Roy Normore
“The Gold Seal Certification process was fantastic and the addition of the compulsory course in Ethics was much needed and the facilitators were great. The facilitator for the Ethics course was from the industry and could speak from experience. Having the Gold Seal Certification Program provides the opportunity for continued education for safety professionals. It provides an accreditation that allows HSE persons to confidently affect their own safety cultures.”
Roy Normore, GSC, Owner/Operator, Titan Training & Consulting
Roy is a retired Police Officer from The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in Newfoundland and Labrador, who has transitioned into construction health and safety. “I started in the safety field instructing safety training courses”. He currently operates a sole proprietorship in Titan Training & Consulting and through this company provides WorkplaceNL approved curriculums and various other safety training courses. He assists companies achieve COR status with respective Construction Safety Associations; conducts audits/inspections and also provides Construction Management for various projects throughout the province. Presently, he has taken a position with a company in Labrador West, NL as a Safety Advisor and ‘in-house’ trainer.
Roy discovered the Gold Seal Certification through other Safety peers. “I had Googled professional designations and to be honest, for the past three years, I felt prepared to apply for the BCRSP certification. Unfortunately, the process is lengthy and very expensive for an individual to attain”. “I chose the Gold Seal Certification designation as it was a professional designation from the Canadian Construction Association” (CCA). Roy felt attaining this designation would bring credibility to himself and indemnify future clients and companies for whom he might work. “Coming from my
background, I see the need for continued education and to be current in the industry your working.”
One of the challenges Roy has encountered while working in Health and safety has been dealing with organisations that have all the paperwork and safety manuals but no safety culture. “Quite often, there are no clearly identified ‘Roles & Responsibilities’ and even when there are; there is very little or no accountability. Safety, or safely, is merely a ‘best practice’ for how we should conduct ourselves every day. It is a culture and not something we do because the Safety Manual or General Contractor requires us to do it. The level of governmental accountability regarding enforcement is low due to the limited number of OHS inspectors; accordingly, we are often left to police ourselves. Federal, Provincial and worker’s compensation boards have partnered to provide incentive programs for companies but it is not a mandatory requirement and not all companies are aware of what their respective Construction Safety Associations have to offer.”
“In my opinion, the Canadian Construction Association is the parent organisation from which all safety associations should take their direction. The CCA provides a barometer for all Safety Professionals to be measured, a network capability with other safety professionals, and consistent and current protocol updates.”
“I would suggest a person obtain as much knowledge as possible and the certification to prove the attainment of this knowledge. I don’t think enough people in the construction industry patronise their respective construction safety organisations. If you’re in this field and you don’t know where your construction safety organisation is, there’s a problem.”