YVR Site Tour a HUGE success
On April 4th, 15 Members of the Council attended a very fun and interesting site tour of Vancouver International Airport. Starting with lunch, Members were able to get to know each other a bit better, and heard from many YVR representatives, including Tamara Vrooman, CEO. After a short Q&A, the tour moved from the boardroom to the Emergency Response Center. Members learned about how YVR incorporates H&S into every aspect of its business, and how some specific issues are dealt with.
The second portion of the discussion was a walkthrough of the Virtual Twinning of the airport and all of its operations. This custom built system allows YVR employees the ability to see what is happening at the airport in real-time, including everything from landings and takeoffs to baggage snarls and lineups for tickets. The system also allows for post event review and gives YVR the opportunity to improve its methodologies. There are only 3 similar virtual systems like this in the world, and YVR is the leader in North America.
Following the presentation on the virtual twinning, members donned safety vests, cleared through security, and were given an on the tarmac tour of ground level operations at YVR. This interactive tour talked about how/what and why safety is so important, covering everything from potholes in the tarmac to lead in paint, the colours of safety vests and how the digital screens strategically located are used for guiding and other situations. Many members identified that they have/do business at YVR and some very interesting stories were told.
Back in the board room, EHSCBC Member Tamara Vrooman wrapped everything up, with a heartfelt speech on the importance of H&S, and how YVR is a strong team of people all working towards the same goals. It was obvious that the safety culture at YVR is found in every person that members interacted with, and everyone enjoyed the tour immensely.
Thank you to Tamara and Richard, and all of the YVR Team, this tour was inspirational and motivational. We really appreciated the opportunity to see “behind the scenes”.
