Category Archives: Health & Safety

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s Safety Committee was established in 2014 with the mission of improving the wood pellet industry’s collective safety performance, earning a reputation with regulatory authorities and the public as an industry that is highly effective at managing safety, and learning and sharing best practices regarding safety. The Safety Committee is proud of its 2019 accomplishments… We have now released our 2020 work plan as part of our objective to hold our industry publicly accountable for our safety performance. WPAC’s Safety Committee works in close cooperation with WorkSafeBC and the BC Forest Safety Council.

Outdoor groups interested in funding opportunities to improve off-road riding conditions and safety can once again apply to the Off-road Vehicle (ORV) Trail Fund. The funding is intended to improve the sustainability and quality of outdoor motorized vehicle opportunities for B.C. residents and visitors. The total available funding in 2020 is $200,000, with 25% of the money set aside for safety promotion and 75% marked for construction and maintenance. Requests for funding from $1,000 to $20,000 will be considered. …This is the third year for the funding program. Future planned yearly disbursements will be between $100,000 and $250,000 per year, depending on the growth of the fund.

The stress of the economic downturn in B.C.’s forest industry is being felt not only by the hundreds of mill workers who have been laid off or had a reduction in shifts, but also by forestry workers and contractors, such as log truck drivers and independent timber harvesters, who rely on the mills to produce product. Managing stress effectively reduces the negative symptoms and allows us to pay attention to the critical safety aspects of our jobs. …Losing your job or not having work is a setback, to be sure, and it’s hard not to take things personally. But in order to keep your self-esteem intact, try to think about the situation as objectively as possible. It’s important to experience whatever emotions arise and you don’t want to ignore them.  You can, however, manage them and make sure they don’t get the best of you during the process. Coping with job loss is difficult, but you never know what’s around the corner.   If you feel you need assistance in dealing with stress and have access to an Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) don’t hesitate to use it.

Rob Moonen

One crucial feature of science is that it makes evidence-based predictions.  This evidence comes from several sources.  Data can be collected to characterize the current state of our industry and recordings over time can reveal short-term trends.  In addition, various techniques can be used to evaluate what the forestry industry was like in the past and how and why it changed. I think it’s safe to conclude that applying science to predict the future of the perfect storm presently facing our industry is leaving many of us asking – What’s next? While there are many questions about the future of the forest industry, there is some value in learning from the past to predict the future. …Fortunately, the same principles of preventing injuries can be applied in gearing an operation up, as managing in difficult times. In both cases, these principles help control total cost. The fundamental question that leadership of an operation should ask is, “Are we ready to do business well as we start the crews back up?”

WorkSafeBC has hit Brink Forest Products Ltd. with a $37,639.56 fine for unsafe work practices. The fine was levied on Oct. 4 in response to a July 3 inspection to see if the employer had completed a safeguarding audit and added new guards to the workplace. The inspector found the employer had done so but also came across some problems. “During the inspection, I observed two separate safeguards that were left open,” the inspector said in a report. “One safeguard gate was propped open with a garbage can and the other was flipped open.” “The employer corrected the violation immediately and I discussed with the employer and worker that the root cause of the violation must be investigated to ensure sustainability of compliance.”

WorkSafeBC has fined West Fraser Mills following an inspection in Quesnel. The inspection took place at a debarker building and at the plywood plant. WorkSafeBC says there were accumulations of combustible dust observed in multiple locations, including near potential ignition sources such as lighting, electric motors, and rotating machinery parts. It says West Fraser failed to remove hazardous accumulations of combustible dust, which it described as a high-risk violation. The fine, imposed on November 1st, was for $150,983.96.

Canadian floatplane operators, wrestling with a Transportation Safety Board (TSB) warning that they had been drifting into increasingly unsafe practices in recent years, now have a practicable solution courtesy of retired industry veteran Jim Hartwell and some major players in the business. Their North Star Practices, a set of practices and an audit process, is a how-to manual on safety now available on the Float Plane Operators Association website and soon to be up on the Northern Air Transport Association site. The idea is to give operators time to assess their own situations before the floatplane community ramps up operations next spring. …The project also involved others still in the business. They included Dustin Meierhofer, director of Transportation and Northern Safety for the British Columbia Forest Safety Council (BCSFC), who voiced his concerns to the FOA in 2016 about floatplane safety. Several forestry employees had died when floatplanes crashed in remote locations.

