Bringing our OHS values to life

Planning for work in extreme heat

Climate change is making extreme heat conditions increasingly commonplace, even in regions where they are historically rare. While extreme heat can pose health risks for anyone, it especially affects those who are hard at work in such conditions; their health may deteriorate more quickly. Following an event on a Hydro-Québec worksite in 2021, we revised our procedures. During weather alerts, we now explain to our personnel how to prevent heat stroke. A new checklist on preparing a temperature-adapted work plan covers work organization, hydration measures and the provision of cooling equipment.

Making overall health part of our corporate culture

We continued to raise awareness with a new health campaign focusing on four themes: (1) reinventing yourself and building resilience; (2) taming the brain; (3) building healthy relationships, and (4) recharging your batteries. The information was shared at talks and events that promoted health and wellness.

We set up a peer support network for managers. Over 90 people volunteered, and 30 teams were created. The training program will continue in 2023.

Finally, once again this year, we raised employee awareness of the health measures and instructions to follow in the event that someone shows symptoms of COVID-19. Management of this disease is now an integral part of our practices: our prevention mechanisms are well established and our teams are on top of the issue.

International recognition for our interactive OHS game

Our Introduction to Health and Safety project won Silver in the “Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program” category at the 2022 Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards. These awards are given to organizations that achieve excellence in deploying programs, strategies or tools for training, human resources or talent management. The winners are selected from hundreds of nominations from around the world. The team responsible for this initiative had a dream: to bring our OHS values, behaviors and culture to life by telling the stories of characters in diverse situations and work environments. The stories featured members of our own personnel, and nearly 200 employees contributed to the project to highlight our OHS personnel and values.

Improvements to the safety of helicopter operations

To reduce the risks associated with operations carried out using helicopters, we carried out a benchmarking exercise with businesses that have similar activities. That exercise identified opportunities for improvement based on best practices. Designed to bring about lasting change, our initiatives include preparing specialized aviation training for helicopter operations personnel to assist in identifying risks and to standardize their level of knowledge. We are also striving to improve our computerized charter management and assignment system in order to enhance helicopter flight safety monitoring. Finally, we assigned greater importance to qualitative criteria such as pilot experience and safety in our bidding process.