Automotive News Canada - October 2024 - 14

14
* OCTOBER 2024
Self-proclaimed 'hell raiser' literally puts out fires
By JIL McINTOSH
OSHAWA CORRESPONDENT
DAVE KRAWIEC
FANNING THE FLAMES OF SAFETY
HONDA CANADA HAS MANY
divisions at its vehicle-assembly
operations in Alliston, Ont., but
Dave Krawiec heads up an unexpected
one: He's chief of the fire
department.
" Alliston is a farming community
and still has a local volunteer
fire
department, "
Krawiec said.
That wasn't
sufficient for
the automaker's
insurers
when Plant 1
opened in 1986,
and Honda Canada has had its
own firefighters since. Plant 2
was added in 1998.
Krawiec, 60, oversees three
full-timers plus 30 plant workers
trained as volunteers. The
industrial unit includes pumper
and hazmat trucks.
Most emergency calls are for
medical assistance or hazardous-materials
issues. Krawiec is
diligent about prevention.
" We have a hot-work program,
where if a contractor or
a hell raiser as a young man and
needed to funnel my efforts, " so
he joined the local volunteer fire
brigade as a teenager.
His first job out of high school
was on Honda's welding production
line. A month after he started,
he joined its fire department
as a volunteer.
When Plant 2 was built, he
helped set up its welding department
and he eventually got into
new-model development and
launches.
Dave Krawiec heads Honda
Canada's industrial fire
department in Alliston,
Ont. Among the duties
is maintaining 1,873 fire
extinguishers.
PHOTO: HONDA CANADA
maintenance works on equipment,
we make sure there are no
flammable materials in the area.
We maintain the fire suppression
systems and inspect 1,873
fire extinguishers. "
His crew is similar to that of
municipal fire departments.
" We train the same way they
do and we follow the provincial
and national fire standards. "
Krawiec said he was " a bit of
He became Honda's full-time
deputy chief in 2013 and chief in
2015. He remained on the township's
volunteer roster for 40
years and retired in 2021.
" As a kid, I wanted to be a
firefighter. I think we do a good
job of keeping our [Honda] associates
safe. My wife says I'm
probably the only 60-year-old
who loves to go to work. "
MARZENA MO
CRAFTING CORPORATE MESSAGES
EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE
communication is a balancing
act of deciding what needs to be
said. At Nissan Canada's head
office in Mississauga, Ont., that
falls to Marzena Mo, senior planner,
internal communication
and corporate social responsibility
for Nissan and Infiniti.
" It's listening to employee
feedback and constantly trying
to make the communications
better, " she said. " [Everyone]
wants to share what they're
doing but you can't hit employees
with everything. It needs to
be filtered. "
Her emails can address specific
groups, such as new employees,
or be sent out as general
communications, including messages
from the president or news
about product launches, benefits
or employee events.
She also deals with communications
at higher levels.
" I [work] with our counterparts
in Japan and the USA to
be sure we're rolling out their
visions properly. "
Mo, 35, earned a degree in
business administration at the
University of Toronto. She initially
worked on new business
development for a private investor,
" but I wanted something
more stable. "
In 2012 she joined fleet management
company Holman on its
remarketing team.
" I made sure clients were
taken care of when disposing
of their vehicles, working with
auctions and transporters to get
from the fleet to the auction. "
In 2014 she joined Nissan's
fleet department. She returned
to Holman, but when her current
position opened up in 2021,
she was back at Nissan.
She also works with the
Nissan Canada Foundation,
helping organize volunteer days
for employees and working with
the public relations team on how
the company gives back to the
community.
" I'm passionate about communications
and philanthropy, and
my role has such a broad purview. "
- ANC
Marzena Mo uses employee
feedback to tailor the
communications she sends
across Nissan Canada's
departments.
PHOTO: NISSAN CANADA
24_009023_Automotive_News_Canada_OCT_CN Mod: September 6, 2024 3:53 PM Print: 09/18/24 page 1 v2.5
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