Starting My Business- What I Didn’t Know About Safety

When I first started my construction company, we were doing well. Work was steady, the crew was solid, and I was proud of how quickly things were growing. Like most new business owners, I was juggling everything at once — hiring, estimates, scheduling, and still working on-site when needed.

Safety was something I took seriously, but in the way most small companies do: PPE reminders, basic orientations, toolbox talks when we had time. It felt reasonable for where we were at.

But the turning point came from a friend of mine who owned a small landscaping company.

He had built his business the same way many of us do — neighbourhood jobs, seasonal maintenance, simple projects. Safety requirements never came up because no one asked for anything formal.

Then he landed a chance with a large property-management company. It was the kind of contract that could change his entire year.

They only had one requirement:

“You must hold COR Certification.”

He thought COR was just a safety manual and a couple of forms. Instead, they sent him a list of what he needed to provide:

• a complete written safety manual
• policies and procedures
• job-specific hazard assessments
• PPE requirements
• worker training records
• an emergency response plan
• incident-reporting procedures
• site-specific safe work practices
• and proof supervisors understood their OHS responsibilities

He didn’t have any of this in place and the contract slipped through his fingers and ended up losing the contract.

Watching that happen was an eye opener. Not because he did anything wrong — but because I knew that if someone asked me for the same documents, I wouldn’t have been ready either.

That’s when I started learning what most new business owners aren’t told:

In a small company, the owner is legally the supervisor. Under Alberta OHS, supervisors have real responsibilities — and if something serious happens and those responsibilities weren’t met, the consequences can include enforcement orders, personal fines, company fines, and in extreme situations, even criminal charges that may include jail time.

For new Alberta businesses building their safety foundation, Safety Ahead's fractional safety leadership provides senior-level guidance without the cost of a full-time safety hire.