Since the foundry's humble beginnings in 1898, the health and safety of the employees has always been and continues to be a priority at Lethbridge Iron Works.

For several years, the foundry industry in Alberta had recognized the importance of health and safety in the workplace. In the early 90's, the foundries as a group decided to take the health and safety initiative to the next level, asking that all members adopt a program that would promote health and safety, and specifically address the unique hazards and concerns that face foundry employers and their employees.

In 1996, the senior managers at Lethbridge Iron Works made the decision to initiate and implement an accredited health and safety program. The initial concept of this program would be to encompass and fulfill the company's role as an outstanding corporate entity that cares about it's employees. It would also give the employees the opportunity to fulfill Lethbridge Iron Work's commitment to their customers by maintaining a safe working environment that would enhance both productivity and the quality of our product.

Since that time, the health and safety program has seen its trials and tribulations. Through all of it, the employees have pooled their collective resources and skills to produce an outstanding program and are extremely proud of their accomplishments. The Lethbridge Iron Works health and safety program was accredited in December of 1998.

The education and training phase of the program involved all levels of management and workers. This gave a solid platform from which they could understand and appreciate the ongoing benefits of the program both socially and financially.

The second phase of the program included worker preparedness and development of safe work procedures that enabled the worker to react responsibly to emergency situations in the foundry and to recognize and understand the hazards that exist in their everyday work. Employees were given the necessary skills required to ensure their safety and that of their fellow workers while on site.

The last phase was to provide the workers with the necessary personal protective equipment, tools and machinery to perform the work safely and efficiently. Through a great deal of effort put forward by the Engineering Department, various "in house" technical innovations and engineering controls were effectively introduced to reduce risk and enhance ergonomics throughout the facility.

All these elements combined have established Lethbridge Iron Works as a company that looks forward to the future, providing it's employees and customers with the knowledge that safety, profitability and quality go hand in hand in ensuring everyone's prosperity.