On July 3, the Legacy Project surpassed 5 million hours worked without a lost time injury (LTI). And safety officials with K+S Potash Canada (KSPC) are suitably pleased – but not surprised – with the accomplishment.

“It’s an achievement that reflects our strong commitment to safe behaviours throughout our project and operations workforces,’’ says Brett Welder, Manager, Health, Safety and Security at KSPC. “It demonstrates that strong work performance goes hand in hand with strong safety performance.’’

LTI figures are calculated using the number of people working and the number of hours they worked each day. An LTI is recorded when a worker injured on the job one day is not able to return to work the next, due to the injury. Work records for both KSPC and contracted employees are used in the calculations and all groups must operate with approved safety procedures.

But KSPC is still prepared for any on-site accidents that might occur. The STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society) mobile education unit visited the Legacy Project mine site on June 22 to run through various accident and emergency scenarios with KSPC’s emergency response provider. Welder says employees and others on site were invited to come in and watch various scenarios playing out inside the unit, which is approximately the size of a large RV and outfitted like an emergency treatment room.

Later in the day, a STARS helicopter was involved in a scenario in which it landed and took off from the Legacy Project’s helicopter landing pad, a memorable episode that served to assure all present that a fast trip to a Regina hospital awaits anyone seriously injured on site.