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Our People…
with Lorna Goddard
This month we meet Lorna Goddard,
Safety Coordinator at Noise Solutions
Manufacturing in Delburne, Alberta.
Safety is such an important part of the
Noise Solutions culture and it’s one of the
Four Cornerstones of our work. In the
following article, Lorna discusses our
safety policies and best practices that are
helping to ensure we have the highest
safety standards in everything we do. As
you read on, you’ll learn that it also
garnered Noise Solutions outstanding
results on our safety audit in 2013, which
we’re all very proud of.
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NS: Tell us about yourself
Lorna: I was born and raised in Calgary,
Alberta, and I have a 37-year-old son, a
daughter who is 31, a stepson who is 25 and a
12-year-old grandson. I live with my husband
on our farm, eight miles east of Noise Solutions
Manufacturing, with 3/4 sections of land. We
have 50 head of cattle, five horses, dogs and
cats… it’s really awesome.
At one time, we also had peacocks, sheep and
chickens.
I spent most of the 80s living in Vancouver,
British Columbia and then moved back to
Calgary in 1987. My parents travelled a lot. My
dad was a welder and they used to chase shut
downs, so I was able to move into their house
in Calgary during that time. When they
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returned to Alberta in 1992, my dad went to
work outside of Red Deer at the Joffre Plant,
so they rented a house in Lousana, which is
just south of Delburne, home to Noise
Solutions Manufacturing.
In 1993, my dad became ill and they needed to
be close to doctors in Calgary, so they moved
back into their house in Calgary and I moved
into theirs in Lousana.
I got a job working on a Sheep Ranch with
about 700 sheep out by Pine Lake. Being a city
girl from Calgary, I didn’t know much about
working on a Ranch at the time, so it was an
exciting and really interesting experience for
me. After a few years of that, I worked at the
local Co-op grocery store and I was also a
waitress in the restaurant at the Delburne
hotel. That’s where I met my husband 20 years
ago.
I switched Jobs when an opportunity
presented itself and spent the next eight years
learning typesetting and graphic design at a
printing company, and then in 2011, did a six-
month graphic design course at Red Deer
College to further hone my skills. When I
graduated there was also an opportunity to
work part-time at Noise Solutions
Manufacturing, where my husband had been
already working for the last seven years. I
decided to take it and worked in data entry,
which quickly turned into a full-time position
as the Safety Coordinator.
I’m so glad I moved out here. I’ve had such
great experiences and I just love it! I don’t think
I could ever move back to the city.
NS: What does your role as Safety
Coordinator entail?
Lorna: Along with helping to create the safety
program at Noise Solutions Manufacturing,
which is doing really well, I chair our safety
meetings, conduct safety reviews, and I keep
track of all our records and documentation
that are required for our safety audit each year.
It’s important to ensure that all staff on the
shop floor is following our safety policies and
procedures outlined in the safety manual. If an
incident occurs, even the smallest incident like
a cut, it’s everyone’s job to report it.
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We closely monitor the types of incidents so
we can create the statistics required to track
the different types of injuries that are taking
place. For example, if a lot of people are
cutting their hands, it shows that we need to
have a different type of glove. For something
more serious, I also do an investigation to
ensure we get to the root of the cause, know
what the problem is and implement steps to
fix it. It’s important that we breed a culture that
allows employees to feel open and not afraid
to report a near miss, identify a hazard, or an
issue that happened. Our goal is to go back to
the beginning to figure it out and fix it so that
it doesn’t happen again. We strive to work in a
zero-incident environment. That of course, is
the end goal.
NS: Can you tell us about the Safety
Review and what it involves?
Lorna: Up until recently, I conducted the daily
safety review, but in an effort to get everyone
involved and engaged in the safety
management program, a different department
leads it each day, and it’s working out great.
Every morning at 7:00AM we all meet on the
shop floor for the safety review. We focus on a
different topic each day – from slips, trips and
falls, to sun stroke, tornadoes and hand tools.
As the various departments lead it, more
relatable topics are popping up that everyone
should be aware of. It’s helpful to understand
what someone else is dealing with in their
area. Safety talks for people working with a
Break or a Shearer will be different than those
who are welding or grinding. It’s proving
valuable for everyone. The staff is really
bringing it and I couldn’t be more pleased!
We had a really great safety review the other
day from the folks in Welding about using Zip
Cuts. It’s a cutting tool that looks like a round
grinding disc but really thin. People have used
them for grinding and buffing but they should
be specifically used for cutting. It’s very
important to understand the proper way to
use any tool. With the Zip Cuts you want to
make sure you’re using it at a right angle
because when a disc fly’s apart it could create a
serious injury.
We live, talk and push safety every day
because we want staff to constantly think
safety, be aware of their surroundings and use
common sense. By doing this, we have been
able to create a culture where people start
governing themselves. If a situation occurs,
they will say to their peers, ‘Where is your
hardhat?’ or ‘Why aren’t you wearing your
PPE?’ It’s really great to see everyone taking it
very seriously and looking out for each other.
It’s an ongoing team effort. We sometimes like
to take short cuts and it’s important to remind
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ourselves how important it is to keep yourself
and others safe.
Something else we’ve done is implemented an
incentive program, which includes a safety
component, along with attendance, team
work, quality and efficiency. These are the
areas that we look at when we’re deciding how
the incentive is going to work. It’s a point
system out of 10 and it’s done every quarter.
