Toronto Pearson is constantly innovating and sharing best practices aimed at keeping both passengers and employees safe. And we differ from most airports in including the safety results for all workers – not just those on the GTAA payroll – in our regular reporting. Each year, the Toronto Pearson Safety Index (TPSI) tracks lost-time injury performance reported to the GTAA by some 80 employers. While we continue to closely monitor safety data for our own employees, TPSI is the measure that matters the most to all of us at Toronto Pearson, because we want everyone who works here to go home safely at the end of each shift. What’s more, TPSI provides added motivation for multiple employers to collaborate on safety improvements.
Safety forums and summits have become commonplace across the Pearson community, as we bring together leaders with health and safety professionals to discuss current challenges and brainstorm solutions. The Toronto Pearson Safety Leadership Forum, comprising leaders of the airport’s 16 largest employers, began meeting quarterly in 2019; these discussions have led to more coordinated and effective safety communications on issues of interest to all airport employees.
Safety forums and summits have become commonplace across the Pearson community, as we bring together leaders with health and safety professionals to discuss current challenges and brainstorm solutions.
Our first-ever Workers’ Council meeting was held in January 2019, with representatives from each of Toronto Pearson’s unions in attendance. At this inaugural session, each group outlined its primary safety interests. The top three: safe driving on airfields; improving safety communications; and the need for education on topics such as winter operations, emergency preparedness and obtaining an airside vehicle operator’s permit. The GTAA, together with our unions, is committed to addressing these topics throughout the year.
In response to all of this helpful feedback, the GTAA’s safety and communications teams led a design-thinking exercise to come up with innovative solutions for improving existing communications practices. The result was a rollout of new safety signage and materials across the airport, with strong and consistent messaging on the critical role that safety plays in all of our jobs.
At Toronto Pearson, the safety of our travellers, employees, community and country is at the core of every decision we make.
For years, we’ve been collecting injury data from employers in the Toronto Pearson Safety Index (TPSI), which helps us identify trends and target efforts to keep our airport safe. Reporting was traditionally completed via email or an online survey app. In 2019, we launched a new injury reporting platform, Trendz, which creates “heat maps” pinpointing areas where injuries occur more frequently. The easy-to-use maps even identify incidents by the type of injury and body part affected. Using this data, we’ll be able to enhance our safe work practices and develop more targeted accident prevention programs.
Keeping Pearson healthy and safe
As the scope and intensity of the pandemic became evident, our first priority was to ensure the health and well-being of passengers and airport employees while consulting all of our partners and keeping the broader public informed. Companies and organizations across Pearson, guided by Transport Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), came together to implement health protocols, reinforce safety measures and manage the largest repatriation of Canadians in our country’s history.
In addition to communicating public health and regulatory updates affecting travellers, airport employees and other stakeholders – via Toronto Pearson’s website, social media and news media channels – we moved quickly to implement and advocate for a wide range of protective measures, including:
- Additional hand sanitizer stations at key terminal access points and other high-contact areas.
- Enhanced disinfection of all terminal washrooms.
- Frequent disinfecting of passenger-processing kiosks, escalators, moving sidewalks, handrails, baggage cart handles and other hard surfaces.
- Expanded cleaning staff hours.
- Signage and announcements reminding passengers to maintain physical distancing in the baggage hall and other busy areas of our terminals.
- Staging and spacing of queues for the U.S. customs hall to avoid crowding.
- Holding some arriving flights on the tarmac or at the gate for a short period to manage the flow of passengers.
- Supporting the many additional PHAC nurses and CBSA personnel in our terminals as they respond to COVID-19 issues.