Leading Safety - A Comprehensive Strategy

At Union Gas, we are deeply committed to safety, both in our work-place and in the communities we serve. It is a mindset that’s with us 24/7.

It’s why you see us meeting or exceeding safety codes for the construction and operation of our pipelines.

It’s why you see us proactively communicating important safety information with our customers in our bill, on our web-site and through the media.

It’s why you see us leading the way on Corporate Safety Policies such as the complete ban on the use of electronic devices such as cell phones while driving.

It’s why you see us providing financial support for important community safety initiatives such as Children’s Safety Villages across Ontario.

And it’s also why each edition of Dawn Horizon will include a safety message.

We sincerely hope that sharing our learning's and experiences will will inspire you to enhance your focus on safety - both at work and at home.

A Comprehensive Strategy

At Union Gas our goal is zero injuries for our employees and contractors. In early 2008 Union Gas developed a multi-year Safety Strategy which includes a number of focus areas: positive safety culture; workplace observation; incident learning and prevention; employee safety leadership; process safety; and health and wellness.

One of the cornerstones of our Strategy is to ensure that safety is top of mind 24 hours each day, 7 days each week –at work and at home. For the third year running, all employees in the organization participated in "Stand Up for Safety". This event provides a forum for discussing safety and sharing individual experiences between employees.

In early 2008, we rolled out Mission Possible @ Work driver training. This 18-module course combining prepared material, videos and interactive group discussion focuses on engaging all Union Gas employees in driving safety and awareness, even if driving is not a job requirement. These are only two of the many initiatives that focus on re-enforcing our 24/7 safety culture.

Key to developing and sustaining a zero-incident culture are our two new Programs; Workplace Observation and Incident Learning and Prevention. Identifying unsafe conditions and acts prior to them causing incidents, and then investigating and learning from incidents (with or without loss) are critical components of the move towards excellence in safety leadership.

We are also working on developing safety leadership throughout the organization. By supporting our Joint Health and Safety Committees across the Company, we are empowering them to improve the health and safety of their individual workplaces. Some of the areas of focus include the exchange of best practices among committees, understanding incident investigations & risk analysis, and improving the quality of workplace inspections.

Finally, we are developing programs to encourage the improvement of the physical and mental health of our employees. Recent programs include education on healthy eating, wellness clinics where employees can have blood pressure tested and cholesterol levels checked, and a year-round flexible work schedule aimed at giving employees greater control over their work-life balance.

At Union Gas, we are continually striving to be a leader in safety. We believe that by concentrating on specific objectives beyond regulatory and legislative compliance, we will make great strides in advancing our safety culture at every level of the organization.