Last year, 142 workers in British Columbia never made it home at the end of the day. They died of illness and injury resulting from their jobs. The second highest industry for workplace fatalities was transportation-related services, in which 24 workers lost their lives. All of these deaths were preventable.

“These aren’t numbers and statistics — these are real human beings with families and friends who love them and who suffer greatly for their loss,” said George Morfitt, chairman of WorkSafeBC’s board of directors. 

Saturday, April 28, marked the National Day of Mourning, a day to commemorate workers who were killed, injured or suffered an illness because of their job. A ceremony was held on Friday, April 27 in Vancouver at Jack Poole Plaza and included presentations by representatives from WorkSafeBC, the B.C. Federation of Labour and the Business Council of B.C., as well as those personally affected by workplace fatalities and injuries. 

To mark the solemn occasion the Olympic Cauldron was lit and words were spoken from behind a wreath-laden podium.Jim Sinclair, a leading critic of the province’s record on workplace safety, remarked on the over 100,000 workers who were injured in B.C. last year, calling for more prosecutors to follow through when police recommend charges against employers who put workers in danger.

“It’s so clear that this isn’t about an individual. This is about a collective responsibility, and about the pain that we all feel when we lose somebody that we care about,” Sinclair said.

Don’t Fall For It: Elevate Safety When Working From Heights

A 57-year-old truck driver finished loading at a cement plant and pulled up to a catwalk station to close a lid on the top of his tanker. It was a rainy day and the driver was wearing running shoes. The catwalk was an older guardrail system with gangways that lowered but left a small gap between the bottom of the guardrail and the tank.

 The driver parked his truck correctly underneath and climbed the catwalk.  He lowered the gangway to the top of his tanker. As he attempted to close the tanker lid, he slipped on the wet metal and fell approximately 12 feet from the gangway to the ground below.  The driver lay on the ground, immobile and bleeding from the head. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries. Like most workplace fatalities, his death was preventable.

According to WorkSafeBC, falls from elevation are the second leading cause of injury claims and compensation costs in the trucking industry in B.C.  These include falls like the tanker driver, falls from getting in and out of the truck, falls from securing a load, andwarehouse workers falling from lift platforms or docks. 

Climbing trucks is unavoidable for drivers. Not only do they climb in and out of their cabs several times a day, many also have to climb on and around their trucks to secure loads. Warehouse workers have to maneuver around docks and heavy loads and often work on high platforms. 

In the coming years, younger workers will account for a less likely source of new employees, making the retention of older workers an important human resource strategy. By the year 2026 one in five Canadians will be 65 years of age or older — up from one in eight in 2001.

Canada’s birth rate has also been falling rapidly. This combination is expected to have a profound effect on the Canadian labour market.  Over the next ten years, the number of Canadian workers aged 55 to 64 will increase by more than 50% and, by the year 2015, they will make up a total of 48% of the labour force.

This means employers will need to keep older workers employed past the traditional retirement age.

There are many safety and social stereotypes about older workers that are based on the perception that older workers are frail and inflexible in their habits. The chart at the bottom of the page published by the Government of Alberta puts many of these myths to rest.

The reality is that hiring and retaining older workers has many advanatages. Some examples:

• strong work ethic and reliability
• sense of responsibility and duty to the job
• cooperative and team-oriented attitude
• willingness to work flexible schedules
• life and work experience
• lower absenteeism
• ability to be a role model or mentor

Sometimes the physical and mental changes related to aging can affect an older worker’s performance. By making some adjustments to equipment and workplace environment, the employer can ensure that older workers can do their job effectively and safely. These kinds of adjustments will often benefit workers of all ages. 

Some ideas for adjustments are:

Canadian Freightways takes home 8 trophies, including Grand Champion, at the B.C. Professional Truck Driving Championships

Professional drivers are the lifeblood of the trucking industry and the British Columbia Professional Truck Driving Championships celebrates and recognizes their accomplishments and contributions. The event also promotes safe driving and professionalism.

This year, the Championships took place on Saturday, June 25 at Tradex Centre in Abbotsford. The event was followed by the Awards Banquet in the evening at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford hotel in Surrey, where drivers for one of TSCBC's first COR certified companies, Canadian Freightways, took home a significant amount of hardware, including the trophy for Grand Champion that went to Hans Wettstein. Wettstein also took home two other trophies, first place in the Straight Truck category and as part of the Team trophy.

The competition attracts up to 70 of the best professional drivers from across the province and includes five competition classes ranging from Straight Truck to B-Train. Competitors complete a vehicle inspection to find planted defects, write a written exam and drive an obstacle course set up to test skills in maneuvering, cornering and judging distance.

Winners from each annual Provincial competition compete with other winners from across Canada during the National Truck Driving Championships,to take place this year in Calgary.

By Leasa Hachey

There is nothing worse for a hardworking individual than to have their livelihood threatened by some simple, innocuous and easily preventable workplace incident. Yet every day in B.C. workers are injured, made ill or killed on the job.

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Causes and Prevention of Slips, Trips and Falls

By Leasa Hachey

Bumps and bruises, sprains and strains, fractured bones — these are all injuries that can result from slips, trips and falls. More serious injuries can also occur, such as head injuries and impalement.

What causes slips, trips and falls?

More than 69% of all workplace falls happen on level ground when workers slip or trip and lose their footing. This may be caused by uneven surfaces, objects in the way, poor lighting or substances such as oil, water or ice.

Falls from vehicles can happen from a number of areas, including the cab, between the tractor and the trailer, or at the rear of the trailer. One of the most common ways truck drivers are injured is in jumping from the truck while exiting.

Jumping from a height of four feet – typical cab height – will result in hitting the ground with a force of between 7 and 12 times your body weight. For example, a 200 lb. person would hit the ground with a force of 1,400 to 2,400 lbs. This can cause strain on the knees and back with many long-term effects.

Slip, Trip and Fall Prevention

While falls are the most common workplace incidents, they are also among the most preventable. The number one way to stop falls is to eliminate the hazards which cause them. 

Preventing falls at loading docks

•   Practice good housekeeping, such as properly disposing of string, shrink wrap and other debris, both in and around trucks and shipping docks.

•  Look for marked floor transitions at dock edges.

•  Replace barriers at dock openings after handling freight.

•  Use stairs or ladders to access dock level.