Amit Golan calls it a “safety transaction.”
It may seem like a simple conversation or a check-in with his many staff members to assess their safety on the job and where to make potential improvements.
But it’s precisely these incremental steps that ensure all of his staff at CKF Inc. make it home safely after each work day – and nothing can be more important than that.
This ongoing commitment to safety netted Golan, VP, operations-west at CKF, the Soaring Eagle Leadership Award, one of the marquee distinctions handed out at the Safety Pinnacle Awards hosted by the Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC, on June 8.
Dozens of awards were presented over the evening’s festivities, including the Apex Award to Factors Group manager of health and safety Michelle Lofting, along with 25 companies from around the province feted for safety excellence and innovation.
Safety first, always
“People want to work for and work with companies that care about their people,” explains Jennifer Wiebe, marketing manager with the Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC. “Sustainability is a growing priority for business, and a key part of sustainability is how a company treats its people – that starts with protecting their health and safety.”
Akin to the Oscars for the manufacturing sector, the Safety Pinnacle Awards represents the apex of health and safety protocols for hundreds of B.C. businesses across a wide range of industries: from metal fabricators to wineries and breweries, nutritional product producers to boat builders.
“One of the keys across all Pinnacle Award winners is that they commit to certification,” Wiebe explains. “They have made that commitment to developing a comprehensive health and safety program and then have it audited and certified.”
Safety isn’t some nebulous concept that’s difficult to quantify – in fact, it’s quite the opposite.
The hallmarks of a company genuinely committed to well-being include dissatisfaction for complacency and ensuring that progress is marked, measured, and continually improved upon. Doing so creates a trickle-down effect across a company’s operations – what gets measured, what gets done, and what gets recognized inspires others to follow suit.
“Involving employees in the conversation is very important – you need to take the time to do so, so it’s not just preaching to people,” Wiebe says. “It’s not about catching someone doing something wrong. It’s a conversation. It’s about hearing directly from them where the issues are and recognizing where they’re doing things the right way.”
One of the central goals of the gala was to highlight the steps forward that leading B.C. businesses have made in workplace health and safety since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For a time, safety became the number one priority for companies during the pandemic. It’s exciting to see more companies continue to build on those gains,” Wiebe says.
The nomination process for 2024 award winners begins in September, and the search for nominees is already underway.
To nominate next year’s safety leaders or to view the full list of award winners, visit the online winners’ gallery.
