SwitchSmart Initiative Fosters Safe Switching Practices

The Railway Association of Canada (RAC) has honoured Cando with a 2020 Safety Award for the company’s SwitchSmart initiative, an employee driven campaign to foster safe switching practices.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by RAC for SwitchSmart, Cando’s safety initiative to bolster safe switching practices,” says Steve Gallagher, Cando’s Director of Corporate Safety. “Continually improving our safety culture is extremely important to Cando and SwitchSmart has been a huge success company-wide.”

With the roll out of SwitchSmart, Cando employees were extensively educated and trained on various safe switching protocols. The messages were delivered through a video featuring Cando employees speaking about their own experiences on the importance of safety. The messaging was complemented by educational posters at every worksite. In addition, five SwitchSmart ambassadors, Cando employees from various departments, were trained as experts and then assigned specific locations to assist in delivering the messages.

“Implementing initiatives by engaging our employees creates a culture of safety ownership from the ground up,” says Tyson Stelter, one of the Cando safety officers who lead the initiative.

The program was delivered to all Cando employees. The company has seen a decline in critical switching incidents and injury reduction in the vicinity of switches and derails since its delivery.

“By engaging and training the ambassadors and creating the video, we got team member buy-in and fostered relatable talking points for conversations giving employees the opportunity to then make the campaign their own,” says Stelter.

Read the RAC press release here.

Media Contact
Julie Pomehichuk
Director, Marketing & Communications
media@candorail.com
Phone: 204-725-5174