Vancouver Island Forest Contractors Recognized for Outstanding Safety and Environmental Leadership

NANAIMO, BC, June 19, 2019 – Mosaic Forest Management is honouring 10 Vancouver Island contractors who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in safety and environmental initiatives this past year.

From Duncan to Port McNeil, Campbell River to Sooke, the award winners took proactive steps to reduce their safety risks and achieve excellence in environmental performance.

In 2018, Mosaic, including employees and contractors for both TimberWest and Island Timberlands, achieved a safety performance with the lowest average medical incident rate (MIR) in five years – an MIR rate of 2.9 per 200,000 hours worked. Mosaic and its contractors continually work to test and apply new technologies and strategies to improve safety, and as a result of continued focus into 2019, the downward trend has continued with a year-to-date MIR rate of 2.3.

Recent contractor safety initiatives include adding vehicle proximity alarms, a man overboard system for boats, deploying collision avoidance technology across log handling facilities, piloting driver fatigue detection sensors in log trucks, and piloting rollover risk detection sensors in log truck trailers. In addition, steep slope harvesting machinery has helped reduce risk by lowering the amount of harvesting with a chainsaw. 

“Safety is our highest priority at Mosaic – nothing supersedes it. We learn from every incident including near misses, so that we can continuously improve towards the singular goal of achieving zero-harm,” said Jeff Zweig, President & CEO of Mosaic. “I commend our contractors for their efforts in the field and their continued commitment to making safety and the environment an ongoing priority.”

Mosaic is incredibly proud of our contractors who bring an unwavering commitment to safety and environmental performance across their nearly 1 000-person strong workforce. The following companies were recognized for their outstanding performance during a ceremony yesterday in Nanaimo.

Award Winners

(l to r) John Shearing, Mosaic Forest Management’s Director Health and Safety; James Luxmoore, Mosaic’s Senior Manager, Log Purchase; award recipient, Steve Pierce, of Challenger Enterprises; and Mosaic’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Zweig.

(l to r) Mosaic’s Senior Manager Forestry Operations, Jimmie Hodgson; Damien Pine, of Silvifor Resource Consultants Ltd.; and Jeff Zweig, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mosaic.

(l to r) Mosaic Forest Management’s Director, Health and Safety, John Shearing; Mike Reagon, General Manager, Operations – South Island, Mosaic; Lyle Newton, Island Pacific Logging; and Jeff Zweig, Mosaic’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

(l to r) Aaron Racher, General Manager Operations – North Island for Mosaic Forest Management; Aaron Frost and Nels Jorgenson, of Strategic Natural Resource Consultants Inc.; and Jeff Zweig, Mosaic’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

(l to r) Mosaic Forest Management’s Director, Health and Safety, John Shearing; Linda and Chris Mattin, of Elco Contracting Ltd.; and Jeff Zweig, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mosaic.

(l to r) Mosaic Forest Management’s General Manager, Operations – Central Island, Kevin Ashfield; Mosaic’s VP Operations, Mark Leitao; Mark Slocum, Chris Masson and Mazzio Battistuz, of North West Bay Operation; and Jeff Zweig, Mosaic’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

(l to r) Mosaic Forest Management’s General Manager, Operations, Central Island; Chad Campbell, Karlie Ward and Bill Chadwick, of Ryder Contracting Ltd./Camson Contracting; and Jeff Zweig, Mosaic’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

(l to r) John Shearing, Mosaic’s Director, Health and Safety, with award recipient, John Walker, of Mount Sicker Lumber Company Ltd. and Mosaic’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Zweig.

(l to r) Mike Reagon, Mosaic’s General Manager, Operations – South Island; Chris and Danielle Flynn, of Oceanside Timber Ltd.; and Jeff Zweig, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mosaic.

(l to r) Aaron Racher, Mosaic’s General Manager, North Island; Paul Henderson, of TPH Contracting Inc.; and Jeff Zweig, Mosaic’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Longstanding Safety Performance

• Elco Contracting Ltd., Duncan: Awarded for their focus on safety, having just one minor reportable incident in over 15 years. This family-run business treats employees like family, regarding safety with the highest priority.

• Challenger Enterprises Ltd., Nanaimo & East Sooke: This company is serious about safety, always putting people first. They have an exceptional maintenance program, ensuring equipment is in top condition for employees to operate.

Excellent Safety Culture

• Ryder Contracting Ltd. / Camson Contracting Ltd., Port Alberni: Safety culture runs extremely high throughout this large focused team of road construction crews.

• North West Bay Operation, Parksville: This crew takes a team approach to keeping people safe and ensuring everyone does the right thing every day. The NWB Safety Committee is a proactive group that deals with safety issues quickly.
  

Crew Safety Champion

• Damien Pine, Silvifor Resource Consultants Ltd., Cobble Hill: Damien Pine leads by example, setting the highest standards for safety behaviour with his own crew or when supervising other planting crews. His use of technology, including a Crew App, has advanced communication among all operations.

• ·       John Walker, Mount Sicker Lumber Company Ltd., Duncan: John Walker has been a foreman for many years and was instrumental in many of Mount Sicker’s safety procedures. He has a hands-on approach to every phase of the business with the full respect of the crew.

Safety Leader in Innovation

• Jordan River Logging Ltd. (Island Pacific Logging), Chemainus: This company has invested considerable time and financing in the distribution and use of RoB tethered machinery to reduce hand fallers on the ground. They are constantly implementing new methods and technologies.

• Strategic Natural Resource Consultants Inc., Port McNeill: This company’s technology involving its electronic check-in procedure is noted as one of the best for people working alone. They have been a leader in planning and using GPS technology – and championed introducing Lidar technology.

Excellent Environmental Performance

• TPH Contracting Inc., Campbell River: This operation takes pride in cleanliness and reducing environmental impact, having implemented new equipment and switching machinery to Environ hydraulic oil.

• Oceanside Timber Ltd., Nanaimo: This team has conducted operations within the Ladysmith watershed area of Holland Lake for three consecutive years, placing priority on managing the environment in this highly sensitive area, requiring performance at the highest standards.

About Mosaic Forest Management Corp.

In November 2018, TimberWest and Island Timberlands affiliated under the management of Mosaic Forest Management to pursue a range of economic, social and environmental benefits. The affiliated companies have operated on Vancouver Island for over a century, delivering sustainable forest management within their private forest lands and Crown tenure areas. Mosaic employs several thousand people directly and indirectly to achieve the best economic, social and sustainability outcomes from the working forest. For more information, visit mosaicforests.com.

Media Inquiries

Pam Agnew
Communications Manager

Phone: 250-716-3744 / Pam.Agnew@MosaicForests.com