Waiward Steel LP, a leading steel fabrication and industrial construction firm in Edmonton and Iron Workers (IW) contractor, was recognized for its commitment to safety and workforce competency at the Construction Owners Association of Alberta’s (COAA) Best Practices Conference in Edmonton on May 9th. COAA 2017 Safety Leadership Award was presented to Waiward Steel’s Chief Operations Officer Jim Kanerva in recognition of his contribution to the success of MODOS competency program – the main contributing factor to Waiward’s recent monumental achievement of over 4 million work hours free of lost time incidents. The COAA conference honors outstanding contributions and accomplishments in several construction industry related roles and responsibilities every year.
“It’s a career honor to be recognized by our customers and peers on something so important,” said Jim Kanerva. “It is a team award for Waiward Steel, my colleagues and our ironworkers because the success of MODOS wouldn’t be possible without them”.
Waiward believes in the professional development of its workers and tracking competency to ensure that they are the most efficient, safe and capable workers in the industry. MODOS is a real-time tracking system that matches workers with tasks and performance plans, identifying their strengths and areas for improvement – all of which lead to a safer and more profitable workplace. It positions ironworkers in suitable positions to reach their true potential, whether it’s an apprentice or a journeyman.
Since implementation of MODOS in 2013, Waiward saw a significant improvement in its safety record and worker competency – more than 800 percent decrease in the number of lost time claims over historical averages. Waiward is now at 4.6 million hours free of lost time claims.
“We wanted to go beyond the rules,” said President of Waiward Steel Terry Degner. “When binders full of rules and regulations didn’t help prevent injuries, it was obvious that it took more than just following the rules to achieve millions of work hours without an incident and maintain a higher level of productivity.”
Waiward Steel has raised the bar high with its MODOS competency program and safety records. It has set an example and a standard for the Canadian construction industry to follow.
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Waiward Steel LP is one of Canada’s largest providers of engineering, drafting, fabrication and construction services. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Waiward serves multiple sectors in the construction industry across Western Canada and around the world.
IMPACT is an ironworker-contractor partnership designed to provide a forum for ironworkers and their contractors to address mutual concerns and encourage reasonable balanced solutions and created job opportunities for participant contractors and ironworkers.