IEC Services
Instruction
Our Instructors
Our instructors are highly customer-focused, adaptable, flexible, and accountable. They are available to deliver safety training at the IEC training facility or on site – during normal hours, after hours or on weekends. Our instructors are invariably connected to the local workforce which translates into a personal motivation to contribute, as they can, to improve the safety culture of our region to prevent incidents and personal loss.
The IEC is very proud of the level of consistent and professional instruction that is provided to all who attend our courses. Each instructor knows that when they speak to participants, they are representing the leadership of our operating sites, building trades and contractors. The IEC believes that our instructors are ambassadors for our membership and symbols of safety for the entire Sarnia-Lambton region.
Accreditation Process
All instructor accreditations are course specific. To become accredited to instruct a course, the instructor meets with IEC leadership to review course materials and instructional guides. Time is then allocated for instructors to study materials, review content with peers and leaders, and to practice delivery in empty classrooms. As the instructor gains confidence with the material and delivery, they begin to co-facilitate the delivery of the course along with fully accredited instructors who provide coaching and encouragement.
Over the course of five to six co-facilitations, the instructor will continue to study, practice, and reflect toward their final, independent delivery to the accrediting leader. Following this test, the instructor gets one-on-one feedback to identify strengths and opportunities to improve. Only when the accrediting leader is satisfied, the instructor will achieve final accreditation. Once accredited, IEC leadership routinely evaluates the instructor. Of course, ultimate feedback of instructor performance comes from course evaluations provided by class participants.
Safety Management Assessment
Approach
The Safety Management Assessment (SMA) was created in 2003. It has evolved through a series of revisions to the current format that encompasses a comprehensive analysis of organization safety management system. Typical audits include interviews, documentation review, and observation techniques consistent with ISO 19011. SMA criteria is divided into 12 sections ranging from legislated program requirements to hazard identification and controls established in the field. Today, approximately 350 local, provincial, and national contracting companies complete this audit as part of the local industrial plant pre-qualification requirements.
Risk-based Criteria
The audit criteria outlined in the SMA Profiles is continuously challenged and revised by the IEC 7-7-7 Committee. Recent feedback from the committee is to decrease focus on system element evaluations and increase efforts on topics that we know are associated with incidents in our region. By doing this, the work of the IEC moves us from a compliance-based service to one that seeks to understand risk and allocate efforts where they can maximize injury prevention. Some of the newer elements of the SMA audit include Mental Health in the Workplace, Working Alone, Fit for Duty and New/Young Workers. Beyond risk-based criteria, evaluations completed by our auditors include sharing of best practices, coaching, and technical support to promote learning/improvement.
Regional Procurement Support
By completing an SMA audit, contractors demonstrate to the members of the IEC that their health and safety management system has been developed, implemented, and evaluated through a comprehensive audit process. It confirms that the contractor understands the additional value that the IEC brings that is specific to our region, our risks, and our workers. In some cases, IEC members incorporate the SMA into their prequalification processes and award work based on demonstration of this commitment to regional risk management.
Program Development
Services
There are two standard types of services offered by the IEC Program Development Team.
1) Regional Course Development for the collective benefit of all IEC members and workers
2) Member Specific course development for internal use only by and within a single company
Process
All ideas for IEC Regional Programs begin with concepts introduced and vetted through the IEC 7-7-7 Committee. If approval is obtained from the IEC Board, then subject matter experts (SMEs) are identified to work directly with the IEC Program Development Team. The IEC Instructional Designers facilitate the process through their SME team. The general process used by the IEC follows CAN/CSA-Z1001 and the well-defined principles of ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation).
This approach ensures that learning objectives are defined, and work stays focused on the goal of developing training solutions that target regional issues and reduce risks posed to our workers in Sarnia-Lambton. A formal Management of Change process is followed to initiate, build, and implement each new program. All training at the IEC is continuously monitored for adequacy and effectiveness based on feedback from the IEC 7-7-7 Committee, course participants, and instructors.