The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has restarted work after a two-month shutdown due to two serious workplace incidents. A staged remobilization of the company’s 7,000-strong workforce will begin this week.
Trans Mountain executed a voluntary safety stand down and undertook a thorough review and examination of all workplace safety protocols and practices following the incidents. The Canada Energy Regulator and other regulators continue to independently examine these events and Trans Mountain is working in full co-operation with their respective inquiries.
As part of the safety stand down process and the investigations into the incidents, the company and its contractors identified opportunities for enhancements to safety measures, some of which may have been contributing factors to the events of the past few months. The company focused on and reviewed matters of compliance, communication, near-miss worksite reviews and reporting, and workers’ fitness for duty, as a post-incident investigation revealed an isolated case of a worker failing a drug and alcohol test.
In response to the thorough review of safety programs within Trans Mountain and with its contractors, the board and senior leadership of Trans Mountain have taken immediate steps to enhance the safety culture to ensure the company’s workplace practices and procedures are of the highest safety standards. Workplace safety is the highest priority.
The restart process will begin with the safety re-training and re-orientation of all supervisors and workers – before construction resumes.
Specific enhancements to Trans Mountain’s safety procedures include:
- More rigorous job-site safety training, particularly regarding the safe operation of equipment in proximity to other workers and communication between workers;
- Enhanced worksite inspections and regular audits;
- Rigorous incident and near-miss reporting supported by corrective action plans and systems;
- Upgraded communications equipment and protocols for its effective operation on job sites;
- Strengthened site supervision and the identification of daily site safety champions.
