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DEPARTMENTS
06 | In the news Bill 118 yet to bring insurance relief for snow & ice contractors
13 | Industry innovators
Switching to brine, even if homemade, helps environment COLUMNS
04 | From the editor
What is the future of municipal golf?
30 | Health & Safety
Include COVID protocols during training
By Mike Jiggens
What is the future of municipal golf?
Are we seeing the beginning of the end of municipal golf courses in Canada? In recent years, and indeed in recent weeks, a number of cities and towns have shut the doors of long-standing municipal golf courses, arguing their inability to be self-sustaining is putting an unnecessary strain on taxpayers.
In many cases, these municipalities figure that by shutting down an anemic municipal course and selling the land for development will help them recoup some of this lost revenue. Others would rather convert the land into something they deem more useful that the community at large might enjoy, such as parkland. And then there are other municipalities that, at the mention of the word “closure” and being subsequently besieged with considerable opposition, look into privatizing their operations.
Whatever the scenario, municipal golf courses are beginning to slowly disappear.
In just the past few months, city council in London, Ont. voted to close the River Road Golf Course, noting its inability to make money in recent years. The city elected not to open the course in 2020 even though its two other municipal courses were busier than ever amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In Brantford, Ont., the nine-hole Arrowdale Golf
Course saw its last round played in the fall. City council voted late in 2019 to close the course and sell the property, but significant opposition to the plan resulted in months of litigation that finally ended in January with a court decision that sided with the city. (Proponents of the golf course continue their fight. An appeal has been launched against the court decision, and a large group of supporters have turned a petition in to city hall containing data that – having been analyzed by a university statistician – suggests if a referendum was held, the consensus would favour keeping the course open.)
Was 2020 nothing more than a fluke, or is there a genuine resurrection in the making?
In December, it appeared the days of Thunder Bay’s two municipal courses might be numbered, but council rejected a staff recommendation to shut their doors. Closing them, staff argued, would save the city about $100,000, but council opted to take no further action on the matter. One councillor cited the increase in golfers playing in 2020, including young children learning the game, bodes well for the game’s future growth, noting municipal courses are known for being comparatively more affordable and accessible.
On the one hand, municipal golf courses provide that important springboard for wouldbe golfers to learn the game and develop an appetite for it. The price is usually right, and these courses exist for public play. Without them, those who wish to take up the game have fewer options. Private courses are out, higher-end public play courses are apt to be cost-restrictive and generally aren’t designed for beginners, and the locations of smaller “mom and pop” courses may not be easily accessible.
On the other hand, elected municipal officials are closely scrutinized when it comes to managing public funds. If they wish to be re-elected, they need to demonstrate fiscal responsibility, and this often means having to make some tough decisions, including making recommendations to close municipal golf courses.
The COVID-19 pandemic has likely played an important role in keeping more municipal golf courses open – at least for the time being. The rocketing interest in the game in 2020 is likely to carry over this spring as restrictions continue to limit the number of safe recreational pursuits for another year. In other words, the pandemic is giving municipal golf courses a chance to be in the black for another season.
Was 2020 nothing more than a fluke or is there a genuine resurrection in the making?
Municipalities that have been seriously looking at their golf properties’ futures may want to see how all of this plays out over the next year or two before talking closures.
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London’s municipal River Road course sees its final round
City council in London, Ont. has voted to shut down its River Road municipal golf course, citing its failure to generate sufficient revenue in recent years.
River Road remained closed last season in spite of a surge in golf experienced throughout Canada amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city plans to sell the land. London’s two other municipal courses – Thames Valley and Fanshawe – will continue to operate.
Olds College places two top 10 teams at GIS Turf Bowl
Alberta’s Olds College was well represented at the 27th annual Collegiate Turf Bowl competition, held virtually during February’s Golf Industry Show. Two participating teams from the college finished among the top 10.
Twenty-six teams from 14 North American colleges and universities took part in the competition, with Purdue University rising to the top.
The John Deere and GCSAA-sponsored event included an online exam and judged case study components.
Gas-powered blowers being phased out for Oak Bay employees
Gas-powered leaf blowers and other related equipment are being phased out for use by municipal staff in Oak Bay, B.C. The decision by council does not affect landscaping companies or homeowners who wish to continue using gas-powered equipment, but the councillor who originally sought the ban said she will press to phase out gas-powered blowers for everyone.
A campaign had been launched in November of 2019 against gas blowers to curb noise and pollution. 2
Bill 118 yet to bring insurance relief for snow & ice contractors
With snow removal customers already lined up for the 2020-21 winter season, a North Bay contractor said he was blown away by the spike in his insurance premiums this year. His premium jumped from $70,000 a year to $205,000. The quote was presented to him well after he had already lined up customers for the season, leaving him no chance to negotiate.
Ken Sim said it took three months for his insurance company to present him with his new quote after he had already lined up his winter customers.
In December, with the passing of Ontario Bill 118, the period of notification for slip-and-fall lawsuits was reduced to 60 days. But as of early February, the legislation had yet to see any reductions in insurance premiums.
Insurance premiums are among the highest expenses for snow and ice contractors, often falling in just behind labour costs. Smaller companies are even feeling the pinch with premiums in the neighbourhood of $20,000.
Prior to the passing of Bill 118, slip-and-fall claims could be filed against snow and ice companies up to two years following an accident under the Ontario Occupiers’ Liability Act.
Sim, the owner of Canor, told the North Bay Nugget that insurance companies find it easier and cheaper to settle such cases than risk losing in court. Such claims, however, remain on a company’s record, contributing to significant spikes in insurance premiums.
He said the cost of snow removal services must reflect the increase in insurance premiums.
Sim suggested that contracts should be adjusted so that liability is shared among the snow and ice contractor, his commercial customers and property managers.
Canor is one of the largest snow removal contractors in the North Bay area, with about 100 employees.
The insurance crisis has led to some insurers to no longer deal with some snow contractors.
number of Olds College teams among top 10
number of remaining municipal courses in city
High insurance premiums continue to anger contractors.
Grounds upkeep at ‘the home of golf’
The Old Course at St. Andrews is believed to be the world’s oldest golf course and will be home to the Open Championship in 2022
By Mike Jiggens
The Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland is the world’s most storied golf course. Golf has been played at the links-style course since the 15th century, making it what is believed to be the oldest course in the world.
In 2022, “The Home of Golf” will be the site of the 150th playing of the Open Championship – often referred to as the British Open. Because it is a public golf course, avid golfers place the chance to play the Old Course on their bucket list. A similar bucket list exists for North American superintendents, assistants and graduating turfgrass students who have envisioned volunteering or interning there.
