PUC poised to hit big corporate milestone before year’s end

The 220 employees of Sault-based PUC group of companies are just weeks away from achieving a major health-and-safety milestone – 1,000 days without a lost-time incident.

"From a health and safety perspective, as of Oct. 15 we were 950 days without a lost-time incident," Rob Brewer, president and chief executive officer of PUC Services Inc., told a meeting of the utility commission's board this week.

That represents something like 1.2 million person-hours, which "is obviously something we're very proud of," Brewer told the Thursday gathering.

Barring a lost-time incident, PUC should reach the 1,000-day milestone in early December. and the three-year mark by mid-March.

Across all PUC companies, there has been just one reportable injury so far in 2021.

"We've had 13 injuries...that required first aid like a band-aid, or somebody had a bruise-type thing," Brewer said.

"And then we're had 14 which we classify as near-misses, which are reported things where we take learning outcomes and share those learning outcomes with the idea that from a non-incident – something that did result in an accident – we can learn and hopefully prevent future potential incidents."

This year's safety record at PUC companies is about the same as last year, but better than 2019.

Last year, PUC Services Inc. received a provincial safety award from the Electrical Safety Authority, recognizing efforts by PUC employees at the beginning of the pandemic to provide hand-made masks for fellow workers and members of the community.

In 2019, the electrical and water utility was recognized with Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce's Safe Work,
Sound Business Award.

Safety issues are discussed at every PUC board meeting.

"Our goal is zero injuries," states the company's health and safety policy statement.

"To achieve this objective, PUC Services Inc. will promote incident reporting and will take all reasonable measures through the risk assessment process to identify hazards, minimize risks and comply with all applicable occupational health and safety legislation." 

"PUC Services Inc. endorses the internal responsibility aystem and the joint health and safety committee structure and supports the resolution of health and safety concerns through a participative process."

In other news from this week's board meeting, directors learned that workers installed sprayed-in-place (SIPP) pipe in three locations this year:

• Second Line West (Cooper to Edison)
• Vivian Avenue
• Murton Avenue (south section)

As SooToday reported in March, PUC has had big ambitions for the robot-delivered technology that strengthens and rehabilitates failing water mains, hoping to set up a new subsidiary to deliver it to other utilities around the province.

The longest section was 170 metres, which was line and returned to service without trenching, in a single day.

The process kept disruption to PUC customers and road traffic to a minimum, directors were told.

Customers were placed on a boil-water advisory until lab results confirmed the relining was successful.

PUC also installed another trenchless technology, cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) in four locations:

• MacDonald Avenue (Pim to Fauquier)
• Meadow Park Crescent
• Lorraine Avenue
• Murton Avenue (north section)

Brewer announced Thursday that PUC employees will return to their Second Line headquarters in January.

"We extended the work-from-home until the end of the year...for a number of reasons. Primarily because things are working very well right now with employees working from home. Things are getting done effectively and efficiently."

"With some of the unknowns that we were contemplating over the last couple of months – in terms of what would happen with this latest wave – a decision was made to extend the stay-at-home until the end of year out of an abundance of caution."

"At this point, the plan is to start to have staff come back into the office in the New Year."