The B.C. Forestry Safety Council has released its progress report for 2008-2009. The Safety Council is pleased to see a reduction in the number of injury claims, even when the numbers are changed to reflect the lower level of forest operations occurring compared to previous years.

However, 16 workers died in forest-related activities last year in British Columbia. 16 workers too many.

Within the Report, the B.C. Forestry Safety Council remembers the 16 workers who died last year in British Columbia:

• Logging truck driver Robert Kandler died January 16 at Fort St. James.
• Faller Ronald James Waterfield died January 22 at Campbell River.
• Faller Frank Sinclair died February 12 at Gold River.
• Logging truck driver Michel Sergerie died March 31 at Fort St. John.
• Faller Owen Fransen died April 17 at Lake Cowichan.
• Crew cab driver Christine Benoit-Belisle died May 1 at Vanderhoof.
• Faller Krzysztof Koziol died May 9 at Cultus Lake.
• Driller blaster Dean Love died May 12 at Gold River.
• Logging truck driver William Jeffery died July 1 at Port Alberni.
• Faller Oakley Gainor died July 14 at Campbell River.
• Faller Michael Gravelle died July 21 at Sparwood.
• Faller James Robert Boyd died August 21 at Bella Bella.
• Forest Worker Tyler James O’Farrell died August 24 at Campbell River.
• Faller Steven Webber died October 7 at Bella Bella.
• Silviculture workers Jabez Kruithof and Danan Woytowich died October 30 when a marine landing craft foundered at Bella Bella.

The BC Forest Safety Ombudsman, Roger Harris, said in his section of the report that there are 3 issues should be a priority if the forest sector hopes to curb the number of serious injuries and fatalities.

1. More work is required to develop definitions and identify training criteria for non-certified trade job-classifications in the forest sector. Despite new forestry training initiatives underway with the Industry Training Authority (ITA) and the Council, there remains a lack of clarity on the role of government in the administration, resourcing and delivery of this training.

   Many of the non-certified trades have application across other resource and industrial sectors. Making progress towards developing common standards for training and certification in the forest sector for these occupations may provide safety benefits for other industrial sectors as well.

2. A new public highway designation for resource roads serving as primary or secondary access roads for communities must be established. This continues to be an important safety issue for many communities in British Columbia. While we are pleased that the provincial government has made a number of funding announcements directed at improving the maintenance of resource roads across the province, there continues to be a systemic issue around the long-term management of resource roads that serve both communities and
   multiple resource sectors.

   While the Office continues to receive calls on this issue it will remain a key area of interest and will be monitored closely in 2009.

3. Safety issues arising out of the calculation of cycle-times must be recognized and addressed by either WSBC regulation or through the Council’s SCP. Cycle-times remain a recurring theme and constituted a large volume of calls in 2009. Unfortunately, the current economic environment has only compounded this issue for many companies and individuals. Recognizing the complex calculations required to determine cycle times, this Office still strongly advocates that safety must remain an over-riding priority even in tough economic times.
   In March 2009 the BC Trucking Association released the report, “Truck Compliance Advisory Panel Report” which identified “Shipper Responsibility” as a major concern. The points identified around “Shipper Responsibility” and how they impact the behaviour of truck drivers in the trucking industrial parallel many of the issues around cycle-times in the forest sector. The report identified this as a difficult issue to resolve with no simple solutions. Our office continues to view the calculation of cycletimes as a complex safety issue and will continue to monitor how the trucking sector manages “Shipper Responsibility” for any relevant solutions that are transferable to the forest sector.

Read the full report:
BC Forest Safety Council Progress Report 2008-09 (.pdf)