On March 1st and 2nd 2021, CARILEC successfully hosted its first ever Virtual Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) Seminar, under the theme ‘Safety Leadership = Safety Culture’. The seminar commenced with a well-attended joint opening ceremony in partnership with the St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC), which also launched the utility’s celebration of twenty-five (25) years of health and safety. Hosted via the Zoom platform, the opening ceremony featured introductory remarks from CARILEC’S Executive Director, Dr. Cletus Bertin and LUCELEC’s Managing Director, Mr. Trevor Louisy who both echoed the importance of safety leadership in fostering safety culture.
Mr. Louisy also remarked on the achievements of the LUCELEC OHS department throughout 2020, amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The opening ceremony also featured the LUCELEC Safety Award being awarded by LUCELEC’s OHS Manager, Ms. Priscilia Stanialas, to the utility’s Rodney Bay branch and Mr. Peter Williams, former Senior Vice President of Emera Caribbean, being honoured as the 2021 CARILEC OHS Champion for his outstanding contribution to the health and safety field within the Caribbean’s electric utility sector.
The seminar continued with an esteemed utility leadership panel discussion on the overall theme. This panel featured Mrs. Ruth Forbes (President & CEO of FortisTCI), Mr. Darick Jonis (CEO of Aqualectra) and Mr. Peter Williams (Former Senior Vice President of Emera Caribbean). One of the key takeaways from this discussion was the need for utility leaders to work in tandem with various departments across their respective organisations, to achieve a buy-in and an overall unified approach towards the implementation of OHS initiatives and standards.
Day Two (2) of the seminar was initiated a power-packed presentation from Dr. Stephen King, a renowned St. Lucian pathologist. His presentation provided a wealth of expert medical information on ‘Vaccines and Masks Awareness and the Concerns for the Energy Community’. Subsequently, there were several presentations from utility OHS managers and officers and independent OHS experts and ensuing fruitful discussions on a myriad of health and safety topics, including psychological health and safety, indoor air quality and the recycling of used oil. During her closing remarks, CARILEC’s Learning and Development Manager, Ms. Sophia Primus hailed the two (2) – day seminar a success with over 100 attendees recorded during the opening ceremony and over 80 attendees throughout Day One (1) and Two (2). CARILEC extends its sincere gratitude to all presenters, panelists, moderators and LUCELEC for their partnership and assistance in making this event a reality.
Source: CARILEC, 2021
