wbc's insight - april 2011

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April 2011

There is no time like Spring,When life's alive in everything.

~Christina Rossetti

In This Issue

WorkSafeBC holdspublic hearings

Seeing the forest forthe trees

Missed an issue?You can now find currentand past editions ofInsighthere.

Spring is here

If you would like moreinformation on the Policy and

Research Division, theWorkSafeBC website is a greatresource. Information you canfind includes:

Policy & regulation decisions

Public hearings

Policy consultations

Workplans & projects

Published policy

Learn about whats new

If you have a specific question, feel free to contact usdirectly: [email protected] or 604.276.5160.

WorkSafeBC holds public hearings

For a description of the2011 proposedamendments, pleaseclickhere.

Would you like a chance to give yourfeedback on the proposedamendments to the OccupationalHealth and Safety Regulation

(OHSR)? Employers, workers,stakeholders, and all interested parties are invited toattend our upcoming public hearings in May and June ofthis year. This annual activity is part of our regulatorydevelopment process - which was described in ourDecember 2010 issue.

Before making regulations, the Workers CompensationAct(theAct) requires us to:

give notice of the proposed regulations

hold at least one public hearing

conduct additional consultations with stakeholderrepresentatives at our discretion

"We far exceed the legalre uirements set out in the

Engaging our stakeholders is important toWorkSafeBC

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Act, because we want toensure there is transparencyand ample opportunity forstakeholder feedback,"says

Anne Burch, Director,Prevention Policy andRegulation Review.

Here at WorkSafeBC, we exceed the requirements of theAct. First, we hold pre-consultation sessions with selectsubject matter experts from the worker and employercommunities. Then, we hold a broad, province-widestakeholder consultation over the course of a fewmonths.

The consultation period for the 2011 proposedamendments ended on December 10, 2010. Based on

the feedback received from stakeholders, some of theproposed amendments were revised.

Now that the consultation period is done, WorkSafeBCwill hold five public hearings throughout the province togive stakeholders another opportunity to comment onthe proposed amendments. The hearings will be held inthe following cities:

Prince George on May 3

Cranbrook on May 10

Richmond on May 12

Kelowna on May 31

Victoria on June 2

Anyone can participate in the public hearings. You canattend and speak at the public hearings or providefeedback through written submissions. You are alsowelcome to observe the hearings without participating.

All of the feedback received during the public hearingprocess is recorded and provided to our Board of

Directors (BOD). The BOD then makes the final decisionon each of the proposed regulation changes.

For a description about the proposed amendments anddetails about the public hearings, please click here.

Seeing the forest for the trees

Starting a research projectis a bit l ike venturing into adeep forest. You have anidea what's in there, and a

plan for keeping yourbearings, but you neverknow exactly what you'll

discover. And if you're new to it, you'll probably needsome help along the way.

Through the Research Secretariat, WorkSafeBC providesresearch training awards to talented new researchersstudying topics related to occupational illness, injury,and safety. By investing in emerging researchers,WorkSafeBC is investing in the future - making sure we

can see the whole forest, not just a few trees.Daniel Sarkany, a Master's student in the School ofOccupational and Environmental Health at theUniversity of British Columbia, was the recipient of aresearch training award in 2009. For his thesis research,

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Sarkany investigated the impact that mandatorycertification has on reducing injury rates in hazardousoccupations, using tree-faller certification as a casestudy.

Click here to see the Injuryrates and forestry statistics

Manual tree-fallers have the highest serious injury rateof all worker groups in BC. To make them safer at work,WorkSafeBC partnered with the British Columbia ForestSafety Council and other stakeholders to introduce a

faller certification program in 2002, with the first fallersbeing certified in 2003. Known as the BC Faller TrainingStandard, the program was designed to ensure that allnew fallers receive the same high-quality training. Theprogram, which became mandatory in 2006, providesnew fallers with classroom training and supervised fieldwork focused on dangerous tasks like chainsawoperation, falling, and bucking.

The PRD is pleased towelcome Daniel Sarkany as

a policy analyst with thePrevention Policy &Regulation ReviewDepartment.

"I have a background working in construction, and alsoin falling," says Sarkany. "A big part of my motivation in

going back to school was to make my co-workers safer."Using WorkSafeBC data, he worked with leadresearchers at the Centre for Health Services and PolicyResearch (CHSPR) to examine and compare injury ratesbefore the program was introduced, during the optionalcertification period, and after mandatory certificationcame into effect. The project was aimed at assessingthe training model, which could eventually be applied inother hazardous occupations, such as steel working andconstruction. "The goal of the project was to see whatkind of effect certification has on safety," explains

Sarkany. "Meeting with the BC Forest Safety Council andother stakeholders really helped to steer the researchand hone the relevance of the research question." Thestudy provided a unique opportunity, with stakeholderparticipation, to generate evidence of the effect ofcertification on injury risk.

Sarkany will be graduating soon, and his work hasalready been noticed. He received a 'Best StudentPaper' award at a major Canadian research conferencein 2010, and on March 10, 2011, he joined his CHSPR

colleagues as a presenter at the Research Secretariatevent Putting Research to Work. "It was an excellentopportunity to interact with the people who can use theresearch. I really appreciated the open forum. Peopleasked some great questions." Through the WorkSafeBC-CHSPR Partnership, researchers are continuing work onthis important topic, and will be following up on ideasthat were raised at the March 10 session.

About Us

Contact UsTo receive future editions ofInsight, please visit thesubcribe page.

The Policy & Research Division (PRD) at WorkSafeBC isresponsible for providing advice and services to theBoard of Directors, Senior Executive Committee, otherdivisions, the Ministry of Labour, external stakeholders,and the general public.

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or more n orma on:[email protected]: 604.276.5160

Links

Find more information onWorkSafeBC.com:

- Regulation and Policy- Research Secretariat

The PRD is made up of three operating departments:

Compensation & Assessment Policy

Prevention Policy & Regulation Review

Research Secretariat

Each department has staff with expertise in public policyand research, with varying backgrounds, including law,

business, communications, science and engineering.Our research initiatives include funding and supportinghigh-quality scientific research aimed at reducing thenumber and severity of work-related injuries anddiseases, ensuring fair compensation, fosteringproductive return-to-work for injured/ill workers, andidentifying issues that have implications for future policydevelopment.

http://www.web2pdfconvert.com/?ref=PDFhttp://www.web2pdfconvert.com/?ref=PDFhttp://www.worksafebc.com/contact_us/research/http://www.worksafebc.com/regulation_and_policy/mailto:[email protected]

wbc's insight - april 2011

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