So if you get a score of eight, your percentage
of the incentive would be higher than
someone who receives a lower score.
NS: How is Noise Solutions looked upon
within the industry for its safety
standards?
Lorna: Noise Solutions’ reputation is healthy
and strong. Our staff on the shop floor and out
in the field installing equipment on customer
sites is top notch, and safety is always first. We
are very lucky to have such a great crew. They
are disciplined, professional and take their job
and responsibilities very seriously.
They understand that the client also has a
reputation to uphold, and they don’t want any
incidents on their sites. If our safety standards
and professionalism aren’t as high as they are
expected to be, clients won’t want to work
with us. We’re always striving for higher safety
standards.
Something that we’re really proud of is
achieving an overall score of 93 percent on the
Certificate of Recognition (COR) external audit
in 2013. COR is the safety standard that was set
down by the Government of Alberta well over
20 years ago, and it’s awarded to employers
who develop health and safety management
programs that meet established standards. The
COR audit process involves a comprehensive
documentation review, tours our offices, the
shop and field work sites; they check fire
extinguishers, first aid kits, review our hazards,
and the like; and they interview employees,
contractors and visitors. It’s a huge
undertaking. If an incident is reported, they
need to see how it has been corrected so that
it doesn’t happen again.
The outstanding score that Noise Solutions
achieved shows that the safety practices that
we have put in place are making a difference.
Our next big audit in 2016 will earn Noise
Solutions an even higher score. We are already
putting programs in place to achieve it.
NS: How do you ensure that employees
on the shop floor and in the field are
competent in their roles?
Lorna: That’s a great question. We don’t want
someone operating Tin Snips if they don’t
know how to use them safely.
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The shop staff has helped create a Job Scope
Analysis which identifies every job and the
tasks that go with it in that department. They
list the basic steps in each job, identify the
hazards, rank them and then identify the steps
to eliminate or control them.
We also created an Employee
Self-Rated Training Matrix,
which allows employees to
rate themselves on areas they
feel they are strong in and
others they are not. This helps
to determine who needs
training where so that we can
be sure they receive it if it’s a
requirement of their job. The
next step is to have evaluators
deem our employees
competent through a rating
form that we are in the
process of implementing.
Employees are more likely to
enjoy their job when they
have the understanding and
confidence to do it. This gives
them the opportunity to excel in their role and
to be leaders, rather than when someone is
unsure. That’s when problems and incidents
can occur.
NS: What kind of safety training would
an employee on the shop floor receive?
Lorna: Training really depends on the scope
of the role and what each requires. The types
of safety training employees have received are
things like, Fall Arrest or Fall Protection, First
Aid, Leadership for Safety Excellence, Crane
Operator Training, Lockout/Tag out Training,
Basic Safety Training, Forklift and Telehandler
Training. The field crew also needs to receive
TDG, H2S, Confined Space and a number of
other types of training,
depending on what the client
requires.
We want to make sure everyone
is constantly learning so we are
trying to identify areas of skills
that each employee needs to
learn in the future.
NS: What’s the best advice
that you’ve ever received
in business?
Lorna: Advice that was given
to me when I was quite young
and I still practice today is, “if
you’re going to do a job, do it to
the best of your ability and put
everything you have into it so
that it’s part of you. This way,
you know you put your best foot forward and
you are always striving for the best you can
be.”
NS: What do you like most about
working here?
Lorna: One of the things that I think is really
great about working at Noise Solutions is the
encouragement you receive to expand your
skills and move into new roles that you’re
interested in. It’s happened for so many people
In the three years that
I’ve worked here, I’m
very pleased with how
much the company has
grown – both the team
at Noise Solutions
Manufacturing and the
company as a whole, in
Canada and the US.
You can visually see it
and it’s exciting to be
part of.
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here, just like it happened for me, moving from
Data Entry to become the Safety Coordinator.
They sent me for all of the training I needed to
make me successful in my role.
If someone is interested in working in the field,
or in the office, the company is willing to give
them that opportunity. You can think outside
the box here. The transparency that the
company is reaching for is also really awesome.
In the three years I’ve worked here, I’ve seen
such huge developments and improvements.
The company has grown to have two locations
in Canada and two in the US but it still feels like
one small company, which is really good. You
don’t feel segregated and you know that
you’re part of the bigger picture. The company
continues to improve and get stronger.
I also feel really lucky to work with awesome
people and to enjoy the work I do.
The variety of things that people ask me on a
daily basis or concerns they may have has
allowed me to learn every day. I also enjoy
watching the people here grow and knowing
that I am contributing to their growth, whether
that’s giving them the direction they need,
giving them the tools to do their job right, or
educating them on our safety policies. They
understand their rights and what is expected
of them.
I can honestly say, I’ve learned a great deal
since I’ve been here and I’m hoping that I’ve
impacted, inspired and helped others learn
too.
Something else that has been great is that
everyone really likes to see staff from Calgary
head office come up to the shop each week.
Those regular visits have made a positive
impact on employees, both on the shop floor
and in the office. People are gaining more
confidence. They understand we are one big
team and we’re all the same, each with
different and important skills that are bringing
this company to leading status, and that’s
really great! NS
Our People Profile with Lorna Goddard, Safety Coordinator