Gordon McKie, course manager since 2007 at the Old Course, spoke virtually in January to members of the University of Guelph’s Turf Club about his approach to course conditioning, saying it’s the club’s philosophy to adhere to the methods originally laid out by Old Tom Morris.
“ We’ve tried to maintain a lot of the things that he had done, and one is the management of the finer grasses,” he said. “We try to maintain as many fine grasses as we possibly can.”
M orris, a four-time winner of the Open Championship as a golfer, is re -
garded as the father of modern greenkeeping, having introduced the practice of sand topdressing on greens among other attributes while serving as superintendent at St. Andrews.
This year marks the 200th birthday of Morris, who played a key role in the Old Course’s reduction to 18 holes from 22. Morris found that applying sand naturally encouraged finer grasses.
“ That’s something we tend to do quite a bit.”
In addition to greens, tees and surrounds being topdressed frequently, the program has included fairways the past 40 to 50 years.
Topdressing is done lightly yet frequently with a “dusting” every week or two of four to five tons of sand per hectare per application. The goal is to use about 300 tons of sand each year on greens, surrounds and tees and 200 tons on fairways in two applications.
“It certainly does make a difference,” McKie said.
Topdressing is one of the five keys toward achieving healthy turf, he said, noting mowing, aeration, irrigation and nutrition are the others.
One of the main challenges of managing the Old Course is dealing with the amount of traffic it receives each year. In 2008, more than 44,000 rounds were played at the golf course. The number increased to more than 49,000 by 2018 and surpassed 50,000 rounds a year later. Even in 2020, with COVID-19 protocols prohibiting overseas golfers from playing, more than 42,000 rounds were played.
“ We expected it to be a lot less than that,” McKie said, adding the pandemic led to more golfers from the U.K. playing the course, including many who had never before played the game. “They saw golf as a way to get physical exercise.”
A mong the ways the club helps to
The Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland is the world’s most storied golf course.
reduce the amount of traffic on the course is to prohibit the use of “push trolleys” before noon.
A feature that sets the Old Course apart from most other golf courses is the size of its putting greens, including seven double greens. The hole numbers that make up the double greens add up to 18, such as holes five and 13 and holes eight and 10. The holes five/13 green is 37,846 square feet while the holes eight/10 green measures 36,063 square feet. The smallest green at the Old Course belongs to the fabled 17th Road Hole, measuring 7,078 square feet or 657 square metres. By contrast, the average green size in the U.K. is 500 square metres. No. 18 is the Old Course’s largest single green at 15,570 square feet.
“They’re quite large areas to manage and maintain on a daily basis.”
The first and 18th holes form a double
fairway that is 129 yards wide at Grannie Clark’s Wynd and is 7.2 acres in size.
Bumping up fertility
When McKie took over at the Old Course 14 years ago, inputs were low and surfaces were bumpy when dry while high-traffic areas were losing grass cover. Fertility was consequently ramped up to achieve a stronger, healthier sward, overseeding was increased, and wetting agents were added to the regimen.
From 2007 to 2010, the Old Course’s fertility rate was increased by 59 per cent.
“We got there by going with quite an aggressive granular feed and strength, but also going with an autumn feed to try and get it strong and healthy and get into the winter.”
McKie said a slow-release product was used in the spring which released over a period of six to eight weeks. It presented
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challenges in reaching a desired green speed, but produced a healthier sward.
Since 2017, he’s dialed back his fertility rate to reach a good compromise. In 2016, he began applying phosphate in the fall to help suppress winter diseases.
“ The main thing is we have good surfaces now.”
Eighteen months ago, the course switched over to a total links irrigation system, but McKie said he prefers hand-watering and regards the irrigation system as an “insurance policy” when needed.
Greens are overseeded twice yearly with pure fescue – half slender creeping red fescue and half chewings fescue – in the spring and fall, and receive a browntop bent seeding in between.
D isk and dimple seeding are the preferred methods.
“ We’re certainly doing a lot more overseeding than we have done in the past, but it’s crucial for us to keep grass on the surface given the volume of play we have.”
G reens are aerated twice a year, and fairways, tees and surrounds will also get attention.
Selective herbicides are used on tees, fairways and semi-rough areas to control weeds. If only small patches are found on greens, they will be hand-weeded.
W hen fescue swards in semi-rough areas begin to thin, ryegrass naturally sets in, making its control difficult. McKie said such matters are dealt with culturally, with chemical treatments used when necessary.
Maintenance workers clear water from a green at the Old Course.
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Women in Green
B.C. women leave mark on industry as association heads
Jenn Rozek, Dena Gent have climbed to top of golf associations
By Mike Jiggens
More and more women are entering the golf and turfgrass management profession in Canada, and more and more of them are reaching some of the highest pinnacles in the industry. They are golf course superintendents, owners of lawn care and landscaping businesses, sports turf managers, respected academics, key figures of industry supply companies and presidents of industry associations.
Although the industry is still heavily male-dominant, the percentage of women with careers in turf has been on the rise.
Turf & Rec recently interviewed two women from Western Canada who not only hold down prominent positions at their respective places of employment, but have also climbed to the top of the political ladder as presidents of industry associations.
Jenn Rozek
Jenn Rozek is superintendent at Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club in Blind Bay, B.C., a position she has held since 2009. Her start in golf, however, began with
a job in the pro shop at a course in Christina Lake, located east of Penticton and just north of the Washington border. Having previously worked in tree planting and at a greenhouse nursery, she said she realized working mainly indoors wasn’t for her.
The pro shop position allowed her to get outside on occasion to do some gardening work, but she preferred to be outdoors all the time. Soon afterward, she secured a position within the turf maintenance department at the same golf course, “and I’ve never looked back.”
The course superintendent took Rozek
under his wing and taught her what he could.
“Once he got me going, he said, ‘If you want to pursue this, you’re going to have to think about going to school.”
Knowing that a career in golf course maintenance was her career calling, Rozek enrolled at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (then called Kwantlen University College) in Surrey, graduating in 2005 with a diploma in turfgrass management. While in school, she honed her skills working at the municipal Fraserview Golf Course in Vancouver. Within a week of her graduation
Jenn Rozek, superintendent at Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club.
from Kwantlen, she landed an assistant superintendent’s position at a nearby course, but found the Vancouver housing market was a little too expensive.
Looking for more affordable opportunities outside the immediate Vancouver area, she applied at Shuswap Lake Estates in hopes of filling the vacant assistant superintendent’s position. Not only did she land the job, she was promoted to superintendent only a year later.