A report reviewing responses by the British Columbia government and WorkSafeBC after two fatal sawmill explosions is calling for a more streamlined investigative process and new ways for workers to report safety concerns. Two people died and 19 were injured in an explosion at Babine Forest Products in Burns Lake in January 2012. Three months later, two people died and 44 were injured in a similar explosion at Lakeland Mills in Prince George. Vancouver lawyer Lisa Helps was asked to assess how worker safety recommendations were implemented in the aftermath of the explosions. In her 54-page report, Helps says all the recommendations made in three reports stemming from the incidents have been implemented or partially implemented and the changes have been largely effective and positive.

Aaron Frost and Rob Moonen

Former Port McNeill Councillor Aaron Frost was recently honoured with a very well-deserved award. The Leadership in Safety Awards are presented each year at the annual Vancouver Island Safety Conference recognizing individuals for their contributions in supporting safety in the workplace and outstanding safety achievements. Frost won for the Most Valuable Player in Forestry, with the Forestry Safety Newsletter stating he was “Recognized for his wealth of safety experience in forestry… The 2019 Cary White Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award for Commitment to Safety Excellence was presented to Ron Judd. Nominated by the Coast Harvesting Advisory Council (CHAG) for his long-standing career to supporting safety in the forestry sector… The 2019 Most Valuable Player Award for Manufacturing went to Darren Beattie. 

The University of Northern BC and the University of Alberta are conducting studies to learn more about how firefighting activities affect the health of fire crews. “There is really no data that tells us about the long-term effects on the respiratory system of working year after year as a wildland firefighter,” said Dr. Nicola Cherry. …Fighting wildfires is thought to place firefighters at risk of asthma, lung diseases and mental-health issues Cherry’s work will examine the nature and concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the air that firefighters breathe and accumulate on their skin. PAHs are a suite of organic compounds produced when organic material burns, some of which can be carcinogenic. Cherry’s work in B.C. will look at the relationship between skin hygiene and the absorption of PAHs. 

Gordon Hoekstra

Award winning Vancouver Sun investigative journalist Gordon Hoekstra says graduating from Langara College in 1992 and getting his first journalism job at the Prince George Citizen was a “huge turning point” in his life. So was his first major investigation. Hoekstra answers questions about his early, award-winning work on logging truck safety. The series of 35 stories, called Dying for Work, earned The Citizen a Michener Award in 2006. “I started having conversations with truckers, who told me about working long hours on narrow roads. ‘It’s always push, push, push,’ they said. …I wrote stories about how around two dozen drivers had died in a decade, how drivers were expected to continue to die, about the industry, and how things could have been fixed and they weren’t. As a result, the province hired a forestry coroner and announced more than $20 million in upgrades to forestry roads.”

Kaydon Booth

WorkSafeBC and the B.C. Coroners Service are investigating the death of a 19-year-old man at a forestry worksite on Thursday. Friends have identified the victim as Kaydon Booth of Creston, B.C. “I’m still in shock that he’s gone,” said friend Ella McCallum, who described Kaydon as the “type of person that would give you the shirt off his back.” …McCallum said she was told a Kaydon was pinned by a piece of machinery and suffered critical internal injuries. …Creston RCMP confirmed the incident happened in an area between Salmo and Creston. WorkSafeBC said it was notified of the incident shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday and that it would not comment further while it was investigating to determine the cause of the incident.

The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is funding research at two western universities that will focus on how wildland firefighters’ work affects their health. The $305,000 will fund projects to be conducted by researchers at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and the University of Alberta, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) said in a news release on Oct. 29. …The UNBC portion of the research will be led by Chelsea Pelletier, an assistant professor at UNBC’s School of Health Sciences. Pelletier will examine scientific literature from around the world for all dimensions of firefighter health, including the physical, mental and emotional aspects. Her work will try to find solutions to reduce any health impacts firefighters face and “identify any gaps in the work-related health knowledge of wildland firefighters and associated personnel.”

