Fatalities Trending Downward a concerted effort by many in B.C.’s forest industry is resulting in a positive trend.

by Rob Moonen

Five years ago safety in the B.C. forest industry, particularly the coastal industry, was receiving negative public attention. The Financial Post ran a two page article on the poor state of safety, using a subtitle “the West Coast’s dirty secret”. Industry, the union and government took on the challenge of changing that record. Up until 2004, the industry had been averaging 22 fatalities per year in the woods, a number that spiked in 2005 to 34 fatalities. Using tools such as SAFE Companies certification and Faller Certification, industry has reduced the fatalities to an average of five in the past two years. If industry had stayed on the old trend, even with a reduced harvest, there would have been an average of 15 fatalities per year. The number of lost time accidents per 100 people working has also decreased by 30%. The B.C. Forest industry used to have a serious injury rate three times as high as the provincial average. It is now down to twice as high. The gap is closing, and at a faster rate than some other major industrial sectors. More importantly, the forest industry used to have a reputation of being one of the most dangerous places to work – that may still be the case in much of North America, but in British Columbia, the industry is changing that and making forestry a more attractive place for our young people to consider working.

The economic outlook for 2011 for the B.C. forest industry is expected to be more positive and while significant strides have been made in the reduction of serious injuries and fatalities, there is a concern that the efforts of industry to continue to improve its safety record may be at risk. The concern relates to the potential for the industry to suffer from the “we’ve arrived syndrome” – a complacent lethargy that can arise once a goal has been achieved. Jim Collins, the author of business best seller Good to Great coined the phrase, “the enemy of great is good”. The challenge for the B.C. Forest industry in 2011 will be to keep focused on making permanent and sustainable change and continuously improve on the efforts made towards reducing the number of serious injuries and fatalities. The industry can continue the improvement trends to reach the provincial averages, and then be a leader by achieving lower than the provincial averages. As the forest industry faces retirements and economic improvements, it will be looking to attract new people. Telling them they are going to work in an industry dedicated to getting them back to their family injury-free after work – and proving it with a great track record that shows it can be done is a positive selling point.

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Statistical Overview By Worksafe Classification Unit

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Fatality statistics updated: March 8, 2011

FATALITIES

 Notes
¹ Direct Fatalities are all fatalities that meet the following criteria:

• Any fatality that is classified under WorkSafeBC’s Classification Units in the Forestry or Wood Products Manufacturing Rate Groups.
• A fatality that occurs to a forestry classified worker for a medical reason e.g. a heart attack only in circumstances where the situation or Coroner’s Office finds that the work was a contributing factor in the death.
• Any fatality that occurred in the course of transporting workers to a forestry site when those workers are classified under WorkSafeBC’s Classification Units in the
• Forestry or Wood Products Manufacturing Rate Groups.
• Any fatality that occurs to any worker when operating under the jurisdiction of a forestry employer. E.g. a maintenance worker killed servicing equipment

Other fatalities may be counted on a case-by-case basis when it is considered to be within the control and responsibility of a forestry operation.

All other fatalities are considered Associated Fatalities.
² Harvesting Direct Fatality categories are defined as the activity engaged in at the time of death
³ Data not available to determine Associated Fatalities in 05 & 06

CLAIMS

Notes:

¹ Claim Count by Month of Registration Date by Reporting CU - Reporting CUs Based on Subsector 7030 and CUs 732024, 732044 and 763015
² Claim Count by Month of Registration Date by Reporting CU - Reporting CUs Based on Select CUs in Subsector 71402
* Year to date is to end of January 2011

Statistical Overview By Worksafe Classification Unit

Click on the Classification Unit below to review the graphs and tables relating to each Worksafe CU.