"We all Need to Get Home Safe for the Holidays!"

The construction industry is now into the month of December, and there are a few things that we should all do.

Firstly, please remember that you must always maintain a presence of mind when working on a construction site. Construction can be a hazardous vocation if you are not focused on the task at hand. This is not a simplified perspective of construction, but instead a public service announcement that everyone has a lot on their mind in December, and any lapse in focus may quickly become a tragedy. This must be avoided at all costs.

Secondly, everyone needs to look out for each other. Simply being focused on the task at hand isn’t enough when you rely on a crew of people around you to complete a task. Everyone in that unit needs to ensure that everyone else on that site is present and ready to complete the intended project. Construction is not about one person building a project in isolation, but instead a complete collaborative effort towards a final product. As I commenced, December brings with it so many “distractions,” and these distractions must be left off of the jobsites!

Lastly, please remember why you work each day on any construction site. You are working so that you can provide for your family. Your family is the key component in this narrative, and I would like to note, your reason for working in the first place. Before you engage in any behaviour that may be risky or detrimental to your own personal health, please remember your motivation for working: your family.

December should be a month reserved for the celebration of various holidays and for time spent with your family. Everyone should be happy and look forward to some much-deserved time off to make lasting memories with loved ones.

What December should not be, is a time of tragedy and sorrow.

By way of perspective, December 2020 was not a good month for the construction industry as it bears recalling the tragic events of that month to really drive home the overall message of this communication.

December 2020 was the month were our industry witnessed a total of eight construction deaths that occurred. We must never have this reoccur. We must ensure that we all maintain a presence of mind, ensure our coworkers are focused, and always remember our families in all of our actions. The OGCA would like everyone to rally behind a specific message. The drive is the GIP’s“Get Home Safe for the Holidays Campaign.” #giphomesafe

What is this campaign all about?

As an OGCA member, you have seen our social media posts on this program about GIP launching this month-long campaign at the start of every December. The purpose is to stop and regroup. To remind ourselves what’s important. And above all, to focus on working as a team and to look out for each other to make sure everyone gets home safe for the holidays.

GIP and the OGCA, will be asking all workers, employees, contractors, and industry partners to do the same: to take a pledge of commitment across all our job sites and work locations for all of December.

The pledge is simple: “I pledge to never compromise my safety or the safety of my fellow workers, to ensure we all get home safe.”

Please join in the campaign and refocus everyone in your company to ensure that they get the opportunity to get home safely for the holidays.

This campaign needs to be broadcasted and followed by everyone, because, although the construction industry is expansive and covers multiple sectors, we are all connected and know one another in some form or another. Our industry shares common bonds, experiences, a shared workforce, issues, and above all, pride and passion. We also share in the tragedy and pain of losing anyone to a workplace accident.

The OGCA is imploring the construction sector once again to please focus on keeping everyone safe and to also remember those we have lost to workplace accidents. Those individuals that have lost their lives on jobsites were not simply statistics, but people. They were our coworkers, our friends and our construction family.

Additionally, please remember the families of the victims and make sure your thoughts and prayers are with them all.

I humbly request that the construction industry reinternalize the focus on safety, and realize that safety is the most important thing for everybody because as one big family, we all want everyone going home at the end of the day!

Please be safe and enjoy this wonderful holiday season.

Should any member have any questions about this campaign or about safety in general, or if you require any assistance from the OGCA, please contact me directly at giovanni@ogca.ca or via phone at 905.671.3969.