Safety is not just a priority at Cambium; it’s an integral part of who we are. Cambium aims to ensure the safety of its clients, subcontractors, and all stakeholders by prioritizing employee training on hazard awareness and implementing strict safety protocols. Mayve Macfarlane explains “we try to foster a culture where safety is not just a goal but an ingrained value.” She continues, “yes, we want to ensure that our employees, clients, subcontractors and any other stakeholders comes home safe, but we’re also charged with understanding and preventing any long-term health effects that could occur at the work site.” Through tailored training, proactive audits, and continuous communication, Cambium has created a work environment where every individual can feel safe.

Identifying Hazards Across Service Lines

With a diverse range of service lines, the Health & Safety Team faces unique challenges that require a tailored approach to health and safety. At Cambium, health and safety policies and service-specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are in place, acknowledging that one size does not fit all. Each division, from Environmental to Geotechnical, adheres to the general safety guidelines while addressing their specific risks and hazards. Despite the multitude of challenges in the field, such as extreme weather conditions, insects, heavy machinery, trenching, and potential violence or harassment incidents, Cambium maintains an impressively low incident rate. Cambiums no-lost time incident rate per project for calendar year 2022 was 0.02% while achieving a 0% lost time injury rate for 2022. This achievement is a testament to the company’s dedication to maintaining a safe work environment.

Training & Communication

Due to the extent of potential risk, onboarding at Cambium begins exclusively with Health and Safety and administrative training. Employees do not enter the field for a minimum of their first week; instead, Human Resources and the Health & Safety Team provide customized onboarding, aligned to fit their specific service line requirements. For example, employees in Natural Science are trained in environmental hazards while training for other service lines may include radiation safety, traffic control safety and construction safety near and around heavy machinery.

To ensure continuous safety compliance, Cambium provides comprehensive training and communication. Employees are equipped with training certificates that vary in duration from yearly to every three years, covering essential areas like first aid. Annual training and refreshers are also conducted, including WHMIS and service-specific safety training.

A Culture of Health & Safety

Cambium is an independent company; most of the employees have a direct stake in the success of the company.  Mayve explains “because of the close-knit nature of our company, there is an inherent focus on health and safety due to the genuine care and concern for each other.”  Cambium understands that a healthy and safe work environment is essential for the overall happiness, productivity, and longevity of its employees and will go the extra mile to ensure proper safety measures, training, and support systems are in place to protect its people from harm or accidents.