A Regina business leads the way on workplace safety

REGINA – “Every couple of feet we have a fire extinguisher, and a fire blanket,” Bobby Krznar, LK Auto Collision owner and manager explained, as he toured Global Regina through his shop.

Workers at LK Auto are now equipped to survive any emergency and the survival of this company depended on it.

“A few years back I had trouble finding employees because there was hardly any in our industry. Most of them were sick because of the hazards of it,” he said.

Hazards like toxins from paint and chemicals, physical injuries and long-term hearing loss. Krznar himself only has 50 percent hearing, a result of too many years of not using ear protection.

Struggling to find labour, Krznar decided to implement a rigorous safety program. His was the first auto body shop in Saskatchewan to sign the mission zero charter and become course certified.

His business has now more than tripled and he hopes his success can serve as a valuable example for other employers.

“Like our theme says, make safety a habit,” said Jeff Peters, Canadian Society of Safety Engineering regional president. “That’s a hard thing to do when you’ve been doing things the same way for so long. I think we’re turning the corner, there’s no doubt about it.”

Even so, just last week the province memorialized the 39 workers who lost their lives on the job in 2014. This week is North American Occupational Safety and Health week – and while change still needs to be made, there is some hopeful news.

“When the injuries have been dropping over the last 5 to 10 years like they have been, the fatalities will also drop after a given time. A lot of fatalities happen within the statistical environment due to injuries and illnesses that happened a number of years ago, and just take time to catch up,” said Ryan Jacobson, Saskatchewan Safety Council CEO.

Kryznar is proud to be leading the way.