It’s time to strategize for Prompt Payment BC Timely cash flow throughout the construction payment chain is fundamental to a healthy construction industry. Delay in payments anywhere in the supply chain reduces profit and restricts innovation and investment in plant, machinery and people. It also increases the cost to finance company operations and drives up…
Read MoreJanuary Work Related Incidents Reported to WorkSafeBC
Injury Type: Disorientation, numbness (1 worker) Core Activity: Paving services or asphalt manufacture Location: Lower Mainland Date of Incident: 2018-Jan ID Number: 2018181740003 A young worker was climbing a 6-foot metal ladder to assist a co-worker in the cleaning and maintenance of an asphalt mixer. The young worker, who was wearing a hard hat, was…
Read MoreConsultation on proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
The Policy, Regulation and Research Division is requesting feedback on proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The consultation phase provides stakeholders an opportunity to provide feedback prior to the proposed amendments being taken to public hearing in 2018. The proposed regulatory amendment packages under review are: Part 8, Personal Protective Clothing and…
Read MoreBCCSA strategic plan focuses on ‘Making Safety Simpler’
Journal of Commerce ~ Don Procter ~ February 5, 2018 Making Safety Simpler for its member contractors is the theme behind the 2018-20 strategic plan of the B.C. Construction Safety Alliance (BCCSA). That theme is not about dumbing down safety but rather how to make it easier for contractors to meet their health and safety obligations,…
Read MoreWorkSafeBC releases three-year strategy to reduce serious injuries in the construction sector
Richmond, B.C. (Feb. 7, 2018) — WorkSafeBC has released a new three-year plan to help employers reduce serious injuries in the construction sector. The 2018-2020Construction High-Risk Strategy is designed to prevent unsafe acts or conditions that cause workplace injuries and fatalities. “The serious injury rate in the construction sector is much higher than in…
Read MoreWorkSafeBC releases three-year construction sector injury reduction strategy
JOC News Service ~ February 8, 2018 RICHMOND, B.C. – WorkSafeBC has released a new three-year plan to help employers reduce serious injuries in the construction sector. Titled the 2018-2020 Construction High Risk Strategy, the plan focuses on health and safety responsibilities, tools, equipment and processes, and partnership and collaboration. WorkSafeBC officers will conduct workplace inspections focused…
Read MoreWorkers reminded of avalanche risks from WorkSafeBC
JOC News Service ~ February 8, 2018 RICHMOND, B.C. – WorkSafeBC is warning employers in primary-resource industries to identify, assess and mitigate avalanche risk. Primary resource industries include forestry, pipeline construction, oil and gas, forestry, highway maintenance and mining. The organization implored those industries with worksites in avalanche terrain to improve prevention efforts and risk awareness, and…
Read MoreAlberta OHS legislation expands options for creative sentencing
Jean Sorensen ~ February 7, 2018 This two-part series will examine how changes to Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act have established new sentencing mechanisms that move away from the traditional punitive model to a form of “restorative justice.” Alberta has updated its Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act to push forward more creative sentencing options to…
Read MoreRecent Work Related Incidents Reported to WorkSafeBC
Injury Type: Multiple injuries Core Activity: Structural concrete forming Location: Lower Mainland Date of Incident: 2018-Jan ID Number: 2018178110001 A young worker was using an aluminum ladder to access a column form for rigging purposes. The worker fell about 4 feet to the concrete slab below. Injury Type: Lower body fracture Core Activity: House or…
Read MoreNew Regulation and Guidelines
Storage Racks An amendment to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, governing the use of storage racks, came into effect on January 1, 2018. A corresponding guideline is also available. CPI adjustments to the Act and policies Dollar amounts in the Workers Compensation Act were adjusted to reflect the consumer price index (CPI). Penalty amounts…
Read More2018 High Risk Strategy
The Construction High Risk Strategy (HRS) is designed to reduce the construction industry’s serious injury rate through risk-reduction tactics focused on health and safety responsibilities specific to planning and supervision and high-risk work activities. The 2018-2020 Construction HRS is focused on three areas: Health and safety responsibilities — Planning and supervision Officers will conduct workplace…
Read MoreB.C. industry applauds long overdue asbestos regulations
British Columbia’s construction industry is applauding a new move by the feds to clamp down on asbestos, but there is still work to be done. The Government of Canada recently proposed a new set of regulations to prohibit the sale, use, import and export of asbestos, and products that contain the substance as well as…
Read MoreBentall construction tragedy remembered as work-related injuries up in 2016 over previous year
GORDON HOEKSTRA | Vancouver Sun | January 8, 2018 Friends, family and dignitaries pay tribute to four construction workers at the Burrard Street SkyTrain Station in Vancouver on Jan. 8. The men died Jan. 7, 1981, from a fall from the 36th floor of the Bentall IV tower.ARLEN REDEKOP / PNG The family comes every year to remember the…
Read MoreOn the Air with The Construction Record: Silica tool a game changer on jobsites
JOC News Service | January 3, 2018 The Construction Record, Canada’s only regularly running construction industry podcast, spoke to British Columbia Construction Safety Alliance executive director Mike McKenna and Mierau Contractors Ltd. president Kevin Mierau about a new online tool for quantifying silica levels on worksites and its application both in British Columbia and across the country….
Read MoreGovernment takes another step to ban asbestos with new, proposed rules
The Canadian Press | January 8, 2018 OTTAWA – The federal government has laid out a tough set of proposed new regulations to prohibit the use, sale, import and export of asbestos and products that contain it, as well as the manufacture of products containing the cancer-causing mineral. The rules fulfil a Liberal promise made more than…
Read MoreNovember and December Work Related Incidents Reported to WorkSafeBC
Injury Type: Injuries to head Core Activity: Siding, awning, or gutter installation, service, or repair Location: Lower Mainland Date of Incident: 2017-Dec ID Number: 2017145570060 A worker set up a metal extension ladder to clean gutters at a residence. Both the worker and ladder were heard falling. The worker fell about 10 feet to grade,…
Read MoreConstruction Foundation of BC offers industry ways to give back
Journal of Commerce | Russell Hixson | December 20, 2017 SKILLS CANADA BC — A student competes at a Skills Canada BC event. The events offer an Olympic-style competition for young people interested in the trades. The Construction Foundation of British Columbia is encouraging companies to help support the students as they try to advance through to…
Read MoreUpdate on COR (Certificate of Recognition or Partners’ Program) from the Employer’s Forum
Further to our meeting on December 7th and notices shared this past week, we are sharing update written by Dave Earle, The Employers’ Forum’s Past President, who has been intimately involved in the review and who sits at the COCA table. His report: Members will undoubtedly have questions around WSBC’s consultation on the COR program….
Read MoreRespond to WorkSafeBC on COR by Friday December 15th
As you are well aware, a draft policy for the Health & Safety Management Program (Certificate of Recognition) went out for public consultation earlier this year. WorkSafeBC has been developing draft practices throughout the year and have been engaged with a small working group of three employer representatives and three labour representatives since July to…
Read MoreWorkSafeBC releases ladder safety videos
Journal Of Commerce | News Service | December 6, 2017 VANCOUVER — WorkSafeBC is reminding workers how to properly use ladders with a new series of safety videos. The six videos remind workers, employers and homeowners how to use ladders safely, both on the job and at home while setting up Christmas decorations. WorkSafeBC statistics show that…
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