Winnipeg ER team achieves TEAP III

GFL’s Winnipeg Emergency Response (ER) team recently achieved TEAP III (Transportation Emergency Assistance Program) certification – and made history as the first team in the province of Manitoba to achieve this professional accreditation!

“We set [TEAP III certification] as a goal four years ago,” said Shaune Zeleny, regional manager, Specialized Services and Emergency Response for Western Canada. “It took a lot of work and a lot of time, and all the credit should go to the team in Winnipeg. They did an amazing job.”

TEAP III certification recognizes that an in-house, mutual aid or third-party response contractor, like GFL, has met industry-established requirements for transportation emergency response capability in Canada.

To achieve TEAP III certification takes time, commitment, experience and preparation. An ER team must demonstrate that it has the people, training, experience and equipment to provide 24-hour on-scene response to any transportation incident.

“First, we had to put a team together and provide training, then invest in the emergency response equipment we needed,” said Zeleny. “Through time and experience responding to incidents, we felt confident to approach the TEAP III Committee and ask if they would conduct an assessment of the team.”

With Winnipeg’s certification, all GFL’s primary response centers in Canada, including Edmonton, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, the ACCUWORX team in Toronto, and the teams in Hamilton and Montreal, are TEAP III-verified.

“Achieving TEAP III verification is a great accomplishment for our Winnipeg team,” said Allan Winkler, operations manager, Emergency Response Services, Manitoba. “It’s proof that our hard work is recognized by the highest industry standard. We’ve always worked hard to ensure our equipment is organized and ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

The TEAP III assessment process consists of three facets: examining the ER team’s documentation, assessing how the business performs when responding to an incident and checking that equipment meets a minimum standard.

Assessing the team’s incident response involves looking at how the team receives a call, how they mobilize and activate, the documentation they provide for each incident, how they debrief, as well as their standard operating procedures.

Training is another important area that’s assessed. Winnipeg’s list of ER responders was examined, including the level of training each member has achieved, and what courses they have completed, internally and externally.

“The team made a big commitment with extensive training, always being on-call, responding in the middle of the night, and being thorough with their documentation,” said Zeleny. “But they stuck with the vision we had and were rewarded for their efforts.”

Congratulations to the Winnipeg team!

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