IUEC Local 82's Stand Down for Safety

On May 15, IUEC Local 82 hosted its third annual Safety Stand Down event at the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

“Safety Stand Down is a moment to take a time out and talk about safety,” began Eric McClaskey, Safety Director for the International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC). “It’s for us to put down the tools, get with the employers, get with our members, and take that moment to discuss safety in the workplace.”

The event is a joint venture between the international office of the IUEC, Local 82 in Vancouver, and IUEC-affiliated elevator company employers. “It shows that both the companies and the union are on the same side when it comes to safety,” said Ben McIntyre, an IUEC National Organizer in Canada.

IUEC elevator constructors from greater Vancouver and across British Columbia showed up to listen to the featured speakers and visit tables staffed by IUEC-affiliated company representatives and manufacturers of safety equipment for the industry. From those who worked in modernization to repair to new construction and maintenance, elevator constructors who were probationary apprentices all the way to veteran mechanics gathered together to listen to the same message.

Mike Funk, Business Manager of Local 82, was pleased with the turnout for this year’s event. “It’s our third annual one. We started out small. My one rep Tyler Dunlop came to me and asked about getting something to do with safety. It started out just in the back of our one office. We had a food truck, a few vendors, the companies, and it’s just grown.”

As IUEC’s Director of Safety, Eric McClaskey is responsible for ensuring that the membership gets home safely every night. This includes ensuring elevator constructors are following their company’s safety policies, that they’re being provided with the proper PPE and equipment to work safely in their job each and every day, and that various codes and standards that are out there that protect workers are followed throughout the country. He spoke on behalf of the IUEC Safety Department along with Assistant Director of Safety, Dave Griefenhagen and Josh Josoff, the IUEC’s Director of Codes and Standards.

As Assistant Safety Director, Dave’s primary focus is helping to develop local area safety committees (which are labor management safety committees) to encourage and educate on the safety policies of IUEC signatory companies on the job sites. Josh Josoff works with the development of the codes and standards that regulate elevators, escalators, moving walks, and other conveyance equipment across North America, Canada, and the United States.

“This year, our Safety Stand Down message from the employers was based on pre-job planning, Eric told us. “Of course, it was General President Christensen’s message to the membership to lead it off.” Video messages from IUEC General President Frank Christensen, Canadian Premier David Eby, Canadian Minister of Labour Harry Bains, and leadership from IUEC-affiliated companies emphasized the importance of working safe

“We had two guest speakers that had horrific workplace injuries that occurred to them, and they told their stories,” he continued. Mark Johnson, who was injured in an accident involving a woodchipper, and Jack Thomas who was injured by a conveyor belt at a recycling facility, spoke about how their on-the-job injuries permanently affected their lives.

After watching presentations by the injured workers, Anne Kirkland, a Maintenance Supervisor for TKE, told us that it’s important for people who work in professions like the elevator trade to remember that workplace injuries impact more than just the person who gets hurt. “It’s not just their story. It’s a story of their loved ones. This did not just affect the one person that was injured. It affected their entire families and support systems,” she said.

Dylan Angus, the son of IUEC Elevator Constructor Ross Angus, who lost his life in an accident in 2021, spoke about his family’s experience after his father’s death. Today, Dylan has dedicated his life to improving safety on the jobsite as a Construction Safety Supervisor for TKE in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Chris McIntyre, Program Director for the Canadian Elevator Industry Educational Program (CEIEP) also attended the event, along with CEIEP’s Assistant Director, Dan Vinette. ElevatorInfo recently put out a story about CEIEP, the largest trainer of elevator constructor apprentices across Canada, coast to coast.

“CEIEP has taken great advances to improve safety starting with our 24-hour safety course. We’ve introduced the CEIEP Safety VR, which allows all new hires to the industry to access the machine room, car top, an elevator pit in a safe and controlled manner before their first day of employment,” he said.

“CEIEP is really where it starts, right?” said Dave Griefenhagen. “The education of safety starts from the day the apprentice steps on the jobsite, and CEIEP is where that’s captured.”

Major IUEC-affiliated elevator companies KONE and TKE had a strong presence at the event. “This is the second year I’ve been involved,” said Jennifer Mitchell, Maintenance Supervisor for KONE Elevators. When asked why it was important for her to attend, she told us “I’m just trying to learn how to keep my team as safe as possible. I want them to go home safe every day to their family, their friends, and make sure nobody gets hurt on my watch.”

Companies that develop and sell safety equipment used by elevator constructors in the field also had tables set up. We visited with Mike Hurley from Wurtec elevator and talked with him about the equipment he was demonstrating at his table. “We have wire rope, travel cable, we’re kind of a one-stop shop for the elevator industry. We’ve got mechanics that are coming around and checking out our wares and hopefully seeing something that might help them in their day-to-day jobs that would make it safer,” he said.

Darrin Porch, founder and CEO of SafeRise, spoke to us about how the hoistway protection equipment his company developed can create safer jobsites for elevator constructors. “SafeRise was founded with the focus on bringing engineered, reusable safety solutions to the construction industry,” he said. “I was very honored to be invited as a vendor to come here and be a part of this. We are looking to grow into Canada, so this was a great event to get to meet a lot of people here. And the event really focused on putting safety at the forefront for the workers. The IUEC does a great job of doing that and keeping that focus there.”

“The dangers are always around us and it only takes a split second for you to become one of the statistics,” said Ward Dicks, National Coordinator for the Canadian Market Recovery Fund in Canada and the Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund in the US. “I have a son in the trade, and I want to make sure that he gets home every day safe, just like every other brother and sister in Canada and the US. It’s the whole thing about changing the way we think about safety.”

Eric McClaskey explained how events like this don’t just benefit mechanics and apprentices who work on vertical transportation equipment, they benefit elevator companies, elevator customers, and the riding public:

“When we focus on safety in a stand down arena like this, we take that time out to think about safety. When we get back to the job site, I think that it goes right back to the type of work you’re performing. At the end of the day, when you’re in construction and you’re focused on the task at hand and putting out a top-notch piece of equipment that is safe, tested, and ready to go for the riding public, safety just leads right into that mindset. It promotes higher quality work, too. If you’re working safe and you’re not rushing and not cutting corners, it provides a safer product for the riding public.”