Industry in the Region

Safety is job no. 1 for local industries

Ensuring personal safety is one of the most basic needs - and thus a priority - of every human being.  Ensuring the safety and security of workers and neighbouring residents is key to NCIA and its member companies that operate in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland.

 

A vital service in ensuring safety in industry and the community is the emergency response system, as well as the mutual aid system that the region has come to benefit from. This includes the Fort Saskatchewan volunteer fire fighters, Strathcona County Fire Department and Heartland Hall. Many of these resources are comprised of industry employees and use industry equipment to safeguard their co-workers on the job and their families in the surrounding communities.

 

The majority of NCIA industry members are members of Northeast Region Community Awareness Emergency Response (NR CAER), the region’s mutual aid organization. Formed in 1991, NR CAER has grown into a partnership of more than 40 industries, municipalities, chemical transporters and government agencies dedicated to emergency response and education initiatives in our region. Through NR CAER, industry and municipal emergency responders meet monthly to discuss joint response planning, share information, best practices and to collectively plan community safety initiatives. With assistance from NCIA, NR CAER developed the Community Notification Program in 2003. The program consists of a call-in information line and a telephone call-out system. The UPDATEline (1-866-653-9959) can be called 24 hours/day, seven days/week to get information from our members about unusual activity. A call-out system is used to inform residents about situations in their immediate area. In a large-scale natural or industrial emergency situation, safety information and instructions are communicated to residents through municipal and provincial notification systems which include the Alberta Emergency Public Warning System (through the media), and door-to-door notification.

 

Several of our industry members are members of Responsible Care, a Canada-based, global organization that encourages industry to promote health and safety policies.  Industry also supports the standards of the Alberta Construction Association which promotes safety awareness and accident prevention.