Richwil Trucking Centre Ltd - Safety Star Award Recipient - Keri Flowers, Health & Safety Coordinator

Join us as we sit down with Keri Flowers, Health & Safety Coordinator at Richwil Truck Centre, recipient of the 2025 WorkSafeNB “Safety Star Award” presented at  at the 2025 WorkSafeNB Conference in Fredericton.  In this inspiring interview, Keri shares how Richwil built a strong safety culture, why safety is personal—and how it drives her passion.

Transcript

Perley Brewer   0:09
Welcome to today's podcast. My name is Pearly Brewer and I will be your host. One of the four Safety Star Awards winners at this year's work safe and be health and Safety Conference was the Ritual Truck Centre. We are very honored to have Carrie Flowers, health and Safety Coordinator from Rich. Well with us for today.
Today's podcast welcome Kerry.

Keri Flowers   0:31
Thank you for having me Pearly.

Perley Brewer   0:33
So first of all, I'd like to congratulate ritual on your award well deserved.

Keri Flowers   0:38
Thank you very much.

Perley Brewer   0:40
So at the health and Safety Conference, they shared a video on your health and safety for folks who are unable to see the video, let's start with you talking about what you believe is.

Keri Flowers   0:46
Mm-hmm.

Perley Brewer   0:57
To reason for the success of health and safety at Ridgewell.

Keri Flowers   1:02
I think the way I came in and about it when I first started there was a disconnect from safety and how to implement the policies. So coming in talking to everyone, including management and employees, seeing kind of where everybody was and then.
And explaining why we are implementing things versus just telling them to where the PPE or you have to do this a certain way, getting everyone on board and having those conversation with everyone is really.
What got me the buy in I think.

Perley Brewer   1:41
Now, for folks who may not be familiar with ritual, do you want to tell us what you do, where you're located, how many employees you have?

Keri Flowers   1:50
Absolutely. So ritual truck Centre is a transport dealership and full service centre. So we currently have two locations covering Fredericton and Woodstock. We have about 75 employees.
And we do all work from body work to alignment to service, and then we have our parts department as well.

Perley Brewer   2:14
So when you talk about getting buy in, you actually get we're very fortunate to get buy in from a lot of different occupations.

Keri Flowers   2:23
Yeah, I spoke to everyone from every department, from shipping to parts to service, and then I travel up to Woodstock and obviously Woodstock has our Body Shop and our alignment Bay. So they have different struggles up there than what?
What we do in Fredericton, so really having those conversations with everyone has really helped it.

Perley Brewer   2:49
So when I talk to folks that have been nominated for an award, and in your case have received it, I always like to ask about some of the aspects of health and safety and how they manage them. The first one, onboarding of new employees, how do you include health and safety in your onboarding?

Keri Flowers   3:06
Onboarding really starts on the first day for us, so it's, I find it extremely important as it's the first taste of what they can expect working with ritual and what their day-to-day will look like. The way we do orientations here is they get all their.
HR information 1st and then they get sent over to me to do the health and safety. So I do it personally with every new employee in Fredericton and in Woodstock. We make sure that.
It's received with how they learn. Not everyone learns the same way, so just setting them in front of a book isn't going to work for everyone. So we keep training interactive. Having an open conversation, reviewing our policies, and then walking around to make sure that they know how to.
Implement those policies in their day-to-day and then their physical on the job safety as well.

Perley Brewer   4:08
What about staff training?

Keri Flowers   4:11
So with staff training, we make sure that everyone who goes out on the floor has everything they need, so they have to renew their women's every time someone starts. And then for forklift, anything that they need to operate outside.
Of their normal mechanic work or parts department, they have to make sure that they have those training to operate those machines and then making sure that they know when they're out on the floor if they feel like they need additional training.
They know that they can come to the supervisor, manager or me to make sure that they get that.

Perley Brewer   4:56
What about health and safety policies and procedures?

Keri Flowers   5:00
So this is something that is reviewed monthly, especially with the joint Health and Safety Committee. We make sure that I I have a calendar actually of.
Every month we review certain policies and procedures to make sure that we are still have accurate information. Things can change throughout the year and very quickly, so we make sure that we review everything and sit down with the employees that involves to make sure that.
They still feel like it is good for them.

Perley Brewer   5:40
So tell me about your joint health and Safety committee.

Keri Flowers   5:43
So our joint health and Safety Committee, we have one for Frederick and one for Woodstock. I am on both committees. The Woodstock one kind of runs by itself. I sit there and take notes, but they both have their own.
Challenges like I said, I enjoy sitting on both so that I can see what happens up in Woodstock versus what happens in Fredericton. And sometimes what is implemented in our policies and procedures needs to be changed a little bit for each location they have more.
Our employees, they have different tools that they're using. So sitting on those committees helps me talk with the other JHSC members to make sure that they are asking the questions out in the shop to see if anyone has any other concerns. And yeah, it's it just is.
A different way to work with employees and get their aspect on what's happening.

