said Bennett. “In certain circumstances where a new hire employee
is new to the industry, we will extend the mentoring process to
one calendar year. This is to ensure that we provide an extended
amount of time for that employee to not only become acclimated
to Cajun’s safety culture, but also to become acclimated to the
industry as a whole.”
Over the course of several months, the new employee will then
begin to go through the company’ core training classes, which consists
of the following two levels:
Craft level employees will complete up to 10 modules during
this period such as:
• Crane Hazard Awareness
• Ethics
• Fall Protection
• How to be a Mentor
• Near Miss and Hazard Recognition/SIF Awareness
Supervision and Management Level will complete a multitude
of modules such as:
• Conflict Resolution
• Confined Space Supervisor
• CPR-First Aid
• Ethics
• HR Best Practices
• Near Miss and Hazard Recognition
• SIF Awareness/SIF Supervisor
• START (Supervisory Training)
“Once the new hire employee completes their required training,
they then become an experienced Cajun employee,” said Bennett.
“After that, we assess them as a potential candidate to mentor new
incoming employees and the cycle continues.”
SAFETY
Fundamental safety program components
Cajun’s formal safety program is comprised of a number of fundamental
components that the company has carefully assembled and
fostered. They include the following:
Documented safety programs and guidance
Cajun excels in this area by having a comprehensive EH&S manual,
safety programs, best practices, policies, and standard operation
procedures—all of which are available to employees through
the company website and which are discussed regularly during
safety meetings.
Effective and regular communication about safety
Cajun has a HATbox (Hazard Awareness Training) program comprised
of various safety topics. For example, each crew reviews one
HATbox topic every week. At the beginning of each month, Cajun
sends out a Monthly Hazard Focus. This is a specific topic that the
company, as a whole, will discuss and focus on to improve safety.
These programs help initiate the efforts to effectively and regularly
communicate safety as a group.
Continuous safety training and discussions
Cajun is adamant about this component within all employment
levels of the organization. One of the company’s core classes
that embraces this fundamental component is its START class,
which includes an audience of foremen level employees up to
executive management.
Comfort with reporting and correcting safety-related issues
Management and supervision promote employee engagement
and positive participation within its Hazard Recognition program.
This program provides Cajun with the opportunity to empower
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