Safety First at A.F. Theriault & Son Ltd.

A.F. Theriault & Son Ltd. maintains an award-winning culture of safety that is always evolving

If you visit Meteghan, Nova Scotia, it's hard to miss the big boatyard sitting by the water. Two big boat lifts stand, their metal frames big and solid in the sky. Sometimes there are ships in them, and always there are boatyard workers coming and going across the yard going about their work.

Staff at A.F. Theriault & Son Ltd. stand out not only for their excellent workmanship, but also for their diligent awareness of safety practices. The boatyard has created a culture of safety that has earned them the NSBA's annual Safety Award in 2023.

"Safety at A.F. Theriault & Son is taken very seriously," says Régis Theriault, chair of the company's safety committee. Employees are given a discount on safety gear at the equipment shop. Signage can be seen everywhere from eyewash stations to machine shops to open holes in the floor on a build in progress. Essential PPE for almost all staff is steeltoe boots, hard hats and safety glasses. Adequate lighting and ventilation is ensured too, and welding masks and hearing protection too for louder and brighter tools.

There is a tool library where staff keep tools and gear organized and in good working order. There is a notice board where current safety practices and procedures are posted.

The long-running safety committee at A.F. Theriault & Son has nine members and they meet monthly to discuss things like near misses and new issues and consistently plan to improve safety and maintain the high standard of safe work at the boat yard. "There is a cost associated to safety," says Régis, "but it is not worth as much as the health of our workers."

One new innovation at A.F. Theriault & Son is "site docs," documents that workers can fill out if they see a potential problem in the workplace. "This gives them the ability to identify, take pictures, write reports to supervisors, to show and introduce, say, hazards," says Régis, "to have them repaired, fixed, taken out to ensure a safe environment here throughout the shipyard."

Success is not possible without this kind of care. "Safety is going to be in our world for the rest of our lives," says Régis, "to ensure that at the end of every day all our workers can go home the same way they came in the door."