“I was a little nervous because I thought I’d spend a few more years being an assistant and learning a little bit more.”
Working mainly with men was a little trying at times in the beginning, Rozek said, recalling that while as an assistant the first time around she dealt with a few “old school guys” who sometimes didn’t want to listen to her.
“I didn’t take that personally. I kind of understood where they were coming from. I didn’t let that get to me.”
A few not-so-nice comments were also directed her way at some of the industry conferences in past years, but she said she didn’t let those get to her, either.
“I had already developed a good group of people that I hung out with, and they all had my back. I didn’t really have to worry about being bullied by a male.”
Things have been much better in the years since, Rozek said, adding she and her crew get along well together.
Rozek manages about a dozen staff at Shuswap Lake Estates, most of whom are male. One of the reasons why she has been able to develop a cohesive unit among her grounds maintenance staff is because she wants everyone to feel like he or she is part of a team and wants to hear everyone’s ideas. The approach has led to consistent staff retention.
might be contemplating a career in turf.
“Don’t let it get into your head that it’s a male-dominated industry. If you have a passion for this type of career and like to work hard and want to be outside and want to be part of an industry with like-minded
individuals, then go for it. Be confident about it. Ask lots of questions and show interest. I would also say create a network of colleagues and associates that you can rely on, whether it’s fellow employees or an industry rep.”
Be Productive. Be Profitable.
One question she asks herself is, “How would I want to be treated?”
Even though her maintenance team is made up mostly of men, including some hard-working, semi-retired seniors, Rozek said she won’t hesitate to hire a woman if she has the right capabilities.
“Some of them (women she has hired) have been awesome… really, really good.”
Rozek has some advice for women who
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Women in Green
Rozek is currently in the midst of a twoyear term as president of the British Columbia Golf Superintendents Association’s Interior chapter. She joined the board as a director in 2017 and was nominated as president at the end of 2019.
“I just felt like I wanted to start getting a little bit more involved with the industry at the association level. I’ve been in the industry for a number of years and it’s my time now to start giving back a little bit.”
Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she’s been unable to preside over a “proper” meeting, “so I don’t know what it’s like to be at the helm with all the people in the room.”
With meetings having to be conducted virtually, the challenge has been to keep everyone engaged, she said, adding she doesn’t want the group feeling to become lost with the absence of in-person networking.
S ome exciting things have been happening at Shuswap Lake Estates of late. A few years ago, the golf course was host to the British Columbia amateur senior men’s championship, which resulted in lots of positive feedback about course conditions from among the golfers in the field. Rozek is also hoping the course might secure a First Green program event, perhaps even this year. First Green is an environmental and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) educational outreach program in which golf courses serve as learning labs.
“We’re just trying to set up the logistics with it due to COVID. We’re going to try to go ahead with it and plan a date.”
The local schools are already eager to participate, but understand the pandemic could result in its postponement.
Fun fact: Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club is owned by six sisters. Four of the club’s highest positions are held by women, including the general manager, the pro shop manager, the clubhouse manager and Rozek herself as superintendent.
“ We get along really well, and tend to keep up the golf course just as good as anyone else.”
Dena Gent
Dena Gent is the operations manager at A.R. Mower & Supply Ltd. In Delta, B.C.
The company is a supplier of commercial turf equipment, parts and accessories for golf courses, municipalities, school districts and large landscape areas throughout British Columbia.
In 2010, she served as president of the Western Canada Turfgrass Association, spending a total of seven years on its board. While serving as the association’s vice-presi-
dent in 2009, she became directly involved in the search for a new executive director to succeed Bob Wick, who was retiring after a long tenure. Jerry Rousseau was hired as the WCTA’s new executive director and continues in the role.
“I was there for that whole transition when Bob Wick decided he was going to step down, and then in the hiring process to find Jerry,” Gent said. “So 2010 was actually the first conference that Jerry was executive director at.”
Gent became involved with the WCTA through the encouragement of Mark McMaster, owner of A.R. Mower and a past association board member. With already about 20 years of experience in the industry, she said she wanted to focus her involvement at the board level around the needs of golf course mechanics.
“I was trying to get the mechanics more involved and trying to be a voice for them. Mechanics want to see more hands-on demonstrations and less book work. They wanted more of a hands-on approach. I asked the mechanics a lot of questions and then reported back to the board.”
She was determined to amend WCTA conference seminars aimed at mechanics
so that they became more education-driven. The result has produced more of a “wow” factor among attendees.
“ When mechanics came out of a seminar, I asked them what they thought of the seminar and they would say, ‘I’ve heard it before.’”
But with more of a focus on education in the seminars, those coming out of the classes were later saying, “Wow, that was really good.”
Gent said mechanics enjoy seeing how other mechanics operate and how they set up their shops and equipment.
“Mechanics love to see how other guys do it, and they don’t get a lot of time to go from place to place, so it gave us an opportunity to set up buses so they could see other facilities and see how they did it. Maybe they can pick up a couple of tricks they hadn’t thought of.”
The programs she helped set up for golf course mechanics allowed those working at smaller courses to see first-hand how their contemporaries operate at such higher-end courses as Victoria Golf Club and Cordova Bay on Vancouver Island and Capilano and Marine Drive on the mainland.
“I think it’s important that they can see what else is out there and what’s available to them. It’s the little stuff they might not have thought about like getting oil in drums instead of cans and little things like that. Getting tips from each other is very valuable.”
Gent said having served on the WCTA board allowed her to see several golf courses and sports turf facilities with different perspectives.
“I’ve always said that at the end of the day, we’re all just growing grass, and it doesn’t matter if you’re golf or sports field.”
Gent wasn’t the first women to have served as WCTA president, saying she knows of at least four who have served in that capacity.
For women who are thinking about a career in turf, she offers this message:
“Get involved. It’s a great industry. You have to be careful and cautious sometimes as a female,” noting that when she started during the early 1990s, the thought was that maybe women didn’t know as much or about what they were doing, “so you might have to learn a little bit more.”
Dena Gent, operations manager at A.R. Mower and a past WCTA president.
Switching to brine, even if homemade, helps environment
Brine may not necessarily replace salt, but helps reduce consumption levels
By Clintar Commercial Outdoor Services
As one of the largest snow and ice contractors in Canada, Clintar is responsible for maintaining important commercial outdoor properties, including hospitals, distribution centres and municipal buildings throughout the year.
To better understand and reduce our environmental impact during the winter
months, Clintar is studying the role liquids play as part of the solution to anti-icing operations. While liquid brine is not necessarily a replacement for road salt, it is an important piece of the solution that can help to reduce salt consumption while maintaining a high level of safety.
