Spotlight on CSSE Members
David Uwazny
Edmonton Chapter CSSE member David Uwazny vividly remembers the incident that solidified his decision to pursue a career in health and safety. He was in his early twenties, at the beginning of his career, when it happened.
“At that time, I didn't really pay attention to safety, but as people who worked around me got hurt, I started to ask, why is this going on? And it really opened my eyes when I was the guy picking my worker off the floor to get him to the hospital — I knew that something really needed to change in our industry.”
Being part of this kind of workplace-injury incident helped turn David into someone who was passionate about making a difference. “I began to really think about, how do you reach these folks? How do you get through to them? At some point, you start seeing them change, or comprehend things, or finally reach their ‘ah-ha’ moment if you will, where they finally get what you’re saying. And you know that you’re actually making a difference.”
After stints as a senior manager for Barrcana Homes in Barrhead, Alberta, where, among other responsibilities, he helped oversee the onsite safety advisors and reviewed hazard assessments; and the Sales Manager at Bedford Biofuels in Edmonton, David began working as a freelance safety consultant for a variety of organizations in Alberta in 2011.
He earned his Certified Health and Safety Consultant (CHSC) certification from the CSSE in 2012.
In February 2019, David started his own company, Tavita Consulting (aka “Safety Dave”), he started out with just one client, a couple of hours a week, but has built up the business so significantly that he now has four part-time consultants working with him. “And the opportunities continue to flow — it's amazing how it’s grown. Just based off a simple philosophy of trying to do the right thing, to move with purpose, to make it so that safety's fun and actually useful onsite.”
David stresses that gaining his CHSC certification through the CSSE was an important part of his health and safety journey. “When I started my training career, I took courses with the Alberta Association for Safety Partnerships, and then I actually pursued a medic career and was working toward my EMR at the time. I then switched over and finished off my NCSO [National Construction Safety Officer]. But when I got more involved with the oil field, that's where I really started to learn what else was out there. And I started looking into the program that was put out by the CSSE, and it was just phenomenal.”
He’s also enthusiastic about the camaraderie he’s found at the CSSE and the chance to meet people who are on the same or a similar journey. “Every time I took a course, there were always five or six people — plus some of the instructors — whom I clicked with, and we all walked away saying, ‘We need to stay in touch. We can help add a lot of value to each other.’ And we never would have met them if it wasn't for the CSSE being able to have that.”
In 2021, David volunteered on the New to Safety Committee as a way to give back to the organization that, he says, “has given so much to me already, and that keeps giving me opportunities to learn, to grow, and to connect with other like-minded people.”