AMTA pleased with turnout at Lloydminster safety conference

by Truck West

LLOYDMINSTER, Alta. – The Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) held the first of several planned safety conferences Jan. 27 in Lloydminster, Alta., and the event was bigger than expected.

Michelle Spacil, coordinator of injury reduction and training for the AMTA, said they were aiming for 100 attendees, but ended up getting around 120 for the all-day safety event.

Titled ‘Safety – A Mindset, not a Concept’, the 2016 Lloydminster Safety Conference and Tradeshow featured four presentations, kicking off with Grant Aune from Advantage Fleet Services speaking about his years of experience as an RCMP officer investigating collisions, and now the work his company does to try to stop traffic fatalities before they happen.

Aune outlined several alarming statistics on vehicle fatalities in Alberta, Canada and the U.S., as well as what was causing those incidents. Aune urged those in attendance that ‘good drivers just drive’, and challenged the audience to be better, more attentive drivers.

The second presentation from Deborah Nilsen of the Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) highlighted the differences between companies that operate with a proper safety program in place and those that do not, including differences in premiums and the correct procedures both workers and companies must take when an injury occurs in the workplace.

Sergeant Wes Roth of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement spoke to the importance of cargo securement.

Roth said improperly secured cargo causes damage and injuries in Alberta every day, and that the Cargo Securement Standard – Alberta recently signed an agreement upgrading to the 2013 standard – regulates how cargo must be secured, either by the tie-down or direct restraint method.

The conference’s final presenter knows all too well about the importance of workplace safety.

Spencer Beach chronicled his emotionally stirring, yet very real story of how he survived a chemical fire that gave him third- and fourth-degree burns to 90% of his body, leaving him with less than a 5% chance of survival.

Beach’s life was forever, altered, but he now says he would not change anything about what happened to him that day, as he now works to help educate others on the importance of having the right ‘attitude’ when it comes to workplace safety.

Several companies and organizations provided booths with safety information for conference attendees.

The AMTA hopes to provide additional safety conferences in the coming years in smaller communities throughout the province.

For an in depth look at each of the presentations from the Lloydminster Safety Conference and Tradeshow, check out the upcoming March issue of Truck West magazine.


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