WorkSafeBC Planned Inspectional Initiatives
WorkSafeBC’S Planned Inspectional Initiatives identify and target industries and employers with a high risk of serious workplace injury and a significant contribution to the serious injury rate. The serious injury rate is worked out by the number of time-loss claims and serious injury claims for every 100 young workers. Between 2012 and 2021 the injury rate was 2.2 and the serious injury rate was 0.3.¹
What are Planned Inspectional Initiatives?
Collectively, the Planned Inspectional Initiatives are designed to reduce the serious injury rate through implementation of risk-reduction tactics directed towards high-risk work activities. The primary role of the Planned Inspectional Initiatives is to identify categories of serious injuries and to develop planned approaches to effect change, thereby reducing the risk of serious injuries.²
WorksfeBC’s initiatives focus on prevention within identified areas of high risk. This is to apply resources and effort where they will be most effective.
Based on the occurrence of serious injuries and work-related deaths, the Planned Inspectional Initiatives four industry sectors are: construction, forestry, health care, and manufacturing.
Construction
Planned Inspectional Initiative
Statistical data shows that although the injury rate has been slowly decreasing over the past six years, the serious injury rate has remained steady. ³ This has led WorksafeBC to introduce a layered approach to identifying and correcting high risk work conditions and practices. The strategy looks at tasks or environmentally created hazards, responsibilities, planning, and the effectiveness of supervision.
The 2021-2023 Construction High Risk Strategy will focus on the following areas:
- Falls from elevation
- Struck-by mobile equipment
- High voltage limits of approach
- Musculoskeletal and repetitive strain injuries (MSI and RSI)
Forestry
Planned Inspectional Initiative
Within the forestry industry, WorksafeBC’s high risk strategy will look at work activities which typically fall into five areas of operation:
- Manual tree falling
- Log transportation
- Cable yarding
- Mechanized harvesting (primary focus will be on steep slope and tethered/winch-assist operations in 2021–2023)
- Silviculture ⁴
In addition to the five main focus areas, emergency response planning (ERP) has also been identified as a critical target area for the Forestry HRS because of a number of serious ERP failures documented at forestry workplaces through incident investigations.
Health Care
Planned Inspectional Initiative
The primary focus of the Health Care High Risk Strategy is on work areas and occupations where direct patient care or services to individuals are provided and the interactions between the worker and the patient or individual can be observed. ⁵ These observations will occur within health care and community social services worksites.
The goals of the 2021–2023 Health Care HRS are to:
- Reduce the risk of workplace violence and related injuries to health care and community social services workers
- Reduce health care and community social services workers’ risk of overexertion or musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) due to patient or individual lifting and patient or individual mobility limitations ⁶
Manufacturing
Planned Inspectional Initiative
Within the manufacturing industry risks have been classified into units and the top 15 general risks identified. This was necessary for WorksafeBC’s high risk strategy, because the injury rate and serious injury rate in the manufacturing sector is above the provincial injury rate. ⁷
The 2021-2023 Manufacturing HRS goals are to:
- Prevent injuries in the manufacturing industry: In 2020, the injury rate in manufacturing was 2.6 time-loss injuries per 100 workers. This is 24 percent higher than the provincial injury rate average.
- Prevent serious injuries and fatal injuries in the manufacturing industry: In 2020, the serious injury rate in manufacturing was 33 percent higher than the provincial serious injury rate average.
- Prevent fire and explosion events in the manufacturing industry ⁸
The WorksafeBC website offers many great resources that have been brought together for all four high risk industries. They comprise of guides, checklists, pamphlets, booklets and videos aimed at helping both employees and employers reduce the risk of workplace injury.
2 – https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/what-we-do/worksafebc-planned-inspectional-initiatives
3 – https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/what-we-do/high-risk-strategies/construction
4 – https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/what-we-do/high-risk-strategies/forestry
5, 6 – https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/what-we-do/high-risk-strategies/health-care
7, 8 – https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/what-we-do/high-risk-strategies/manufacturing