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Kennedy Forest and Safety Consultants expands throughout BC
| Business |
By LeRae Haynes
It has been five years since Craig Kennedy opened the doors to his home-based business: Kennedy Forest and Safety Consultants. He started out with two clients and now has over 100 customers across the province—a steady growth that reflects both the need for the professional services he offers, and also his dedication to detail and reputation for excellence.
(Craig Kennedy's expanding forest and safety consulting company impacts business and industry across the province.)
His expanding home-based business, which he runs with his wife, Sue, provides safety solutions for businesses throughout BC, helping them maintain their ‘safe’ certification. One of the services he offers is safety inspections of work sites and equipment, making sure that Work Safe BC requirements are being met. “I inspect the work site for hazards, help complete an emergency response plan, and inspect the equipment to make sure that it has things like spill kits and fire tools,” he said. “I also do first aid site inspections.”
Kennedy Forest and Safety Consultants holds safety meetings with owners, managers, supervisors and employees, helping to make sure that they’re all on the same page when it comes to industry requirements, and when it comes to keeping workers safe.
He said that in the meetings they cover safety alerts. “Whenever a company has had an accident, or a near-miss accident, an incident report is completed, and a Safety Alert is posted on the BC Forest Safety Council’s website,” Craig explained. “Other companies read them and learn from them—learn what steps to take to keep it from happening on another job site.”
Practical topics are covered such as the roads they’re driving: non-industrial traffic, bad corners, and so on.
Most major licensees, including BC Timber Sales require their contractors to be safe certified.
Another service that Craig, a Registered Forest Technologist, offers his customers is putting together their safety audits—taking the load off their shoulders and making sure that everything is done efficiently and done right.
“Every year a company has to submit an audit to the BC Safety Council.There are very specific criteria that a company has to meet, and I help my clients review their audits before they send them in, or I can put the audit together for them.”
He also works as a consultant with First Nations groups, like the Anaham Band, where he was Forestry and Resource Manager for several years, and has worked in logging and economic development. He is currently working as Forestry Manager for the Toosey Indian Band.
Last year Craig said that he traveled to Nanaimo to meet with the BC Safety Council and learn how to review and score audits—a service that both Craig and Sue now perform. He said that, instead of an income tax accountant, he is a ‘safety accountant.’ “You can just give me your box or your pile of documents and I will help you do it right,” he explained. “I help you streamline the process to make it more efficient and less cumbersome.”
Besides Craig’s expertise and experience, another benefit to hiring Kennedy Forest Safety Consultants is the networking. “I work with a lot of people. If someone needs a skidder, I will know of someone who has one available,” he said. “If you want to find work or you need some equipment I can put you in touch with someone who may have what you need.”
For more information visit www.bcsafetyconsultants.com , phone Craig at 250-305-6633 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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