In our recent efforts to better understand the role of liquids, we have learned
these helpful tips:
Select the right brine solution
Before the beginning of the 2020-2021 winter season, we took an inventory of the types of liquid brines that were being used across the Clintar franchise network. We found that some franchises preferred to purchase liquid brine direct from a manufacturer while other franchises chose to make their own brine. While purchasing liquid brine may save time, it comes at a much higher cost than creating your own brine.
Differences in regional climate may play a role in selecting the right brine. Since brine can come in many different
One of the trucks in Clintar’s Calgary fleet is equipped for using brine as a de-icing material.
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Create a plan of attack
Before the start of winter, Clintar formed a brine committee that would be responsible for applying brine throughout the winter and collecting data to be sent to the head office. The committee was comprised of four Clintar franchises from different regions. Each franchise chose two commercial sites of the same size and category. One of the chosen sites was serviced exclusively with road salt while the other site was serviced with a combination of liquid brine as a pre-treatment and road salt as a post treatment.
For each site, we collected as much relevant data as possible. Quantity of road salt and/or brine applied, air temperature, total kilometres driven to site were all important factors that we considered. The idea was that by choosing two similar sites in each region we would be able to easily compare the effectiveness and cost of each solution and share results with the other franchises to encourage the adoption of new brine programs.
Use your resources
Snow and ice contractors are fortunate to have several dedicated organizations and associations at their disposal to help drive their growth. Before we began our brine study, we encouraged our franchise owners, management staff and supervisors to complete the Fundamentals of Liquids training course offered from SIMA, the Snow and Ice Management Association.
The course provided a great foundation and introduced best practices for applying liquids. It was extremely helpful in getting franchise owners and their crews excited about applying brine and why brine is an important part of the winter anti-icing solution. We also encouraged each Clintar franchise to become Smart About Salt certified. The certification program is designed to improve winter salting practices, reduce over-application and protect delicate ecosystems and waterways.
Investment
We knew from the start that integrating liquids into our business, even slowly, was going to require a substantial investment of time and cost. To get a better idea of the required investment, we surveyed the
brine committee and asked that they outline the capital cost of equipment and operational costs incurred to integrate brine.
We found that the bulk of the investment came from equipment (tanks, spray wands,
specialized vehicles), material and employee training. By the end of the 20202021 winter season, we hope to have a better idea of the actual costs of integrating brine into our operations and provide a strong return on investment for other franchises who may wish to adopt liquids at scale.
Brine is not a new solution to the snow and ice industry
Be patient
Brine is not a new solution to the snow and ice industry, or Clintar for that matter. Integrating liquids can be challenging, and obtaining a true cost of integration is even more difficult. A liquids program should be approached as a multi-year strategy involving some level of trial and error to find the best combination of equipment, brine, and the ideal conditions to apply.
IN-FIELDER D-84
Heavy duty bolt-on serrated grader blade
Floating clod-breaking pulverizer roller
Heavy duty floating levelling bar
Floating rear brush with side bumpers
Broom and rake holders
Adjustable rear brush
Available with Water & Hand Wand kits
Available with rear long tine harrow
Available with Rotary Sweeper brush
If you are serious about integrating liquids, consider creating a “liquids roadmap” and outline the specific outcomes you wish to see over several years. As you progress, introduce gradual changes towards your final goal. For example, try using brine as a pre-treatment on five more sites this year than last year. Keep in mind your ultimate goal, whatever that may be. For example, reduce salt consumption 10 per cent by 2025.
While integrating liquids takes a high level of patience, it can be lucrative for those who stick with it!
Clintar is a leader in Canada in full-service landscape and snow removal services with 18 franchises across the country. For more information about the company, visit www.clintar. com or view Clintar’s most recent corporate social responsibility report at https://www. clintar.com/csr-report
Clintar report outlines a sustainable future
Clintar Commercial Outdoor Services recently completed its first ever CSR (corporate social responsibility) report: Growing Towards a Sustainable Future.
Clintar believes it was an important step toward becoming what it says is Canada’s first net-zero outdoor services company. Following are five tips for creating a corporate social responsibility report.
ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS
ment. Before creating its CSR report, its executive team mapped out its stakeholders and organized them by level of impact and level of influence.
USE YOUR RESOURCES
ITY REPORTING STANDARD
There are several sustainability reporting frameworks that help to guide organizations to report effectively on sustainability. Some tools are more dialed-in for specific segments or industries.
ALWAYS COLLECT DATA
Perhaps the most important part of creating a sustainability report is engaging stakeholders. For Clintar, its stakeholders are its franchise owners, employees, vendors, customers, and the environ-
Clintar’s CSR report was the culmination of a team effort which included 18 franchise locations, its corporate head office, a local environmental consulting firm and Clintar’s marketing agency. The consulting firm helped with some “heavy lifting” in creating a greenhouse gas emissions inventory based on the information that was collected from the franchises. FIND THE RIGHT SUSTAINABIL-
The old saying, “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it” rings true. Data collection is critical to understanding impacts. Without collecting data accurately, businesses will fail to create a baseline for which they can measure their progress against. Clintar collected several important data points via a form called the “Franchise Information Request.”
LAUNCH REPORT
Clintar launched its report in two phases. First, it presented the report and some summary statistics to its franchise owners and then launched the report online to the rest of its stakeholders.
https://www.clintar.com/csr-report
DELIVERING SUPERIOR SOD WITH QUALITY SERVICE
5 simple steps to get irrigation systems up and running
Each irrigation system is different and may require adjustments to the process
By Chris Davey
During the cold, winter months, many customers turn their irrigation systems off, resulting in dry, dull turf. With spring underway, customers are eager to see their landscapes return to those luscious, healthy playing surfaces. It’s time to turn on those irrigation systems and sprinklers so that we can once again see that healthy springtime turf.
In general, after three or more days with the temperature below freezing (32˚F / 0˚C), it’s time to winterize. Then, after the dormant winter and once it starts getting warmer around springtime, it’s time to start up the irrigation systems again.
WINTERIZING IS KEY
The first step in successfully starting up irrigation systems happens long before connecting the water source to the system in the spring. Depending on the irrigation system’s location, winterizing the system in the fall is essential to a successful start-up in the spring. If the fall winterization procedures were completed correctly, then springtime start-up will also go smoothly.
A successful winterization process includes ensuring that there’s no damage to the electrical components, draining all of
the water from the system, and actuating or manually bleeding the water from anything connected to the source, including valves, solenoids, breakers, or actuators.
