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Patrice Marcil receiving the award from Shaun Thorson, Chief Executive Officer, Skills Canada
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Car Painting shines with Safety Award
At the closing ceremonies of the Skills Canada National Competition in Quebec City on June 4th, the Car Painting competition area was singled out from amongst more than 40 skills categories for a special Safety Award for creating a safe yet challenging environment for its competitors. The CARS Council would like to congratulate the all the industry volunteers who showcased the collision industry in such a positive light in front of some 30,000 visitors. Patrice Marcil, Industry Representative on the Skills Canada National Technical Committee member and DuPont representative, proudly accepted the award on behalf of the group of volunteers, organizing this event, including college instructors and the CCIF Skills Program.
 It was clear to competitors and casual observers alike that organizers of the CAR Painting competition deserved to be recognized for taking every precaution to create a safe, state-of-the-industry environment for participants. They achieved this by blending the latest tools and technologies used in the industry with the skills required to make proper use of them. Competitors were provided coveralls, goggles, masks and gloves, and given a detailed oral orientation by Patrice, covering materials, equipment and safety procedures along with a printed competition guide.
The ICA Duster 3000 Downdraft mobile prep station used at the main competition site at the Centre de Foires helped to maximize the air quality during priming and prepping operations. The use of the latest waterborne paints, together with the appropriate guns and spray booths for the offsite portion of the competition has reduced the competitors’ exposure to harsh smells and toxins, due to the lower level of volatile organic compounds produced with the use of waterborne compared to solvent based paints.
 At both competition sites Car Painting competitors were provided with well stocked, clearly labeled first aid stations.
Aaron Web, Canadian gold medalist in 2010, will be competing in Car Painting at WorldSkills in London this October. The Quebec City national competitions provided this Team Canada representative with another opportunity “to work on specific skills and polish them up so that I have full confidence in my abilities.” Aaron is very conscious of the fact that, “in my category the most important skills are  mostly technical skills. It normally comes down to minor details, so you need to have an eye for everything.” Problem solving is also very important. “You cannot control everything, so if something does go wrong or you make a small mistake, you need to be able to fix it, sometimes in a split second. These split second decisions can mean the difference between placing 1st and 2nd.”
Whether it’s gaining a competitive edge, or ensuring the safety of competitors or employees, problem solving is a key success factor. If you want to find out if you have this and other key skills in place to create a safe learning or working environment, you can try an easy CARSessentials self-assessment at no cost. To find out more, go to www.carsessentials.ca or visit the CARSessentials Facebook page for useful tips and updates.
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