Inland Radiator & Hydraulic Works Achieves SAFE Work Certification by Made Safe
Inland Radiator & Hydraulic Works Achieves SAFE Work Certification by Made Safe
Posted on April 28, 2023
As the manufacturing sector partner for SAFE Work Manitoba Certified, Made Safe works with members to assess their readiness, provide support and help companies achieve certification. The process is modeled on internationally-recognized best practices and has demonstrated positive outcomes for individual companies and the industry overall. Certified manufacturers have safer and healthier workplaces, better control of workplace hazards, fewer injuries and illnesses, more engaged and productive employees, and a significant rebate on their WCB premiums.
As the SAFE Work Certified by Made Safe continues to provide the province with top tiered safety programming, we wanted to showcase just a few of the manufacturers who have taken part. It’s our hope that telling their stories and sharing the lessons they learned during the certification process will help pave the path for other manufacturers moving forward.
INLAND RADIATOR & HYDRAULIC WORKS LTD.
Inland Radiator & Hydraulic Works started off as a humble rad shop in 1956. The shop has been in its current location in Brandon, MB, since 1964. Since the mid-70’s, Inland has been servicing hydraulics with every ounce of attention you’d expect from a small operation.
Currently, the four-person team offers a range of radiator and hydraulic services from cleaning and repairing, to sourcing new radiators or fuel tanks, or even assisting in hydraulic system design. For all your cooling system and general hydraulics repair needs, this local shop will do everything they can to get you back in business.
Q: What should readers of this blog post know about your company vision and culture?
As you might imagine, a small shop that’s been around nearly 70 years operates based around a lot of tradition. We’ve been around for so long and our regular customers know who we are and that we do everything we can to help with their needs. Being a small operation, however, is a double-edged sword. It means we can get backed up for weeks with items waiting to be fixed, but it also means we hold ourselves accountable for anything that isn’t perfect. Ideally, we’d like to expand and grow to provide more services to our customers.
Q: Were there any concerns you had to overcome before making the commitment to certification?
The safety program didn’t exist when I joined the company. It took me almost four years from when I started developing the program until the audit. Additionally, it’s taken about the same amount of time to get the staff on board with the changes.
The process was very overwhelming and intimidating and, when you only have a handful of employees to take on that project, it’s hard to give up the time you could spend serving customers instead. There were many times I wanted to stop because it IS costly and time consuming. After it’s in place, however, it’s just maintaining the program, which I haven’t found to be that time consuming so far. Made Safe helped us by reviewing what we had completed and filling in the blanks. I believe returns will improve because of the benefits this certification provides.
Q: Did you learn any safety or business lessons throughout the process that might help others make the decision to become certified?
We found out too late that Made Safe can help alleviate both stress and costs with the programs they provide. For example, programs like respirator fit testing, forklift training, noise and air testing are free to members. Partnering with Made Safe made it easier to meet our requirements for Workplace Safety and Health. As a small company, it was nice to have that responsibility taken care of.
Q: What would you say is the biggest benefit of certification so far (or that you can see on the horizon)?
Right now, I think it’s too early to say – Not having to pay for those fit tests, forklift/skid steer licencing, etc.… will be a big help in retaining profits. Of course, the WCB rebate that we’ll be getting in the not-too-distant future is a big positive too. Overall, the experience with Made Safe has been positive, and definitely a long time coming for Inland.