Fall winterization helps the irrigation system’s integrity once it’s started up again, and it allows grounds crews to manage their workloads effectively. With all the springtime tasks that crews have on their plates — such as controlling weeds, seeding, dethatching, removing winter debris and fertilizing — grounds crews will have a little less to worry about knowing that the irrigation system is in good condition after a successful fall winterization procedure.
SPRINGTIME IRRIGATION
After the winterization process is complete and grounds managers are confident that
their system is ready to be activated again in the spring, it’s essential to communicate the start-up process with the rest of the grounds crew.
Each irrigation system is different and may require adjustments to the process, but most commercial irrigation systems can be ready to go in five simple steps:
VENT THE PIPING SYSTEM
This step is easy, especially if grounds managers completed a successful winterization process in the fall. Venting the piping system ensures that the system is clear of debris and then successfully opens the system’s drain valves. Technicians should, however, manually turn on the sprinklers and insert quick coupler keys in QCVs. This allows the system to be open when you
There are several key aspects that technicians should look out for before starting up an irrigation system for the spring.
start to fill. Grounds crews should also bleed air from the lines while filling the system and avoid compressing air.
ADJUST THE PRESSURE AT THE SOURCE
Before filling the system, it’s essential to adjust the pressure to prevent a water hammer from occurring. Additionally, adjusting the pressure ensures the safety of the crew working on the irrigation system. When adjusting the pressure, technicians should keep the pressure below 50 pounds per square inch (psi) to minimize or prevent injury to team members and damage to the irrigation system. Besides keeping pressure below 50 psi, technicians should also supply water to the system at a velocity fill rate of less than two feet per second.
FILL THE PIPING SYSTEM
Starting closest to the source, have the crew monitor open drains, sprinklers, and quick couplers. Once a steady flow is detected, the crew can then close low-elevation drains and quick couplers, turn sprinklers off, and move to the next highest location.
Technicians can then repeat this process until the air is completely evacuated and all venting locations have been closed. However, it’s important to remember that the slower the system is filled, the safer it will be.
ACTIVATE EACH SPRINKLER ELECTRONICALLY
Confirm that there is a maximum pressure of less than 50 psi, then turn on sprinklers electrically one by one or zone by zone to allow any remaining air to escape. During this phase, technicians will want to identify any system component issues and make repairs, as necessary.
CONFIRM ALL AIR HAS BEEN REMOVEDONCE
Once this is complete, adjust the system pressure to the normal operating pressure.
KEY STEPS TO CONSIDER WHEN PRESSURIZING
There are several key aspects that technicians should look out for before starting up an irrigation system for the spring. The system has been put under a lot of pressure after lying dormant for several months in the winter. Therefore, technicians need to take proper care of the system and inspect the sprinkler heads for any cracks or abnormalities before starting up the system in the spring.
If a damaged head is overlooked, pressuring it can cause the head to disconnect from the irrigation system with immense force, which can potentially cause harm to the system itself, and more importantly, to the grounds crew and technicians. To avoid
this dangerous situation, the technicians can ensure that the team members are at a safe distance from the heads to avoid any potential injury. Using personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves or safety glasses, is also highly recommended during this process. Keep in mind that any time an object is pressurized over 35 psi, it can potentially cause injury, so team members should keep a safe distance while working on the system.
Technicians should also remain vigilant of their surroundings and pay close attention to the irrigation system during every step of the process. Whether the operation’s irrigation system is supplied by a municipal water source or from surface or groundwater through a pumping system, listening carefully proves to be extremely important.
During the entire pressurization process, a team member should continuously monitor the pump’s functionality and be ready to communicate any abnormalities or odd sounds to the rest of the team.
Developing a comprehensive springtime start-up plan, communicating the plan with the grounds crew, and ensuring the process is safe for everyone from start to finish, will ensure that springtime irrigation system start-up will be successful and seamless every time.
Chris Davey is a product marketing manager at Toro.
Ram TRX sets mark for performance among 2021 trucks
It’s the latest member of FCA’s 700 horsepower club
By Mario Cywinski
For anyone who grew up in the 1990s, Jurassic Park was the movie, which created dinosaur madness across Canada. Look no further than Toronto’s new basketball team, which chose to be called the Raptors back in 1995. The movie spawned a
franchise that is still going strong today, after two sequels, and a new Jurassic World franchise.
In the automotive world, dinosaur names are definitely not common. However, a few years ago, Ford decided to take its F-150 pickup truck, turn it up to 150 per cent, and call it the Raptor. Since it debuted, it has not had a competitor in the ultimate performance pickup truck space.
Until now.
Anyone who has watched any of the Jurassic Park/World movies, knows that in the franchise there is only one dinosaur that is fiercer and mightier than the Raptor, and that is the T-Rex. Therefore, it is no surprise that FCA has decided to compete with the Ford Raptor, by naming its truck the Ram 1500 TRX, or as everyone will call it the T-ReX.
“ The all-new 2021 Ram TRX sets the benchmark for extreme performance pickup trucks and solidifies Ram Truck’s position as the off-road truck leader,” Mike Koval Jr., head of Ram Brand, FCA -
The Ram TRX joins the Dodge Charger and Challenger, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee in FCA’s 700 horsepower club.
‘Many customers have been asking for something special’
North America, said. “Ram has a strong history of high-performance trucks and TRX adds to that while expanding the light-duty lineup with the segment’s best combination of performance, capability, luxury and technology.”
For starters, the TRX will be the latest member of FCA’s 700 horsepower club; joining the likes of the Dodge Charger and Challenger, and Jeep Grand Cherokee. In this application it will offer 702-horsepower and 650 foot/pounds of torque from a 6.2-litre supercharged HEMI V-8 engine. Offering some mouth-watering numbers, it will go zero to 60 mph (0-96 kph) in 4.5 seconds, zero to 100 mph (0-161 kph) in 10.5 seconds, and the quarter mile in 12.9 seconds (at 174 km/h). Its top speed is 190 km/h. The engine is mated to an eightspeed automatic transmission, which has high torque capacity.
The powerful engine goes into a TRX that takes the standard Ram 1500 and stretches it, much like Bruce Banner turning into the Hulk. TRX is 203 millimetres wider, has a 152-millimetre wider track, the front axle is 20 millimetres farther forward, brakes are 381 millimetres, ride height is 51 millimetres higher (with ground clearance of 300 millimetres, and water fording of 813 millimetres), 18-inch wheels with 35inch tires are exclusive. Being able to stop all the power and brawn is important, so Ram has put 15-inch (381mm) rotors all around on the TRX.