Perley Brewer   6:46
So what kind of topics would end up on your agenda?

Keri Flowers   6:51
It goes down to our monthly what we have going on. So say for November coming up for our meeting would be our scissor lift and forklift. So reviewing our policies and procedures on how to safely operate making.
Sure, that people know that they have to be specifically trained to operate those for the scissor lift. It has to be the fall arrest and making sure that all employees. So once we go over all that with the joint health and Safety Committee, it goes down the line.
We do toolbox talks, so then we review all that information directly with the departments it it revolves around so then the service manager would have a toolbox. Talk about forklift, scissor, lift, whatever it may be.
Yeah.

Perley Brewer   7:45
Who does your workplace inspections every month?

Keri Flowers   7:49
So one person from each department, so usually the joint health and Safety Committee members, if they cannot do it, they will delegate. Sometimes I will go out and do it, audit myself to make sure that things are still accurate out there, especially up in the shop. It's hard to say.
That a Jack or Jack stand wasn't decommissioned, and then we reordered a new one. So making sure that everything is still accurate on the list. But every month someone from the parts department from the shop department Body Shop.
Reviews their inspection.

Perley Brewer   8:28
Now a big challenge is always getting your senior management to buy into health and safety. How have you made out that way?

Keri Flowers   8:37
Breaking down the cost of the long term, if there was the incident versus providing the training and safety now has been a big part of it. I've been extremely lucky with Richard, who believes that everyone who comes to work should leave work.
In the same condition, if not better than when they came here. So safety's been a big thing for us. It hasn't been issue with trying to get buy in from management more so service is kind of telling them how.
How to implement and supervise properly to make sure that the procedures are being done, but that's just switching the mindset to be on that safety mindset versus just.
Getting the work done.

Perley Brewer   9:35
What's the biggest challenge you face these days relative to health and safety?

Keri Flowers   9:40
Well, the biggest one right now would probably be the hearing conservation program that we're trying to build where it's so new and there's not many companies around that are offering like mobile clinics or whatever it may be, just finding the information that I need.
Need or the tools I need to be able to get it done. That's been my biggest concern this past year, so it's still a work in progress, but working with Worksafe being able to get the information that I need and any little questions.
Seems to be helping.

Perley Brewer   10:22
So what would be the noisiest area in your facility?

Keri Flowers   10:25
That would definitely be our service department, especially the the air tools, so making sure that the guys are wearing their earplugs when I go out there, but they all are told that they need to bring it out on the floor with them.
And I guess that's kind of a big challenge right now as well. Is the hearing protection over the years hasn't been pushed a lot like the older generation. So I find that explaining to them like once your hearings gone, you're not getting it.
So taking care of yourself while you're here is extremely important.

Perley Brewer   11:10
If I were to come visit your shop and walk through your facility, how would I know what your safety culture is?

Keri Flowers   11:12
Mm-hmm.
So we have lots of signage obviously, but when we go out on the floor walkthrough, everyone knows what's expected of them when they're hired, they are told if you see something, say something. If you are not able.
Able to say something to that person directly. Report it to the supervisor manager so that you can have someone's back and make sure that they aren't going to end up in an incident that could harm them. When you walk through, people will have their PPE on them, the signage.
Interactions with employees, so management is seen and checks in quite frequently.

Perley Brewer   12:06
So we're not far off November. And of course, once you hit November, it seems like the end of the year is is upon us. Any plans for 2026 when it comes to health and safety at your facility?

Keri Flowers   12:18
For 2026, I think it's just making sure that we have the hearing conservation like I would like to have that completely done by 2026 and have everyone on board for that.
We've been doing a lot of reviews and toolbox talks on importance of.
Wearing the earplugs and whatnot. But like I said, for how I usually run things here is I break things down on a calendar basis, so every month we review. So it's not just one lump sum at the end of the year that way it's always in review.
Yeah.

Perley Brewer   13:01
So last question, why did you get involved in health and safety?

Keri Flowers   13:02
Mm-hmm.
That's a good question. So health and safety, I've always been a safe, safe person in my video. I'm always a warrior and I have two little boys who one is a tree climber and always on the go.
So it really is important that I make it home safely and I have actually worked with my brother in my past employment and now he works here with me. So it's not just a mindset for myself, it's a everybody thing making sure my.
Brother gets home and I kind of view all the staff as not necessarily family, but they all have families to go home too, so making sure that they can go home.

Perley Brewer   13:57
Well, look, Kerry, I'd like to again congratulate Richwell on on winning the the award. Also I'd like to thank you for agreeing to appear in our podcast today.

Keri Flowers   14:09
Thank you very much for the invite. It's been a pleasure, pearly.

Perley Brewer   14:12
So we're two, our listeners stay safe obviously and have a good week.