Flagstaff Featured Business: Safety First Industrial Canada
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press.
Safety First Industrial Canada
Hardisty Office:
4601 49 St.
780-888-3926
24-Hour Line: 1-888-384-3601
That founding commitment to customer service hasn’t wavered over the years. In fact, it’s one of the reasons the company continues to grow in an increasingly competitive oil and gas industry.
“Why, Safety First? Because we care,” says Justine Ness, one of the company’s owners. “I know everybody can say that, but we are looking after our friends and our family out at the tank terminal and in our surrounding areas. This is our industry. This is what we grew up in. The majority of our people have the exact same story. So, we are here to do the best job possible and we will never let you down.”
Safety First, an emergency response company, was established by the Muirhead family in 1996 and has served customers throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C. and the Northwest Territories ever since.
The original Safety First shop was located in Sedgewick. In 2016, Safety First moved to Hardisty to be closer to the tank terminal. By then, the company’s upward trajectory was evident. Three years later, Safety First opened a 3,300-square-foot office and shop in Sherwood Park. And three years after that, the company expanded into Drayton Valley by acquisition.
Propelling Safety First forward in its meteoric rise, along with its commitment to customer service, has been its quality personnel.
“What makes our business unique is our management team and our field staff. Our management team has an unparalleled work ethic. They inspire me every day, which is incredible, and that trickles down to our field team,” Ness explains.
“We have some of the highest paying jobs here in Flagstaff County. Neighbouring to us is the Hardisty tank terminal and we’re very proud to be one of the main providers for emergency response health and safety and everything that they could use us for. Flagstaff County is so important to us. We grew up here. We know everybody. That sense of community and being together, everybody is a team here. We all support each other. We do community events together. We promote our community. We went to school together.
“We’re family together, and therefore our culture in our organization is phenomenal because these people are familiar. They’re not transient. They’re not new to us all the time. These people are our family.”
Safety First provides a full range of safety products and services, including confined space and technical rescue, a wide array of medical and firefighting services, and so much more.
Safety First’s comprehensive panel of occupational testing is designed to help companies in all industries monitor the well-being of their employees, minimize the employee health risks and promote health and wellness in the workplace. It includes: urine testing, hair follicle testing, breath alcohol testing, saliva testing, audiometric testing, spirometry testing, vision testing, fit testing, and RN and physician medicals.
Under the safety banner, they provide supervision for a variety of projects, including: turnarounds, completions, decommissioning, hot and cold tie-ins, service and drilling rigs, production testing, and plant and pipeline construction.
On-site services include: NCSOs, safety advisors, breathing air trailer technicians, breathing air trailer bottle watch, confined space attendance, rescue personnel for tank vessel entries, technical rope rescue, gate access control, traffic control, clean-up crews, fire watch/spark watch, and much more.
Safety First also offers in-house courses such as H2S Alive, first aid, confined space/rescue, global ground disturbance, fall protection, ACSA flag person, skidsteer operator, ATV/UTV training and aerial platform training, in addition to a wide variety of online courses.
Safety First, of course, is also the place to go to rent safety equipment, as well as to purchase or rent fire extinguishers, and to have them serviced.
In addition to all of these services, Safety First also runs complementary business “Work Life Workwear,” featuring popular brands such as Carhartt, Helly Hansen, Muck, IFR Workwear and even Saxx. There is something for everyone; including options for women and children; and their stock is always expanding due to popular demand.
“We are looking to expand into producing our own products, as well,” Ness adds. “We’re going to be opening up our fourth location, but our third standalone location for our workwear store.”
Justine offers the following sage advice for anyone looking to start a business or expand an existing one in the Flagstaff Region.
“Know your customer, know your clients, know your plan. Your business plan is critical. Knowing where you’re going, how to execute this, and having timeframes in doing so, and reaching out to people for help,” she says.
“I have had phenomenal mentors in Flagstaff County that have helped me grow my business to what it is today and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”
For more information on Safety First Industrial Canada, visit www.safetyfirstm.com, and find them on Facebook and Linkedin.
