I’ve Thought About Changing Our Name More Than You Know

Posted By: Brenda

​Every so often, someone shares feedback that really makes you stop and think.

A recent participant wrote after her Working at Heights training — not about the course itself, but about the photos in our manuals and the name Safety Guys. She reminded me how much representation matters… how seeing yourself in safety materials changes the way you feel about belonging in the trades.

She was right. And this is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time  - who we see when we talk about safety, and who’s missing from the picture.

​When I updated all of our manuals in 2024, I spent months searching for photos that showed real diversity and met OHSA and CSA safety standards. That combination was almost impossible to find. The few that did work are sprinkled across about twenty different courses — like our Forklift manual, which proudly features a female operator on the cover.

But we want to do better. 

We’ve booked a meeting with a local marketing team to start building our own photo library — using real workers, real job sites, and more inclusive representation. My hope is to feature businesses, including women in the field, right here in our own communities — workers who are already out there, doing the work, doing it safely, and leading by example.

As for our name — Safety Guys — I’ve thought a lot about that, too. I’ve always liked it because it feels real: simple, human, and down-to-earth. Safety Guys started as a small group of people trying to make a difference, and over the years it’s grown into something bigger — a mindset about looking out for one another and helping everyone get home safe at the end of the day.
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Having worked in the trades and in businesses that served the trades, I know what it’s like to be one of the few women on a site — and how powerful it is to feel seen. Changing a name isn’t as simple as it sounds. For a small business, it would be a long, complicated, and costly process. Everything from branded vehicles and uniforms to insurance policies, banking, and registrations with WSIB, CRA, and other agencies would all have to be updated. It might sound straightforward from the outside, but behind the scenes, it touches almost every part of how we operate.

But reflection doesn’t mean resistance. We’re always evolving — how we teach, how we communicate, and how we represent the people we serve. Through our visuals, our words, and our actions, we’ll keep showing that safety truly belongs to everyone.

Thank you to the person who spoke up so thoughtfully.
​Feedback like that helps us — and the industry — move ​ forward. 

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​Should we change our name? I would like to hear what you think.