The Roy A. Phinnemore Award is named in honour of a past CSAO Executive Director whose dedication to construction safety inspired others during CSAO's formative years. Established through a donation made by Oliver Gaffney and matched by the Phinnemore family, the award is presented each year to an individual who has made significant contributions to health and safety.

In 2011, the Phinnemore Award was presented to Steve Cody and Michael Quinn. Steve Cody was a Safety Director in the Ottawa area for PCL Constructors and a long-serving member and co-chair of the Ottawa Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee. With his guidance and leadership, the committee was recognized for its numerous outreach programs and projects to the construction community. A former member of the Executive Council of CSAO, he promoted health and safety training in both the unionized and non-union sectors of construction in Eastern Ontario.

Michael Quinn was a member of IUOE Local 793 from 1965 to 2003 and was an Area Supervisor in the Sudbury region where he was a member and co-chair of the Sudbury Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee. A former Director of CSAO, he was instrumental in ensuring the availability of training programs in Northern Ontario. As a representative of the North-eastern Ontario Building Trades, he lobbied for changes to Ontario’s occupational health and safety legislation. Michael was also involved in the Ontario-Quebec Labour Mobility Agreement and helped raise public awareness of the need for a four lane highway to connect Parry Sound and Sudbury (Highway 69).