Game On for Safety
(Above the new Meridian Centre in St. Catharines features concrete walkways (top left) for pedestrian traffic)
The Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, set to open in a month, is a shining example of the COR Safety program in action.
This 5,000 seat sports and entertainment venue is a design-build project by Ball Construction in partnership with Rankin Construction.
On Tuesday, August 26th, the City of St. Catharines hosted over 120 construction workers with city dignitaries, to thank the workers and celebrate the site’s zero lost work days, over 230,000 hours of construction work with zero lost time.
Jason Ball, President of Ball Construction, welcomed St. Catharines Deputy Mayor Dawn Dodge, who brought greetings from City Hall. Also on hand were Councillors Mark Elliot and Bill Phillips, City CAO Don Carnegie, and Director, Rick Lane.
Tom Rankin, President of Rankin Construction, was thanked for their generous donation of the design and construction of the two pedestrian bridges, providing street-level access from St. Paul Street to the Meridian Centre.
Workers and attendees enjoyed a BBQ lunch provided by Bistro On Church and had the opportunity to sign Team Canada Jerseys provided by Rob Ellis, President of MyWorkSafe.com and St. Catharines’ Ice Dogs Jersey provided by team owner Bill Burke.
To close the event, special guest Rob Ellis gave a moving presentation that focused on the adaption of a national construction safety program. Supported by the Clive Thurston, President of the OGCA, the COR program provides comprehensive auditing and cross checks that have been adopted by Ball and many other construction firms across the country to make every construction site a safe place to work.
As Ontario’s leader in Gold Seal Certified Construction projects, Ball Construction is proud of the care and quality that went into the building of the Meridian Centre. “Gold Seal projects are a reflection of our experience, competency and excellence in the management of a construction project.” noted Jason Ball, President of Ball Construction, “we are committed to building to the highest construction and safety standards as our you can see by the terrific work our trades and workers have shown here today.”
Rob Ellis, President of MySafeWork.com, seen here wearing his Jersey of Courage that features close to 300,000 signatures of construction workers and officials from around Canada in support of a national safe work policy is welcomed to the Meridian Centre by Tom Rankin, President of Rankin Construction and Jason Ball, President of Ball Construction.
From left to right: Dawn Dodge (St. Catharines Deputy Mayor), Gary Hauck (Ball Construction VP), Jason Ball (Ball Construction President), Tom Rankin (Rankin Construction President), Cameron Ball (Ball Construction VP), Bill Burke (Ice Dogs Owner/President) and Rick Lane (St. Catharines Director)
Score board installation at the soon to be opened Meridian Centre – home of the Ice Dogs Junior A hockey team.
