In May, Hydro recognizes Safety, Health and Environment Week, so we took the opportunity to speak with three of our longest-tenured safety professionals with 75 years of experience at Hydro between them.

Brian Lannon is the Corporate Safety Specialist, championing our Safety and Health programs across the province with support from our regional Safety, Health and Environment team. In 1994 he took a one-year leave of absence from his job on the US Navy base in Argentia, and joined Hydro in a temporary position with Churchill Falls as a Fire & Security Officer. He was there until 2003 (not so temporary after all!) when he moved to Holyrood where he spent three years as a Safety and Health Coordinator before moving into his current role at Hydro Place in 2006.

Joe Lake is the Safety and Health Lead with our Major Projects Department, working with our project teams to ensure our projects get started on the right foot when it comes to safety and health. In a bit of an atypical path, Joe started his career as an accountant in the oil and gas industry, before making the pivot to the safety field. He joined the Lower Churchill Project in 2012, before moving to Senior Safety Supervisor for Power Supply where he spent seven years responsible for safety and health oversight for Muskrat Falls and Soldiers Pond.

Ron Tobin is the Work Protection Code (WPC) Lead responsible for our WPC and other corporate safety programs. After starting his career in Come By Chance, Ron joined Hydro in 1994 as a Thermal Plant Operator in Holyrood, progressing to a Shift Supervisor before moving to Hydro Place with our Safety and Health team.

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What drew you to a career in safety?

Brian: Having the background of safety and health from school (the Safety Engineering Technology program at Humber College) while working in the role of Fire & Security Officer in Churchill Falls, helped me understand the acute and also chronic impacts of exposures. The role of emergency response is mainly reactive, so when the opportunity came to move to Holyrood and be in a position to help with prevention, while still responding to incidents, I jumped on it!

Joe: To be honest luck and opportunity. I was working as the Marine Operations and Logistics Lead with the oil industry when the Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) HSEQ role became vacant, so I went to my manager and said I wanted to put my name forward for the role. He asked my what qualifications I had for the role, and I told him none.  But I said I am a hard worker, and I have proven myself with this company now for many years and have taken on several new roles without the necessary qualifications and I have proven myself. I am the only one who can lose here because if I don’t succeed, I have no job. They took a chance on me and once I got into the role I loved it. I went on to get certified as a Canadian Registered Safety Professional, served as President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Occupational Health and Safety Association for eight years and never looked back.

Ron: As with most things I do I didn’t take the traditional route as I started in operations. Early in my career at the refinery I recognized the importance of creating a safe zone for executing work given the hazardous chemicals and explosive nature of a refinery. In Holyrood we worked with different hazards and became actively involved in the Work Protection Committee at the plant and progressed to corporate committee involvement, and here I am.

What does an average day look like for you?

Brian: An average day for me now is improving Hydro’s prevention programs. We have a lot of great programs that are used every day by employees from Nain to Lab West to Stephenville and St. John’s and all parts in between. Hydro is a very large company and I have met a lot of people throughout my years here and I find it very rewarding to be able to speak with many of them both inside and outside of work.

Joe: Well right now, where the department is new, most of my role involves developing, revising and reviewing Safety and Health documentation and forms for the department. Supporting and coaching the team on all aspects of safety and health, reviewing RFP’s and contract proposals as well as our contractor’s safety programs. I work closely with the Project Managers and Project Engineers and now with the BDE Penstock project started I have safety oversight on its activities and liaison with the site’s Health, Safety and Environment Advisor with our consultant’s team. And oh ya’ lots of meetings.

Ron: There is no average day. The day can be planned with meetings and different things I am involved with and then the phone rings. Can be anything to resolving a permit issue, supporting operations, incident investigation … I could be on a train or helicopter heading to Menihek. Helicopter preferred!

In your time here, what’s been the biggest change you’ve seen in safety?

Brian: Safety and Health has changed a fair bit since I moved to Holyrood and took on the role of Coordinator. I believe that safety has changed in the way people perceive it as years ago safety was more about ensuring standard practices – like if safety equipment was worn. Today, safety has evolved into a way of life and is more about the physical but also psychological aspects of a person. I honestly believe that in Newfoundland and Labrador “health” has not gotten the recognition yet that it needs and deserves.

Joe: I am not so sure change is the right word but what I have seen is the continuous commitment by our senior leadership team to promote and empower everyone to stand up for safety. As I am sure many have heard before the success for any workplace is that safety starts from the top down. The message Jennifer continues to promote, along with her team and our department leaders like Gail Collins and Steve Tilley, and now my new Director Gail Randell, always enforcing our Safety Credo and our Values is a huge positive step to becoming a true safety leading organization.

What’s been the most challenging part of your job?

Brian: I believe the most challenging part for me was making some of the decisions that I have made along the way. Leaving Churchill to work in Holyrood was difficult as I knew a lot of people in Churchill and it was like a family to me. I missed the people the most, but I never looked back any time I made a decision, move forward, but it is a challenge.

Joe: I think for me the most challenging thing is hearing about an injury or an incident. Wondering where things went wrong. Could we, could I, have done more to prevent it. Although we have done so much and come so far, there is always more we have to do.

Ron: Overall, one of the most challenging is the turnover of staff and maintaining WPC knowledge in the company. One of the most challenging things I have been involved with, and at the same time most rewarding, was the transition to operations of the Lower Churchill Project. From days of getting stuck in the path (it wasn’t a road at the time) into Muskrat Falls to transitioning from a project to operations was challenging. But being in the Control Room in Muskrat Falls when the first unit synced during commissioning was a pretty cool moment!

What’s been the most rewarding part of your job?

Brian: One of the rewards of my job is meeting so many people in every nook and cranny in the province. Meeting people and knowing what matters to them helps me when creating or reviewing Hydro’s programs because people are very different from one end of this province to the other. I truly believe that you have to understand that and know your audience when communicating a program.

Joe: Most rewarding for me is making a difference in how people think and view safety. Sharing my life’s experience and sharing my not so good stories of things gone bad and seeing the change in people’s attitude towards safety as a result. That along with meeting and working with such a great bunch of people who truly do care about the health and safety of our people is rewarding. Getting through a day without incidents or injuries, well I can’t ask for anything better. 

Finally, why is your role at Hydro important?

Brian: I play a small part in ensuring every person goes home at the end of the day the same way they came to work. Creating a strong program is one thing but then having people follow that program is another. Having lots of help in the field with supervisors and co-workers ensuring the program is followed, ensures that everyone is safe and healthy.

Joe: I think just by virtue of what I do. Continuously striving for zero harm by educating our teams on legislation, policies and procedures and field monitoring for compliance all works together to ensure the safety and health of our people. Continuous improvement in our programs and the continuous drive for safety at the field level will go a long ways in making sure our people stay safe.

Ron: I help support our teams safely operate while adhering to our safety processes. I have daily interactions with all levels in the company. Having come from operations and having a full understanding of how we operate at a high level helps to ensure consistency at local levels.

*some answers may be edited for length