Ply Gem Canada earns Certificate of Recognition for National Safety Programs

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Ply Gem® Canada, a leading manufacturer of window and door products for residential construction in western Canada, announced that it earned a Certificate of Recognition (COR) from the Alberta Construction Safety Association for the development and implementation of safety programs across all Ply Gem Canada operations in Alberta. The company earned an overall score of 99 per cent on its COR audit, one of the highest scores achievable through the program. This achievement is a result of the integration of safety into the company’s culture and effective management of the complex safety systems required for a large multi-location business.

To meet and exceed the standards outlined in the COR, such as employer policy and management commitment, employee competency and training, hazard identification, incident reporting and investigation and emergency response planning, Ply Gem Canada recently launched a new series of ongoing associate safety programs. The programs include classroom training on safe job procedures, daily meetings for every associate to discuss safety protocol for that day’s projects, an associate mentoring program and a weekly inspection program by company managers.

"Achieving the COR level of safety compliance is a significant milestone for Ply Gem Canada and is a declaration that our safety programs are effective and well-managed," said John Newman, vice president, operations, Ply Gem Canada. "This accomplishment is just the first step in our commitment to an ongoing approach to safety, not an invitation to relax our safety programs. In fact, we’ll be instituting more safety programs over the coming months."

Moving forward, Ply Gem Canada plans to implement a new behaviour-based safety system to measure activities that proactively prevent accidents from occurring. Continual feedback from associates and management will indicate what steps associates take to avoid accidents before they occur. The approach aims to continue the culture of safety that is already in place at Ply Gem Canada so that complacency in the workplace does not set in.

"Safety is something that’s important to each associate at Ply Gem Canada, whether they are manufacturing products or managing production teams," said Newman. "Top-quality safety practices translate into top-quality manufacturing processes, and that’s reflected in our products."

The process for obtaining COR certification comprises completion of a six-day COR safety management and training course by at least one full-time employee, passing a peer audit and then passing an external audit that assess how well a company meets COR standards.