Jaric puts safety first

Even as the OSHA bill is being  tweaked, it has not kept the team at JARIC Environmental Safety and Health Services from doing business. Founded in November 2001by Eric Kipps and Janice Smart, Jaric saw a niche and went about filling it. Both are professionals in their fields, with a wealth of experience in the areas of environment, safety and health. Kipps, director of Safety Services and a safety professional for the past 10 years, has been involved in training, accident investigation, auditing and implementing safety and health management systems for a number of local and international organisations.

Smart, Director of Environment and Health Services, has a background in the development and implementation of national and international standards.  She has extensive experience and qualifications in the field of environment and safety. The company, which began with a staff of two now boasts of 16 employees qualified in mechanical, civil and environmental engineering as well as in management, ecology and fisheries. According to Kipps and Smart, JARIC had several good and bad experiences along the way. “We started the company with jobs from our friends and acquaintances,” Kipps said. “When they saw the worth of the training and consultancy services we offered, they referred other organisations to us,” Smart added.   

As the company grew, the challenges increased. They said one of the major difficulties they were faced with was financing the business.  “We acknowledged God from the inception and believed that he has established this company for greatness,” Smart said, when asked about how money was sourced for the business. JARIC, which initially operated from a small office at Stone Street, Port-of-Spain, now occupies the top floor of a building at  the corner of Evans and Mc Donald Streets, Curepe. The company now conducts all sorts of training :  defensive driving, general industries training, emergency vehicle operator and first aid training and first responder training.

But JARIC’s services do not stop there. The company provides a safety management service, which includes provision of safety officers, consultants and management on eight major construction projects.  These projects include construction of a factory, river diversion, bridge construction, the bud pipeline project and the La Brea Industrial Development Project.  JARIC also provides safety management for two service companies for the energy industry.

Several of its clients include General Earth Movers, Eastern Divers Company Limited, H and G Aircon Specialists, bpTT, and the  Tobago House of Assembly Departments of Agriculture, Marine Affairs and the Environment. In May,  the company, in collaboration with Mercury Associates of the US, will undertake the unprecedented task of hosting a Fleet Management and Road Safety Program conference.  This project is scheduled to take place at the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel and is aimed at promoting forward-thinking in road safety, by providing a compass for safe road use. It will feature three US based Fleet Management Consultants, who have conducted assignments for many of the largest organisations in North America.