From the Office to the Training Room in Just a Few Steps
David Paris, Network Supervisor; Maxime Trépanier, Network Supervisor; and Jacki Cayouette, Operator, Network Control Centre/Isle-Maligne Power Station. Absent from photo: Martin Simard, Operator, Network Control Centre/Isle-Maligne Power Station; and Dominic Simard, Network Supervisor.
Wishing to stretch their legs and keep their minds sharp during their 12-hour shift, the employees of Power Operations’ Network Control Centre took the lead and set up a training room that could be adapted to their workplace. This initiative has so far led to a multitude of health benefits for employees.
The project was initiated by David Paris, Network Supervisor. Paris said, “For the past two years, I have wanted to set up a training room in our workplace, as we do our jobs sitting down and have few opportunities to move around. Training helps us stay alert, activate our systems, and keep injuries at bay.”
Together with his work team, Paris approached Olympe, a local business, for professional occupational health and wellbeing services. With the help of Valérie Savoie, a kinesiologist, they created from scratch a programme adapted to their work. Balls, free weights, stationary bikes—employees have all the equipment they need to do a complete workout according to their needs.
Our work schedules made it almost impossible to squeeze a fitness routine into our daily lives,” Paris said. “Now we can exercise at work and it’s great for morale! Our superiors have encouraged, supported, and given full approval to this initiative. People are happy to take care of their health and grateful to now have access to this new resource.”