Ram decided that the front end on the standard Ram 1500 wasn’t big enough (it’s already one of, if not, the largest on the market), so it has larger and unique RAM badge, grille, skid plates, and steel bumpers. An aluminum hood has a hood scoop which allows for 50 per cent of air going into the engine, with the other 50 per cent going in through the grille, part of the dual-path air induction system (more on that later on). LED headlights and taillights are standard.
The back of the truck now offers larger box outers (while still allowing for use of
blind spot monitoring), a Rebel-inspired RAM badge is located on the tailgate, a bed-mounted spare tire carrier is available, with the standard spare tire located under the bed, along with oversized tow hooks.
The interior of the truck is based on the Ram 1500 Limited, but with some changes. Front seats are new with more upper bolsters and TRX logos, while a new seat back system allows for items to be weaved in place. The steering wheel is an SRT flat-bottom design with aluminum paddle shifters, while a console mounted performance floor shifter is a departure for those familiar with RAM’s console turn shifter.
TRX has five dynamic drive modes (auto, sport, tow, snow, and custom) that control the four-wheel-drive system, throttle response, transmission, paddle shifters, suspension, and electric power steering. Also, three dynamic off-road modes (mud/sand, rock, and baja) can be chosen. Launch control button is standard.
The Uconnect system standard on the TRX is a 12-inch model, and can be paired to a Harmon Kardon audio system with 900-watts and 19 speakers. An available head-up display can show up to five items at one time (lane departure, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control, navigation, speed, gear and speed limit).
Moving on to the performance of the TRX, the massive horsepower and torque
numbers are helped by use of a dual-path air induction system. As mentioned earlier, air goes into the hood scoop and upper part of the grille, to a 29L air box that filters out the things you don’t want going into the engine (dirt, water, sand, and debris). The air box has a one-way drain to get rid of water, while two air filters provide 198.4 square inches of surface area.
For those times when using the TRX to do performance runs, standard launch control manages tire slip, by way of wheel speed sensors stopping wheel hop at launch, and helping to get the most grip available. While in motion, sometimes the need to be airborne may arise in the TRX. Naturally, Ram added jump detection, which can detect when a vehicle is in the air and change engine speed and torque, gear, transfer case torque split, damping rates, and others to help protect the vehicle.
TRX has a new independent front suspension, and a five-link coil system in the back that allows the Dana 60 rear axle to move up to 330 millimetres. The rear springs are 600 millimetres in length, and the Bilstein Black Hawk e2 shocks are 64 millimetres.
Ram also offers pages (visible in the instrument cluster) to help the driver keep tabs on what is happening in and out of the vehicle. Off-road pages show the driver: ride height, transfer case position, pitch and roll, and accessory gauges. While performance pages show timers, g-force, gauges, and engine performance.
Safety and technology wise, the TRX has the driver covered. It offers a 360-degree
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camera view, which includes a forward-facing camera that is used for off-roading. An available digital rear-view mirror replaces the glass view with a view from the rear camera. As with other versions of this style mirror, it can be revered to a regular rear-view mirror. A sampling of safety features include standard backup camera, ESC, and six air bags; and available blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, and much more.
A little food for thought, according to FCA, the TRX can go 161 km/h while off-road, has an approach angle of 30.2 degrees, breakover angle of 21.9 degrees, and departure angle of 23.5 degrees.
Now while not exactly a truck meant to tow or haul stuff in the bed, the TRX has a towing capacity of 3,674 kilograms, and a payload capacity of 594 kilograms. Therefore, for those times when not having fun off-road, the truck can take the boat to the cottage, or help a friend move his furniture.
FCA will start selling the TRX in a Launch Edition, of which 100 will be sold in Canada. It will feature a unique grey paint job, and offer a red and brushed-aluminum centre console badge.
“The Ram team is as excited about the all-new 2021 Ram 1500 TRX as our customers are,” Koval Jr. said. “Many of those customers have been asking for something special, even above the TRX’s already-loaded features.”
The battle of the dinosaurs (pickups) now pits the TRX against the stalwart Raptor. With the latter having been on the market for a few years without much competition, it is now time for the Raptor to respond to the TRX’s challenge.
Mario Cywinski is editor of Machinery and Equipment MRO magazine and Food and Beverage magazine, a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, and a judge for Canadian Truck King Challenge. He has more than 12 years of editorial experience; more than two years of maintenance, reliability, and operations experience; more than 16 years of automobile industry experience, as well as small business industry experience.
A look at the front interior of the TRX. Stellantis Canada photo
Photosynthesis: How golf supers can use it with IPM
Authority on photosynthesis shares how process can be regulated
By Mike Jiggens
Photosynthesis is a process by which plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. Photosynthesis in plants generally involves the green pigment chlorophyll and generates oxygen as a byproduct. Such is the definition by Oxford Languages.
“ What does photosynthesis have to do with managing a golf course?” asks Dr. Arthur Nonomura, rhetorically. “The answer is everything.”
Nonomura, co-founder of iHammer LLC (now Brandt iHammer) and an authority on photosynthesis, spoke virtually in January to an audience of Canadian golf superintendents about how photosynthesis can be used effectively in an integrated pest management (IPM) program.
“ Healthy turf resists stress and pests when you put photosynthesis at the top of your IPM,” he said. “It works for you when you manage photosynthesis on the golf course.”
Nonomura, who had collaborated with the late Dr. Andrew Benson, a biochemist and leading expert in photosynthesis, said sunlight is actually “starlight” which must be “eaten” by the plant. Bright stars transmit themselves as light in packets of energy and mass called photons which
plants receive and eat.
It’s important for those who manage turf to know about the origins of the turf they are managing, he said. For example, if it comes from a forest setting, it’s made to use lowlight intensity. If it’s originally from a meadow or a plain, it’s made to use direct sunlight intensity in the heat of the day.
The light reactions of photosynthesis and the carbon reactions of photosynthesis transform light energy into chemical energy, called light-energy transformations.
For several decades, photosynthesis researchers have tried to learn the metabolic steps in the chloroplast that defines photo-
synthesis. Light energy is absorbed by pigment protein antenna complexes and not just absorbed by chlorophyll. Once absorbed by pigment protein complexes, light is converted into chemical energy.
Water is oxidized to oxygen gas and NADP (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) is reduced to NADPH (a reduced form of NADP) by electron transport in the Z-Scheme. The high-energy compound ATP is produced through proton transport. It and NADPH are used for carbon assimilation.
Light energy splits water, releasing oxygen gas which releases energizing electrons
‘It’s faster than the signal that goes in your brain to blink your eyes’
for transport across the Z-Scheme.
