CanWest Concrete Cutting and Coring Inc. is committed to keeping their customers, employees and business safe in the midst of a global pandemic. The situation of COVID-19 means that the regulations and protocols at CanWest are changing rapidly alongside the Alberta Government’s Legislation.

“While our office staff is now working safely from home, we still have Field Technicians doing construction work off- site.”  Debra Killam CanWest Safety Officer reports. “We have implemented extensive measures to eliminate all physical contact with customers. That means, all transactions that would have usually occurred with an exchange of either a tablet or paperwork now occurs via email prior to the work even beginning.”

“Our workers are not to travel in the same vehicle to jobsites,” Killam adds “and if they do require an additional staff member with them on a job, they are to be 2 meters from each other on-site. If the job requires proximity, they are required to wear a specialized mask, and everyone is asked to be clean shaven to accommodate the masks efficiency. In addition to that, our employees are to complete a COVID-19 Disclosure Form with their Hazard Assessment daily. This Disclosure Form essentially identifies any risk of exposure of the staff member.”

“In the early stages of this pandemic, we outfitted all our employees with sanitization kits that included sanitizer and provided education on the proper techniques to protect themselves and others. This included social distancing and other risk mitigations put in place. I am closely monitoring the situation, along with our Management team. We are following the Government rules and regulations closely and we are updating our employees daily.” Killam comments that all employees are following the protocols that have been put in place.

“Our staff understands that this is an important matter of public health, and they’re participating fully in flattening the curve”

CanWest is classified as an essential business, being in the Construction sector and is still providing concrete, demo, residential  and construction services as regulations allow. They have  provide updates on changes inside the organization on their website.

Valerie Hambrook, Owner of CanWest adds “Some of our customers are using this as a time to get work done that they were delaying because they have now been mandated to close their business to the public. We are getting in and doing the work safely without a disruption to their regular services during this unprecedented time.” Hambrook acknowledges the industry has slowed down tremendously but remains hopeful.

“We are experiencing a sense of community; albeit virtually, in not only our business and industry but the country, as a whole. Change may have been forced on us all but how we respond to it and come together is what is going to keep us strong and healthy.”

If you would like to know more about the additions and changes to CanWest’s already robust safety program due to COVID-19 please contact CanWest Safety Officer, Debra Killam directly at (403) 225-4445 ext. 233

Innovation breeds success.

And part of that success is accountability when it comes to being on time and on budget, a cornerstone of CanWest Concrete & Cutting & Coring’s foundation, says marketing manager Valerie Hambrook. Which is why it’s important that the company was a leader in installing GPS units in its trucks, a vast fleet of which there are over 100 units on the road at any given time.

“We’ve been around for 35 years now and we were the very first company to do GPS on vehicles years ago. We were doing it when nobody was doing it yet,” she says, adding it speaks to the company’s core values of being where they need to be.

“Because a lot of the work we do can be quite urgent, a lot of our customers call and needs service immediately. Our GPS units allow us to see in real time where everybody is and get someone there as quickly as possible,” Hambrook explains, adding the units also contribute to accurate billing. 

“We work in an industry based on trust and not only can we respond in a timely manner, but we use the GPS units to have proof of work, which is very helpful for billing.

Another benefit to having access to a vast fleet of services and equipment is CanWest can better drive to completion on time and on budget, Hambrook adds.

“Time is money. If we’re down and equipment is not working, things come to a standstill. And that doesn’t work for anybody.”

CanWest prides itself on being industry leaders and that same philosophy applies to the equipment it uses. The company has a full range of state-of-the-art concrete cutting and coring equipment and highly trained operators to service everything from large industrial projects to residential developments.

“We are proud that we can provide our customers access to the newest and most well-maintained fleets of equipment out there today. And because we have multiples of everything, there is no downtime if something breaks down.”

The other benefit of having access to a vast network of equipment is turnaround time on any last-minute needs.

“One of our clients biggest pain points is timely access to equipment. If someone needs a saw in two hours, we get them a saw in two hours. Nobody can do that but us,” Hambrook adds.

CanWest operates an industry-leading safety program that includes job-specific safe work practices and procedures, multiple certifications and a stringent environmental policy, hazard assessment and controls.

The company recently invested heavily in a cutting-edge sustainable concrete cutting process where workers can safely recycle the slurry that’s created when they cut concrete. The process separates the contaminants from the water, which can be reused for the next project.

For more information, please visit www.canwestconcrete.com.