Upper Michigan Safety Conference

U.P. workers gather in Escanaba for the newest information on staying safe on the job.

Bay College hosted the annual Upper Michigan Safety Conference today.

The highlight may have been a presentation from a New York state man.

In 2002, he nearly died in a cave–in at a construction job site where he was working.

Eric Giguere says since he was pulled from the cave-in and completed more than 2 years of therapy, he’s decided to devote his life to spreading the word on safety.

He says he believes the responsibility of job safety starts with every individual employee rather than starting with a company’s management or ownership.

Giguere suffered brain damage and still has nightmares.

He says the cave–in took place because he and other people took safety shortcuts in the name of saving a little time.

M–TEC, the Michigan Technical Education Center, has hosted the Safety Conference every year since 2001.

The group provides workplace training services to all kinds of u–p businesses.