Nonomura described the electrons’ transport in the Z-Scheme as similar to the backspin action of a golf ball when hit by a pitching wedge. The electron is the golf ball which gains energy after being hit by the wedge. As the ball, or electron, backspins, it loses energy and requires another input of energy (a putt) to make its way to NADP to make NADPH.
“Think of NADPH as holing the ball.”
He said golf superintendents can post the Z-Scheme diagram on a wall and chart the light reactions of photosynthesis. The reactions require fertilizers for the Z-Scheme to function. The light reactions require fertilizers along the path of the Z-Scheme, including nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, calcium, manganese, iron and copper.
The photosynthetic process in which light energy is transformed to chemical energy happens within 13 picoseconds.
“It is so fast that it happens in a time duration that’s faster than the signal that goes in your brain to blink your eyes.”
The carbon reactions of photosynthesis occur when chemical energy is incorporated into the bonds that hold carbohydrates
Nonomura said it was Benson, who along with Drs. Melvin Calvin and James Bassham, worked out the path of carbon in photosynthesis in the chloroplast. The scientists showed the carbon that builds turf comes from the air and is metabolized in the chloroplast – the organelle of every turf cell that photosynthesis researchers had been studying since the 1940s.
Carbon dioxide is taken from the air by a protein enzyme called RuBisCo. It’s first fixed to a five-carbon compound before making a six-carbon compound that is split into two three-carbon compounds. These were considered significant discoveries in the 1940s and ‘50s.
As carbon dioxide gas is captured by RuBisCo, sugar is made by adding one carbon per turn of the Benson-Calvin cycle.
Glycoregulator technology
Glycoregulator technology is a tool superintendents can use in the field to improve photosynthetic efficiency, Nonomura said. Turf has proteins that store and release sugars in a natural process called the plant lectin cycle. Lectin proteins bind carbohydrates. The technology works by increasing carbohydrate availability for utilization by
the plant. It has been tested on fine fescues in the field and in greenhouse settings with promising results, he said, including enhanced root growth and improved performance under drought stress.
T he presumption is that structural carbohydrate is being allocated to turfgrass root production, leading to enhanced water acquisition. This allows for bypassing the lectin cycle to be redirected to growth.
“We now have a plant growth regulator for photosynthesis because it utilizes the plant lectin bypass in the carbon reactions of photosynthesis.”
Alpha methyl mannoside (AMM) binds lectin and displaces glucose, preventing other glucoses from attaching to the lectin. The glucose goes to other plant growth points, including respiration, homeostatis and turgor.
The plant growth regulator for photosynthesis regulates the carbon reactions, not in the chloroplast, but in the vacuole of the plant cell. The vacuole – the largest organelle in the plant cell – presses against the cell wall because of the released glucose.
When glucose binds lectin, it is osmotically inert. As AMM occupies lectin, it forces glucose to leave. The vacuole presses against the cell wall, causing the cell to expand, allowing for recovery from midday wilt.
MANAGEMENT OF TURFGRASS DISEASES, 3RD ED
Nonomura said photosynthesis works hand in hand with IPM. Cell membranes in turf are designed to keep chemical out, but glycoregulators get in. He said the technology engages symporters to increase the efficiency of transmembrane transport. In a tank mix, symporters act as cargo carriers for high-efficiency IPM that can reduce pesticide use.
Management of the recovery from midday wilt enhances turf quality, allowing the blade to stand up and look better, he said, adding healthy plants attract fewer pests than weaker turf.
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To manage photosynthesis means reducing pesticide use, Nonomura said, and photosynthesis can be regulated through glycoregulatory technology.
Superintendents are using the technology to optimize turf quality, maintain consistent green speeds, resist stress and invigorate health to reduce pesticide use.
A leader’s soft skills will help the team he leads to succeed
Management strategies that focus on compliance without thought generally lead to tension and disengaged workers
By Mike Jiggens
Employees are often asked to eliminate or manage hazards, to not make mistakes, and to avoid taking risks at all costs. But adopting a risk-averse mindset fails to encourage diverse thought, and management strategies that focus on compliance without thought generally lead to tension and disengaged workers.
The greatest asset on any single job is a thinking human being, human performance improvement specialist Joe Estey says. Speaking at the virtually delivered GIE+EXPO in the fall, he said the development of a strong workforce comes with the understanding that a company’s best asset for its success and longevity is having empowered
employees whose input is valued.
“If we inadequately manage risk, we decrease the amount of thinking that’s going on at the time when a job is being planned and completed,” he said.
Estey, the author of The Recipe for Resilience, published in 2020, coaches and consults for a variety of industries, including groundskeeping and forestry management. He is based in Kennewick, Wash.
Company systems are good but can fail because they’re designed by human beings, he said. When adequately managing risk, managers and leaders need two types of skills. Managing work done by others and a leader doing the work require two different sets of skills.
Estey recalled a time when he was promoted to the position of first line foreman, but told his superior he was
ill-prepared for the role because he was good at what he did on the line and hoped to continue doing what he knew best. His superior told him that his new role was to groom others so that they could carry on without him.
“You influence their decisions and help them make the best actions, but your role is to develop more of your soft skills – communications, teamwork, decision making – and not to develop more of your technical skills. The technical skills you were hired for in leading this team will help you survive. But the soft skills will help you succeed. You need to spend your time on those soft skills.”
As a supervisor, foreman or manager, the idea is to create an environment where work can be done flawlessly, even though the work is being
Unsafe work can be done and no injury may occur, but the absence of injuries doesn’t mean that the work is being done safely.
‘The soft skills will help you succeed. You need to spend your time on those soft skills.’
done by human beings who are flawed by nature, Estey said.
“Accidents don’t occur because people don’t care. Accidents occur because errors and mistakes are involuntary. No error is a choice. You don’t choose to make a mistake.”
An accident or mistake can occur within milliseconds. He said a work environment can be created that puts an intervention in place to keep that millisecond from catching up to people’s actions and decisions, but it has to be a deliberate thought process “to keep us away from our own mistakes.”
E stey said he often hears companies
say their work practices have been the same for years, and they’ve yet to experience a problem.
“What they actually mean is they haven’t had a consequence yet.”
A problem in the field may go unnoticed because the workers are usually good at their job, and they’re able to muster through a problem without a consequence “until they have a consequence and then it surprises all of us.”
Accident prevention
E stey spoke of a tragedy that occurred
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within an organization, profoundly affecting an individual. If any organization experienced such a setback as this, an employee or foreman would likely say, “We knew this was going to happen.”
