Nova Scotia Workplace ‘Safety Hub’ Helps Businesses Reduce Costs, Save Lives
One of the most important aspects of running a business – big or small – is making sure your workplace is as safe as possible.
It might not be the sexiest part of your business plan, but workplace safety training is a vital one: it reduces costs, increases efficiency, contributes to positive company culture, and can save your employees’ lives.
But many organizations let important safety training slide, or worse, forgo it altogether.
One big reason for this is that it can be an annoying and time-consuming process trying to track down the right organization. Who, exactly, should you look to for first aid training? And which organization offers workplace violence prevention programs? What about WCB Safety certification?
Now, a powerful alliance of safety-related organizations has partnered to create a centralized location for employers or individuals looking for almost any kind of safety credentials.
Safety Services NS opened its brand-new Bayers Lake office earlier this year. But, rather than take the whole space for itself, the organization has brought St. John Ambulance, AWARE-NS, and Fish Safe NS into the space.
This has created what Susan Dempsey, AWARE-NS Executive Director calls a “safety hub” in Halifax that “promotes idea exchange, collaboration, and support for one another within our communities of practice.
Jill Schwartz at Safety Services NS says the “safety hub” is an extension of the longstanding partnerships her organization has had with its new roommates.
Those partnerships have allowed each of the organizations to sharpen their focus, as they do away with overlapping programming and share resources.
The result, she says, is an environment where it’s easier than ever for employers and individuals to access the safety training they need.
Need the occupational health and safety training, WCB safety certification, or firearms safety courses Safety Services NS offers? It’s all there. Looking for St. John Ambulance’s CPR or AED training? It’s there, too.
Then there’s Fish Safe NS’s Marine Basic or Advanced First Aid, or AWARE- NS JOHSC Effectiveness Training or Safety Audits.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Between all four organizations at the new Bayers Lake office, Schwartz believes they cover just about any workplace safety-related training you might want.
Steven Gaetz is the CEO of St. John Ambulance. He says having four of Nova Scotia’s significant safety associations together in the same place makes it easier to coordinate services and share resources.
That’s especially valuable for not-for-profit organizations that run on tight budgets and limited staff.
“This just increases our capacity to give back to our community, because we’re spending less time and money on administration and we’re putting more effort into our volunteers and the Community Services we manage,” Gaetz says.
It also makes it much easier for anyone seeking safety services to get what they need. Now, you can just go to one place instead of running all over town from organization to organization.
Images: submitted.
Schwartz points out the new space is also much larger, meaning each organization can offer classes to more people at once.
FishSafe NS’s Executive Director, Matthew Duffy says the new space has even provided his organization the opportunity to host training courses and meetings on-site, which they couldn’t do in the past.
Gaetz says he hopes to see more not-for-profit organizations take this type of approach in the future.
“You can have 10 not for profits and they all have 10 buildings and 10 groups of staff and services – and that doesn’t make sense. Our partnership allows us to join forces and focus on the greater good, because, really, it’s all about investing in the community, not about buildings,” he says.
You’re invited to Safety Services Nova Scotia’s new office and “safety hub” at 127 Chain Lake Drive, Unit 9 for an Open House on Thursday, November 25th from 2-4 pm.
More information on the services each of the hub’s tenants offers is available below.
This story is sponsored by Safety Services NS.