Two research projects will benefit firefighters and associated personnel by looking into their health and wellness. The BC Wildfire Service has provided $305,000 to help fund the research projects. The University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Alberta are conducting the studies to learn more about how firefighting activities affect the health of fire crews. “Our firefighters have worked hard on the front lines to keep British Columbians safe during difficult and record-setting wildfire seasons,” said Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “These studies will help us support their long-term health and well-being.”

So far this year, 34 aviation accidents and incidents are under active investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). Seven of those accidents involved floatplanes, including six which resulted in fatalities. …In 2016, Dustin Meierhofer, director of Transportation and Northern Safety for the British Columbia Forest Safety Council (BCFSC), voiced his concerns to the FOA about floatplane safety. Several forestry employees had lost their lives when floatplanes crashed during ferry flights to remote locations. These concerns prompted Hartwell to begin creating a set of safety protocols dubbed the North Star Practices (NSPs) – a voluntary initiative involving everyone with a stake in ensuring that the public in general, and workers in the natural resources industry in particular, have the safest flights possible. …One NSPs recommendation Hartwell was willing to share is that floatplane operations should be limited to “official” civil daylight hours…

A BC employer acted reasonably when it delayed a worker’s return from medical leave an additional three weeks while it ensured it had sufficient medical information to clear the employee for work in a safety-sensitive position, an arbitrator has ruled.  Northgate/West Fraser Logistics and TC, Local 31 (Cherak) involved Northgate/West Fraser Logistics, which operates a lumberyard and warehouse in Delta, B.C. …The psychiatrist’s note stating Cherak could return to work on March 1, 2018, didn’t demonstrate any knowledge of the nature of Cherak’s work and “was insufficient to give the employer reasonable confidence was fit to return as a forklift driver in its lumberyard, even if exempted from car-moving work,” said the arbitrator. …The arbitrator determined that Northgate didn’t have sufficient medical information to return Cherak to his safety-sensitive position.

Ed Wilcox

Investigators continue to probe a helicopter crash in Campbell River that claimed the life of a pilot on Tuesday. …Ed Wilcock, the owner of E&B Helicopters, was the sole person on the helicopter when it crashed at about 11:25 a.m. Wilcock was well known and had decades of flying experience on Vancouver Island. A former co-owner of E&B Helicopters remembered his friend and partner as “very focused and very driven.” “Anybody in the community already knows him,” Alder told CTV News on Tuesday. “He’s done a lot for this community. He’s going to be missed, big time.” …Wilcock was given a lifetime-achievement-in-safety award by the BC Forest Safety Council in 2017, citing his “understanding and appreciation of workers’ safety in the forestry industry.”

The province will not take immediate action to upgrade Bamfield Main, but Premier John Horgan has committed to “first steps” for incremental improvements, says the chief councillor of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations. …The First Nation said Horgan told its representatives that the government began working on a engineering report for the road about a month ago. It said he has agreed to meet with the First Nation in November to review the study. …The 78-kilometre Bamfield Main includes 60 kilometres of road owned by Western Forest Products and 18 owned by Mosaic Forest Management, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations and the Ministry of Transportation, Dennis said. Western Forest Products owns the stretch of road where the crash happened. The province provides annual funding, but the forestry companies are responsible for maintenance.

WorkSafeBC has levied a $5,000 fine against a Prince George business over improper handling of wood dust. According to a posting on the agency’s website, an inspection of Hyon Bedding Ltd. revealed “accumulations of wood dust on surfaces throughout the facility, including near ignition sources such as drive motors and electrical devices. “The firm failed to control and remove hazardous accumulations of combustible dust, a repeated and high-risk violation.” Hyon Bedding Ltd. sorts and bags sawmill wood shavings for secondary processing. The fine was issued on April 15.