Tokens to Promote Safety and to Support the Community

Pictured: Éric Lavoie, HSE Coordinator; Patrice Bergeron, Director at Alma Works; Marie-Line Fortin (Soli-Can); Réjean Harvey (Soli-Can); Trevor Bouk, Project Director.

Alma Works has donated $35,000 to the community organisation Soli-Can as part of the “Stop and Seek Help” accident prevention program, which was rolled out while the two anode baking furnaces were being refurbished. This program not only promotes best practices in safety matters but also allows employees to give back to the community. It’s a doubly rewarding initiative!

“Stop and Seek Help”

The main objective of the “Stop and Seek Help” program, which has been implemented at all Rio Tinto regional facilities, is to help prevent potential accidents. When confronted with a critical risk, employees must stop what they are doing and seek help so that the situation can be resolved, and the safety of the employees and their co-workers is not compromised. Every time employees perform a responsible act, they are awarded an aluminium token as recognition for their vigilance.

According to Éric Lavoie, HSE Coordinator for the project, “The tokens highlight responsible behaviour in an immediate, concrete way. The project team, which includes worksite supervisors, safety resources and managers, among many others, gives the employees their tokens in person to mark the occasion and show recognition.”

Far-Reaching Actions

When the two anode furnaces were being refurbished, each token was worth its weight in gold. Whenever a new token was awarded, a donation was made to the community organisation Soli-Can, selected following a vote by the employees working on the project. The project partners, Benoît Pineault, Alfred Boivin, Rémi Bouchard, Gastier, Fabmec, Hatch and Canmec, backed the program by donating $5 to $10 per token. This is on top of the $5 donation from Rio Tinto.

Trevor Bouk, Project Director, stated, “The donation was especially meaningful for employees because they got to choose which organisation to support through their responsible actions. At the end of the project, no HSE events had occurred during the 600,000 working hours. The program was successful on two fronts. It allowed us to promote safe conduct among our employees and to donate a large amount of money to an organisation that can put it to good use.”

Overall, 1,813 safe behaviours were awarded as part of this project. Every responsible action had a significant impact because it reflected the company’s core values: safety and community involvement. Bouk added, “Employees noticed that the program had a daily impact on their work. There was an underlying sense of safety on the worksite. Employees were proud to give back to the community, and they appreciated being able to perform their work without undue risk, knowing they would return home safe and sound at the end of the day.”