about safety services nova scotia
Safety Services Nova Scotia is the province’s leading not-for-profit safety service provider for Road Safety, Occupational Safety and Community Safety. Since 1958, Safety Services Nova Scotia has pioneered safety education and training programs that have improved the quality of life for Nova Scotians.
OUR VISION
(To be) Your TRUSTED PARTNER recognized for putting the SERVICE into SAFETY toward safer communities.
OUR PURPOSE
To provide quality safety solutions through passionate and highly skilled professionals and community engagement.
OUR VALUES
Client Focused
We are committed to meeting the needs and expectations of our clients.
Invested in Community
As a charitable organization we invest in community programs supporting a safer & healthier Nova Scotia.
Solution Based
We take the initiative to understand and design services that meet our clients’ needs.
Innovative
We are proactive in uncovering new ways to advance our services.
Quality Services
We recruit and retain passionate and highly skilled professionals to provide quality services.
Collaborative
We work as a team with our partners to provide the best services possible.
Our Quality and safety Commitment
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM POLICY:
Safety Services Nova Scotia is committed to providing products and services that meet or exceed the needs and expectations, and assuring or enhancing the health and safety of, our members, customers, workers and stakeholders, while respecting all legal requirements and other requirements.
We are committed to:
Preventing injury and ill health to our staff and clients by providing healthy and safe working conditions at all of our operations
Eliminating hazards and reducing health and safety risks in our operations wherever we find them
Developing and meeting objectives that properly account for the risks and opportunities we face and the context of our organization
Addressing health and safety issues through the use of the hierarchy of controls
Involving workers in the decision-making processes in the management system
The continual improvement of the effectiveness of our management system.
We will continuously challenge ourselves to improve our management system to guarantee safety, prevent incidents and eliminate defects through the review of management system objectives and results.
The management, with the cooperation and support of our workers, is responsible for providing products and services that meet or exceed the needs and expectations, and assuring or enhancing the health and safety of our members, customers, workers and stakeholders. Workers at all levels will be made aware of this policy and relevant aspects of our management system so that they can fully carry out their responsibilities in support of it.
History
Safety Services Nova Scotia (SSNS) was founded in 1958 as "The Nova Scotia Highway Safety Council", a private, non-profit, non-government organization. Founding members were prominent businesses and citizens of that time. Soon after being established, SSNS began lobbying for driver education in high schools and posted speed limits on all roads. Both initiatives were successful.
In the 1970s, SSNS was recommending that all terrain vehicle legislation be implemented. It was during that time that SSNS changed its name to "Nova Scotia Safety Council". By then it was promoting not only road safety issues, but occupational and public (off the job) safety as well. SSNS began offering occupational safety training courses.
In 1980, SSNS introduced the Buckle Up Baby child car seat rental program to Nova Scotia. The Women's Institute agreed to assume this program and ran it successfully for many years. SSNS began lobbying for seat belt legislation. Seat belt and child car seat legislation came into effect in 1985. Impaired driving was another concern. SSNS lobbied for stiffer legislation and roadside "testers".
In 1982, SSNS began one of its best known initiatives: the annual health and safety conference. Attending this event is now a tradition in Nova Scotia. Each year the conference attracts more than 500 delegates and 60 exhibitors.
In the 1980s, SSNS's annual School Bus Safety Awareness campaign began. For many years, Nova Scotia was the only province with a campaign devoted solely to school bus safety. We also began offering a motorcycle training program. It now instructs 2000+ students annually, at locations around the province.
The early 90's saw SSNS getting involved with a project that was much in demand from parents. SSNS pioneered child car seat clinics in Nova Scotia. This, along with child car seat consulting, continued until 2003, when other agencies and coalitions were able to take on these programs.
Also by the early 1990s, SSNS had acquired an excellent reputation for its occupational safety training. An extensive number of training courses are available to the public and onsite at businesses across the province. In 1999, SSNS became one of a small number of agencies that are authorized (currently by the Workers’ Compensation Board) to provide the Certificate of Recognition (now Safety Certified) program to businesses and organizations. The safety systems of businesses are audited by us for effectiveness. Many tenders require that a bidding business is “Safety Certified”.
As a new century dawned, SSNS began offering online training. It also established the Health and Safety Professional (HSP) certificate program for those seeking a designation. It was at this time that SSNS started helping industries, such as forestry, develop safety programs tailored specifically for their industry.
In 2003, after more than 40 years of road safety initiatives, SSNS opened a driving school in Halifax.
In 2007 our organization changed its name to “Safety Services Nova Scotia”.
Safety Services Nova Scotia has an outstanding record of pioneering safety education and training programs that have improved the quality of life of Nova Scotians. We exist “to bring people home safe at the end of the day”.