energy and tools to make change work

The session is built around a hands-on change simulation. The Hay Group is a global management consulting firm that works with leaders to transform strategy into reality.

When & Where:

Date: March 10, 2015

Time: 8:30 am to 1:30 pm

Venue: Delta Burnaby Hotel and Conference Centre

Program

Light breakfast and lunch included

Enrollment –  $499 per person

Register

To register please phone 604.858.9979 or email n.khera@fmiosa.com.

Ben Hume, steering committee chair of the BC Safety Charter, today announced that the Orca Specialty Foods has become the first sea food processor to join the ranks of leading BC businesses which have signed the Charter.

“We are very pleased to welcome Orca Specialty Foods on board,” says Hume.

He added, “Whenever a new industry is represented on the membership it is very important as a symbol to the rest of the business community in BC.”

The BC Safety Charter now has 134 signatories, well ahead of its target of 90 for 2014, and is now well-represented in most business sectors in BC. The organization will be holding its annual Charter Roundtable event on April 30 at the Burnaby Delta Hotel and Conference Centre.

The landmark document, representing a commitment to lead and promote the highest level of health and safety culture within their organizations and to work together to promote the cause of safer and healthier workplaces in BC, was launched in October of 2011 and has been growing steadily ever since.

Orca Specialty Foods Ltd. was founded in 1995 and prides itself on building strong B2B partnerships, markets and high quality product offerings.

According to the company, “In the beginning Orca Specialty Foods Ltd. placed a high value on integrity and responsibility. Today, the company is driven by those values. In fact, we believe in continuous improvements for our business in order to deliver the highest quality smoked and value added seafood products globally for our customers.”