In this specific case, there was an assurance the incident couldn’t happen because all the right processes were in place to prevent it from happening. But when the incident that couldn’t happen did happen, someone within the organization knew it was going to happen.
“ They’re not usually saying that flippantly. They were just hoping against the best of the planning they could have done, but didn’t.”
It’s poor to manage work based on the absence of something that didn’t happen, Estey said. Unsafe work can be done and no injury may occur, but the absence of injuries doesn’t mean that the work is
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being done safely.
“People routinely can get a job done unsafely and still not have a consequence until they do.”
A principle without practice is like having a weight scale, he said. It provides information but no meaningful method for employing what to do with the number. It tells you “where you’re at,” but not how to get to “where you’re going.”
Data collected by organizations serves one of two purposes. Using it for one usually discounts it from serving the other purpose. The first purpose metrics tells a company whether it’s in compliance upon inspection. Some data just measures if a company is in compliance and whether it’s doing what’s expected to be done.
“But the most useful data is used for learning. Are we learning anything about what we’re doing? We need to create data that leads to learning.”
When one becomes a leader, his responsibility should not be to be in charge of the people doing the work, but to be responsible for the people in his charge, Estey said. Much of that comes from the way leaders communicate and the stories their words tell as well as the stories that employees’ words tell leaders.
“ When we talk about being accountable and stress accountability to others, it’s not the word that counts but the story behind the word.”
L eaders must also be able to distinguish between issues of motivation and ability, Estey said. One may be motivated to do something, yet may be hampered by a lack of ability. Recognizing that a job not getting done may be an ability issue rather than a motivation issue is something leaders need to know.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
Grounds upkeep at ‘the home of golf’
The Old Course’s location along Scotland’s eastern seaboard subjects it to wind speeds of 25 to 30 miles per hour for several days on end. The wind-blown open areas add to the challenge of bunker maintenance.
“It’s a massive job to try to keep things under control.”
B unkers periodically need to be watered down in such conditions to control the volume of sand being blown about.
McKie said the club is already looking ahead toward preparations for the 2022 Open Championship. For regular play at the Old Course, green speeds are generally between nine and 9.5 feet. For the tournament, however, speeds will be quickened to 10 to 10.5 feet. He said it doesn’t require much work to adjust from one speed to another. Double cutting with a morning and evening cut gets green speeds to tournament standards, achieving smoothness, trueness and consistency across all surfaces.
The greens are cut as low as four millimetres, tees and surrounds are cut at about eight millimetres, and fairways are cut to about 10 millimetres during the summer.
By paying special attention to the moisture levels in greens and their amount of organic matter, the aim is to achieve a firmness that allows the ball to impact, release, check and roll.
“ We want that firmness that rewards a good shot.”
McKie said attendance for the 2022 Open Championship is expected to be around 250,000 for the four days of competition.
The St. Andrews Links Trust is the organization responsible for the administration and maintenance of the golf course.
Health & Safety
By the CCOHS
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) promotes the total well being of workers in Canada by providing information, training, education, systems and solutions that support health and safety programs and injury and illness prevention. www.ccohs.ca
Include COVID protocols during training
As we move into warmer months, seasonal work is starting up again for many industries. Although seasonal workers are only employed for a short period of time, they have the right to the same protections and training as year-round employees, including the right to know about hazards in their workplace. This season, the training might look a little different given the COVID-19 pandemic.
S easonal workers are exposed to all the same hazards as permanent workers performing the same job. These hazards may include noise, working at heights, chemical exposure, working with heavy equipment, plus ergonomic injuries due to standing for long hours, awkward positions, repetition, and vibration.
Depending on the time of year and the nature of the work, seasonal workers may face additional hazards such as sunburn, dehydration, and other heat stress-related illnesses during the summer months. Without proper preparation and support for new or returning workers, they could be at risk of not receiving sufficient training or supervision, which may lead to incidents or injuries.
Ensuring a safer start for seasonal workers
Employers have a responsibility to inform all workers about the hazards of the job and perform risk assessments to control and mitigate these hazards. Workplaces should begin by re -
viewing and updating their health and safety protocols in advance, and make sure that workers are aware of any hazards, provided with proper tools and equipment, and trained on safe work procedures. These steps apply to both new and returning workers. Returning seasonal workers should be refreshed on hazard recognition and control processes, including retraining on any equipment they may be required to use. Employers must include instruction on any new procedures in the workplace since their last working season, such as COVID-19 protocols.
Making work safer
Part of the preparation for seasonal workers should include reviewing past incidents and injuries. Reviewing past events can help reduce the risk of workplace incidents and injuries. As such, workplaces must be ready to investigate any incidents that do occur. The emphasis should be placed on finding the root cause of the incident to prevent re-occurrences. All incidents, from near misses to serious injuries, should be appropriately inves-
tigated. The purpose is to find facts that can lead to corrective actions, not to find fault. Workplaces should always look for fundamental causes and not simply record the steps of the event.
Health and safety committee members/representatives should be involved in the investigation process and any corrective actions should be shared with the workforce to increase transparency to provide opportunity for learnings, and ensure all workers are well equipped to do their jobs. Develop a timeline for any corrective actions, monitor that these actions have been completed, and keep workers informed throughout the process.
The impact of COVID-19
Many workplaces will be experiencing their second season in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While some returning seasonal workers will be familiar with COVID-19 restrictions and protocols, some information and guidance may have changed. Training and education should be prioritized for all seasonal workers.
If they have not already, em-
ployers should work with their health and safety committee/ representative to develop or refine a COVID-19 response plan that considers seasonal workers and the transition from one season to the next. Safe return-to-work plans must be comprehensive and multi-dimensional. Workplace guidelines should include the following: encouraging workers to stay home when sick, screening workers as they enter the workplace, increasing ventilation if working in an enclosed area or office setting, maintaining physical distancing, disinfecting surfaces and equipment regularly, keeping workers in smaller cohorts, maintaining hand hygiene facilities and supplies, and providing masks or face coverings.
Education and training also play an important role. Workers need to be trained on hazards, the safe use of hazardous products, and other safety measures. Additionally, communication is critical. New and returning workers should be encouraged to ask questions and be kept informed about the ongoing pandemic and any new or modified steps to keep them safe.
Seasonal workers must be provided with the same training and health and safety protections as year-round workers.
Employers will need to incorporate safe practices to control the transmission of COVID-19 with training for all other hazards and their controls into every aspect of their business. By doing so, they will help to make sure that every worker is safe and healthy.
Seasonal workers are returning to a second year of COVID-19.
