OSSA Training: What you need to know

The Oil Sands Safety Association was formed in July of 2003, with the main goal of unifying oil sands owners so that an agreed-upon set of safety training standards could be formed for use throughout the oil sands working community.  The overriding goal of the creation of OSSA was to create a workforce that would have as few safety incidents as possible while working in the field.  Through the Association, training provider receive accreditation necessary to train workers to work within these safety standards.

Examples of the kinds of safety standards OSSA training available are:

Fall protection safety strategies

Safety procedures for working on an elevated work platform

Safety strategies for working in confined spaces

Fire awareness safety

For more information and to find a Training Provider accredited for each of these standards areas, check out the OSSA webpage.  Under the “Workers” tab, you’ll find a list of all Training and Service Providers which you can search for by program.  Contact your local Training and Service Provider directly for specific information about the cost and location of the training, and make the necessary registration arrangements.  Note that the OSSA is not in charge of setting schedules or fees of any training and these may vary from place to place.

Once you have successfully completed the necessary training for the program of your choice, you will be issued a certificate that prove you have done so.  Should you lose your credentials card contact the issuing provider to receive a replacement.

You’ll need to get recertified for each program every three years.

If your organization is seeking to become a Training Provider, consult the “Training” tab of the OSSA website.

The Oil Sands Safety Association is a non-profit organization.  Members include representatives from Canadian Oil Sands companies Syncrude Canada, Suncor Energy, Shell Albian Sands and Canadian Natural Resources.  In addition to these members, there are also volunteer members from learning providers, labour providers, unions and local area contractors.

The goals of the organization include:

• Creating a workplace with zero injuries
• Giving the Owners the ability to raise standards on health and safety without exorbitant costs.  This includes creating a minimum standard of safety that must be met in order to work on any OSSA Member site.
• To provide accreditation to workers to prove that they have successfully completed the training
• To provide ways to effectively use human resources throughout the program while at the same time giving Training Providers the ability to deliver a product that adheres to standardized safety training guidelines.