Saturday, August 24, 2024

Green Hard Hats for Green Workers

New safety initiative seeks to protect inexperienced workers

Newsletters Alberta Local 63 Ontario Construction

When you walk onto a Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd. construction site, you’ll see hard hats in a variety of colours, including green.

Why green? After a newer worker employed by a subcontractor was tragically killed in a workplace accident four years ago out west, the CLAC-signatory company implemented a new national initiative in which workers with less than two years of construction experience wear green hats to give others a heads-up that they are “green” and might need extra guidance.

After all, workers are three times more likely to be injured during their first month on the job than at any other time. Forty 40 percent of all workplace injuries occur during the first six months on the job.

Maple, which employs CLAC Local 52, 63, and 68 members in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, isn’t the only company doing this. Gillam Construction, another large Toronto-based firm, is also equipping those with under one year of experience with green hats.

CLAC’s construction bootcamp program, which introduces individuals to the trades through skills and safety training and a paid job placement, now provides students with green hard hats for those placements.

The goal is not to stigmatize new workers but to provide a visual cue to experienced workers. The hat reminds them to look out for these workers, ensure they work safely, and not make assumptions about the skill, training, and safety experience of the “green hats.” Some new workers are in a second career and look like they might have experience that they haven’t yet accumulated.

“The potential hazard of assuming a universal level of experience of all workers outweighs any potential stigma associated with having a different-coloured hard hat,” says Andrew Regnerus, CLAC’s Ontario construction coordinator. “At the end of the day, the goal is to ensure that these new workers receive the training and mentorship they need so that they can thrive in the trades and come home safely every night.”

Sources: Canada.ca, IHSA.ca, Ontario Construction News

Green Hard Hats for Green Workers

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