SafetyDriven – Trucking Safety Council of BC salutes the excellent work of Central Island Distributors for attaining the 2020 Certificate of Recognition (COR) Achievement of Excellence Award as well as the Best Overall Large Employer COR Award.
Central Island Distributors Ltd., known by its customers as CID, has more than 29 years of transportation industry experience. The company specializes in less than truckload (LTL) and full truckload (FTL) overnight service between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. They are a trusted carrier for a large customer base of partner carriers and individual businesses.
It is a family business, started by father and son team Alex and Dave Dugan in 1992 with one 5-ton truck, one tandem axle tractor, and one 28-foot pup trailer. Since then, the company has grown to 52 power units, 115 trailers, 26 electric power jacks, and 12 forklifts distributed among their cross-dock facilities in Victoria, Nanaimo, and Delta.
As a growing concern, Central Island Distributors wanted to ensure they were safety compliant in all their locations. Ron King, Fleet Safety and Compliance Manager, took up the gauntlet.
“We wanted to elevate our health and safety program equally across all three of our terminals,” says Ron. “We recognize that much of our company’s strength comes from our well-trained and dedicated staff and I could see that SafetyDriven’s COR program offers structure and training, and it’s easy to follow.”
With his safety team, Earl Galavan, COR Manager at SafetyDriven, supported Ron and Central Island Distributors throughout the entire certification process and will continue to provide support as their safety needs evolve.
“Focusing on safety and continuous improvement is paramount in creating a productive workforce,” Earl explains. “By doing so, not only are you reducing the risk of workplace injury, but you also minimize risk to your operations and financial viability.”
As part of their continuing safety improvements, Central Island Distributors added a safety coordinator to their Victoria terminal to help monitor working conditions and address safety issues as they arise. In addition to regular warehouse, driver, and office staff meetings, they have recently implemented a monthly internal employee newsletter that delivers key safety messages to help everyone understand and retain what they learn. By taking a proactive approach to improvement, Central Island Distributors makes certain that safety is in the forefront and part of everything they do.
Ron notes, “It’s fine to have a safety program on paper, but to instill a culture of safety is an ongoing battle. You need to get the job done but you need to do it in a safe way¬, no matter what the job is. Rather than a safety program being a dusty document on our shelf, we strive to improve upon and incorporate it seamlessly into our daily activities. By adding an element of safety to every discus
sion, our goal is to promote and encourage a healthy company-wide safety culture.”
Expressing his appreciation to the SafetyDriven team for helping to build their health and safety program and guiding the company to COR, Ron says, “Earl has been a very valuable resource, and he offers a lot of insight and advice. Everyone at SafetyDriven is very approachable and responsive. I highly recommend this program. It does require a lot of effort from everyone to pass the COR audit, but once you do it’s well worth it. SafetyDriven makes sure you are well -prepared.”
Congratulations to Central Island Distributors for their success and demonstrating their commitment to a healthy and safe workplace!
The Health and Safety Certificate of Recognition (COR) is awarded to employers who implement and maintain an occupational health and safety management system that meets or exceeds the requirements for COR Certification. Learn more about SafetyDriven’s COR Program.