Training provider opens new Stratford location
Ontario Construction Report staff writer
Construction Workplace Safety Training Ltd. (CWST) applies its experience in health and safety training services to the new Working at Heights training requirements through both its Barrie office and a new location in Stratford scheduled to open this month.
On August 21, 2015 CWST will host an open house at its new location at 332 Loren Ave. E. Bolduc says the office will be able to provide safety training for the area from London to Kitchener-Waterloo to Goderich which he says is currently under-served by any safety provider, including in the new required working at heights training requirements.
“The new location will have training space, access to equipment and will offer the same courses we provide in Barrie including forklift and elevating platform training.”
Not only will the company provide training directly through its two locations, but a staff of trainers are available for on-site courses anywhere in the province.
Owner Bruce Bolduc brings more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry to his clients, giving him the ability to relate to both employees and employers about site-related health and safety issues, including helping companies comply with new regulations.
“The Ministry of Labour is putting a big push on stopping fatalities on work sites,” he said. “Despite an increase in awareness things are not getting any better. We still have an average of 23 deaths annually.”
Bolduc says there are a number of initiatives expected including enhanced baseline training requirements, rules for joint health and safety committees, and the recently announced changes to working at heights training, which companies have until 2017 to ensure is fully implemented.
Through his years in the industry, Bolduc says he has heard many reasons, or perhaps excuses, from people who don’t train staff. “I hear from a lot of companies that they can’t afford training, or they can’t afford to buy the proper equipment, but neither are as expensive or cost-prohibitive as they once were.”
He says there are also time advantages to ensuring proper training. “You train people so they are safe and comfortable in their working environment and they can actually work more quickly because they are secure in their practice and comfort level.”
He says investing in proper equipment can also mean materials savings when workers are able to keep materials accessible, rather than having to drop them to the ground to keeps hands accessible.
Bolduc serves on several committees and boards. He is past president of the Simcoe County Home Builders Association, is an active member of the WSIB Task Force Committee and the Regional Labour Management Committee, and is past chair of the Ontario Home Builders Association’s safety committee. He is also a member of various associations, including the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, the Ontario Home Builders Association, the Barrie Construction Association and the Stratford and Area Builder Association.